348 Mr. E. Newton on the Land-Birds 



{Casuarinus) and the double cocoa-nut being perhaps the com- 

 monest, and there is but little undergrowth. The former is 

 usually of no great age, the island being so frequently devastated 

 by fire, but occasionally on the beach very large ones may be 

 seen. One I saw, which had been uprooted by the hurricane of 

 1862, must have been over 100 feet in height, and at 12 feet 

 from the ground its diameter over 7 feet, and with a clear run, 

 without a branch, of 50 feet. The double cocoa-nut is still 

 plentiful in some parts, particularly on the south-east end of 

 the island, the windward side. On the north-east, it has been 

 almost extirpated, this being the lee side during the south-east 

 monsoon, when the fires chiefly rage. The male tree frequently 

 grows to 100 feet in height, the female to 60 or 70. We had 

 heard so much of their beauty that I confess to disappointment. 

 On every adult tree four or five dead yellow leaves hang down 

 against the trunk ; and the living leaves standing up much 

 straighter than is usual with palms, the former are exposed to 

 plain view. The trees, too, seldom grow sufficiently near one 

 another to afford mutual protection, and the ends of the leaves 

 are always much withered and split by the wind. These causes 

 give the tree a ragged and untidy appearance ; and it will not 

 bear comparison in beauty with the graceful cocoa-nut or with 

 many species of the lofty cabbage-palm. 



My first inquiries of Mr. Campbell were for the " Pie chan- 

 teuse;" he told me that a few years ago one was constantly 

 about his house, but that it had been killed by one of his cats, 

 and he had not seen one since in that part of the island. " He 

 said the bird was gradually getting scarcer and scarcer, owing 

 to. the ravages of the wild and tame cats, but that there were 

 still a few to be found on both coasts, about the middle of the 

 island. 



After our arrival we took a short stroll up the hills to the east 

 of Mr. Campbell's house, to look at the double cocoa-nuts. 

 We saw but few species of birds. The " Merle " {Hypsipetes 

 crassirostris) was very numerous ; two or three " Mangeurs des 

 ponies" were chasing one another round a dead cedi'c; an occa- 

 sional " Tourterelle" Hew from the ground as we walked, and one 

 or two " Colibris " flew past our path, and we heard " Cateaux 



