gQ4 /VESTS A.VD EGGS OF AVSTRAUAN BIRDS. 



FAMILY— PHAETH0NTID7E : TROPIC BIRDS. 



732. — Phaethon rubricauda, Boddaerb. — (660) 

 RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD. 



Figure. — Gould ; Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vii., pi. 73. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xxvi., p. 451. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Gould ; Birds of Australia {1S48) , 

 also Handbook, vol. ii., p. S02 ("865) ; Crowfoot (Metcalfe) : 

 Ibis, p. 268 (1885); BuUer : "Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., 

 p. 1S8 (1888); North: .'\ustn. Mus. Cat., p. 362 and app., 

 pi. 19, fig. I (18S9). 



Geo(jraf>hic(d Dtxtrihution. — Seas of West and North-west Australia, 

 Northern Territory. Queensland, and New South Wales ; also New 

 Zealand and the tropical and sub-tropical portions of the Pacific and 

 Indian Oceans. 



Ne.^t. — The bare floor of the ledge of a> cliff., a hole under a shelving 

 rock, and sometimes on tlie ground under a tree or bush bordering the 

 beach. 



Eggs. — Clutch, on© usually ; true oval iu shape ; texture of shell 

 coarse : .surface without gloss ; colour, pinkish-buff, mottled and marked 

 (like a Falcon's) over the whole surface with pinlcish or purplish-red. 

 Dimensions in inches : (1) 2-92 x 1-96, (2) 2-8 x 1-95, (3) 2-8 x 1-9. 

 (Plate 26.) 



Observations. — This singular sea-bird, with its general plumage 

 white, suffused with a beautiful roseate tinge, and two lengthened 

 central tail feathers of deep rich red (hence the name. Red-tailed), 

 frequents tropical seas. However, it has been found as far south on 

 the eastern coast of Australia as New South Wales, and on the west 

 coast down to the district of Champion Bay. 



Amongst sailors it is known as the Boatswain Bird, and often hovers 

 round a ship at sea, occasionally alighting on the rigging. 



Gould possessed eggs from both Norfolk Island, off the eastern coast 

 of Australia, and Raine Islet, in Ton-es Strait. 



Macgillivray, in communicating with Gould, wrote : " Tliis Tropic 

 Bird was found by us on Raine's Islet, where, dtiring the month of 

 June, about a dozen were procured. Upon one occasion, three were 

 observed performing sweeping flights over and about the island, and 

 soon afterwards one of thrm alighted ; keeping my eye upon the spot, 

 I ran up and found a male bird in a hole under the low shelving margin 

 of the island bordering the beach, and succeeded in capturing it after 

 a .short scuffle, during which it snapped at me with its beak and uttered 

 a loud, harsh, and oft repeated croak. It makes no nest, but deposits 



