of Sea-Birds frequenting Norfolk hland ^c. 267 



I have seen them on adjoining trees. The egg is laid on the 

 bare branch, sometimes in a slight depression or against a 

 piece of roughened bark ; once I have seen it in a fork. 

 Generally it lays its egg on an outstanding branch, and 

 balances it in a truly wonderful manner. There is not a 

 trace of a nest, and often not even of a depression. One egg 

 only is laid. I have seen it placed on a branch about 20 

 feet from the ground, and also at a height of 60 feet or more ; 

 30 to 40 feet is, perhaps, the average height at which it lays. 

 It always chooses a sheltered situation, generally in a valley, 

 and at a variable distance from the sea, from 300 to 800 

 yards in the cases I have seen. Year after year this bird lays 

 on the same tree, on the same branch, aye, and on the same 

 spot on the branch. There is one tree where I have seen 

 the old bird sitting once last year and twice this year, for I 

 got both eggs. The first I took on the 27th of December, 

 1883. It was incubated. The second was all but quite fresh 

 on the 25th of January, 1884. In four other trees I have 

 also found eggs on the same spots as I found eggs or young 

 birds last year. These Terns are very tame, and in one case 

 we lifted up the bird to take the egg. It is interesting to 

 watch the careful way in which the old bird gets off her egg 

 when goiug to fly. The young birds are very comical-looking 

 little objects. I have found the eggs on three different kind 

 of trees, viz. the white oak [Lagunaria pater soni) , the iron- 

 wood {^Notelcea longifolia), and the blood-wood [Baloghia 

 lucida). How do the eggs and young birds keep on in windy 

 weather ? In November 1882 I was looking for a specimen 

 to send to you, and seeing one on a tree, I shot it. I was 

 sorry to see, when it fell, that a young one was under it. 

 However, this year I found another bird sitting on an egg 

 in the same spot. I took the eg^, and four weeks afterwards 

 I went back and again the bird was sitting on another e^^, 

 which I also took. I am told that this bird nests exten- 

 sively on banyan-trees in Pitcairn^s Island. The eggs vary 

 in length from 1*62 inch to 1*87, and from 1*17 inch to 1*40 

 in breadth. They are oval in shape, and generally large at 

 both ends. The ground-colour varies from creamy white to 



