Bird No.frs from Tn'rslr to Bnmhay. 177 



— already assumod hy ininy of tlio hirds in Aden harbonr — 

 the head becomes a da kcr fliocolato brown and there is a 

 white collar. Tlioy flow so close to the ship's rail while we 

 were at anchor flia! 1 tried to i hotoirraph them but the resiilts 

 are not worth i-ciirnductioii. Many Kites, Milvus rrgifpficxis, 

 come out from the shore and mingle with the gulls, and on a 

 former voyage I rescued one that had fallen into the sea. 

 Several Terns came to the ship attracted by the swarms of 

 small fish that always collect round the hull— they were 

 all of one species but not in full plumage and I failed to 

 identify the species. It was probably the smaller Crested 

 Tern Sterna media. Only a single Booby seen to-day and 

 that in the harbour. 



Mareh 2()th. (Arabian Sea); no land in sight all day. 

 I only saw one bird and that a great distance off — it was ap- 

 parently a White Ganret. A "Seagull" was reported to me,* 

 but I did not see it. 



Mareh 27th. (Arabian Sea). No land seen. About 

 breakfast time several White Tropic -birds Phaethon flavirostris' 

 appeared, flying rapidly beh-nd and beside the ship. They are 

 curious Tern -like birds with the two middle feathers elongate 

 and pointed : white all over except for a "black mark running 

 from the eye round the nape, and some black on the wings: 

 the bill is yellow and the feet black. I did not see them 

 settle or catch anything. The flight resembled that of a 

 Sandgrouse. However, they soon left and only an odd one or 

 two were seen during the rest of the day. 



A White Gannet with black wing quills and tail came 

 near enough for me to note that the facial skin was blackish,, 

 ]thus identifying it as Sula cyanops the Masked Booby. "During 

 the afternoon and evening many Shearwaters were fo be seen 

 skimming low over the water in all directions. They "did 

 not come near enough for me to attempt an identification, 

 but the probability is that they were the Persian Shearwater, 

 Puffin is persicus. 



Mareh 28th. No birds, no ships, no land! 



March 29th. Only three birds seen— all White Gannets, 

 one in immature plumage, Sula cyanops. 



March 30th. No birds seen during the morning ex- 

 cept a small Plover, which visited the ship once or twice. It 



