61 Comm. Stuart St. J. Farcjiiliar on ticu 



inside the reef, and can be approaelied only in a small boat, 

 owing to the numerous rocks and the shallow water. On 

 the way there our boat was the objeet of much curiosity on 

 the part of the Boobies {Siila piscatur). These inquisitive 

 birds, especially those in immature plumage, literally crowded 

 round to see us. One would hover above my head, just going 

 fast enough to keep pace with the boat; it would examine 

 with an apparently critical eye every detail, turning its head 

 from side to side in a most comical way. If I put up my 

 hand to catch it, it did not attempt to fly away, but would give 

 a sort of squawk and peck at my fingers ; there it would 

 remain till driven otF by another who w anted to look. There 

 was apparently no reason for these attentions, as we were a 

 mile from the shore and in no way interfering with their 

 domestic arrangements. 



The other Gaunets were far more reserved and never came 

 near us at all. S. piscator, as I have already mentioned, 

 nested in great numbers on the main islands ; they make a 

 nest like the Common Heron and lay one e^^ : certainly there 

 was never more than one chick in a nest. They were all 

 hatched out at the time of my visit. The young are clothed 

 in snowy-white down, and never leave the nest until they 

 can fly ; this is doubtless necessary for their preservation, 

 as the earth swarms with laud-crabs, which eat everything 

 and anything they can get, and make short work of a young 

 Booby. These are very fat, and I watched the old birds 

 feeding them on half-digested fish : naturally the nests smelt 

 very strong. They are most difficult birds to skin satis- 

 factorily on account of the fat, and the natives, when they 

 require skins, adopt the cruel method of carrying the young 

 away from the colony to some distant spot and placing them 

 on bare bushes, where they soon get thin, being unable to 

 obtain any food. I saw some which had lived thus nearly a 

 fortnight and had plenty of vitality left. On our way to 

 Goelet Island we passed many turtles, which were at this 

 time just beginning to come ashore to lay their eggs; they 

 swam very fast, and easily outstripped the boat. The 

 immense number of birds on Goelet resembled from the sea 



