348 



Bird -Lore 



EGG AND 'NEST' OF TROPIC 



silvery light from the darkness of their caves. The general color is pure white, 

 with the exception of jetty black markings on head, wings, and flanks. The 

 shafts of some of the wing-feathers, as well as those of the tail, are also black. 



The iris is bluish black, and the 

 short legs flesh-color with the webs 

 black. Some birds are delicately 

 tinted with a beautiful salmon-pink, 

 which varies as to location. One 

 unusually beautiful specimen had 

 this tint quite decided on the scap- 

 ulars and long tail-feathers. The 

 tint was fainter on the nape. Others 

 were faintly tinged on the sides of 

 the neck, and many had no pink at 

 all — particularly the yellow-billed 

 birds which, though breeding, had 

 not attained their full color develop- 

 ment, which takes three years. A 

 few pairs consisted of both red- and 

 yellow-billed birds. The female is a 

 trifle smaller than her mate and her tail is shorter. The extent of wing is also 

 less, as that of the males is about thirty-eight inches. I frequently saw one of 

 the pair enter the nest on which his mate brooded, and after the two had been 

 there a few minutes the relieved bird would depart for recreation or food. 



A native who was caretaker of a large island and its close neighbors in 

 Castle Harbor very generously showed me many varied nest locations. Accord- 

 ing to his observations, and they are not to be dou])ted, some of the birds at 

 least return to their original nests 

 year after year. A wire ring 

 fastened to a bird's leg proved 

 this to be a fact. The breeding 

 season extends from April to 

 August, as in the latter month 

 newly hatched young and birds 

 ready to fly are seen. The first 

 feathers of the young Tropic-bird 

 are quite differently marked from 

 the adult. The color is white, with 

 numerous curved black bars on 

 head, nape, back and wings. The 

 black areas on the wings are well 

 defined, and the two central tail- 

 feathers are a trifle longer than tropic-bird ten d.\ys old 



