F\UNA OF ST. CROIX ISLAND 103 



soinetiuies had neither eggs nor young. On one oce«^sion 

 1 found a very small egg in a nest: it measured only 

 1 • 05 X 1 • 37 inches. This I took to be the first egg 

 laid by an adolescent individ;ual. 



The cave-dwellers were remarkably quiet. Entering the 

 cave, not a sound was heard and not a bird moved: even 

 when rudely expelled from their nests, the victims 

 waddled oti' in silence, except occasionally when a bird 

 would remonstrate with a feeble bark. Under the depress- 

 ing circumstances of cave life, the avian inhabitants 

 seemed to suffer from reduced vitality : they Avere greatly 

 infested by external parasites of various kinds, probably 

 more so than birds living in the open country. 



Nesting birds seemed to be very conscientious sitters. 

 I saw nothing to indicate that such birds ever shared 

 the jaunts of their touring relatives, or left their nests 

 for any purpose. At the time of our visit we found eggs 

 and young in all stages of development. The young 

 evidently remain under the protection of the parent until 

 they reach a considerable size. 



C. J. Andersson (in "Birds of Damaraland ' ) Avas in- 

 formed that they will remain one or two months without 

 going in search of food, and that the young birds remain 

 on land until they are well grovsTi, and do not follow 

 their parents until able to provide for themselves. He 

 also remarks that the bird sits quite upright on its egg 

 or eggs which it keeps close between its heels and tail: 

 this certainly was not the case at St. Croix, for every 

 bird sat over its eggs in the usual avian style. 



On the Guano Islands off the West Coast, penjniins 

 rule their lives by seasons: the year is divided into a 

 breeding season spent on land, and a feeding season 

 devoted to fishing, when they roam the seas for many 

 miles. At St, Croix, the breeding period seems ^o bo 

 particularly prolonged. Mr. Messina informs us that 

 " the majority of the birds leave the island about August 

 in very poor condition, and begin to return about 

 November, as fat as butter.'' 



