416 



SOME BIRD LIFE IN BRITISH PAPUA. 



leaves 2 to 5 feet deep and quite 12 feet in diameter. The heat of 

 this rubbish does the rest, and the young find no difficulty in scram- 

 bling out into dajdight in due course. The egg is of a light pink 

 color, and is about the size of a domesticated turke^^'s. Nests have 

 been discovered at a height of 2,500 feet above sea level. 



On a Government banana plantation, and on large streams, the 

 writer often perceived hosts of swifts {CoUocalia terroifrcmcica) 

 appear an hour before sunset, darting rapidly hither and thither, as if 

 feeding on minute insects of the air. This generally occurred during 

 the wet season, November to February. 



It was from the same point — Cape Nelson — that a coming ''blow " 

 from the southward was always heralded some hours before by the 

 appearance of a few frigate birds {Fregata aquila), which hovered 

 in the locality while the wind lasted, and as like mysteriously dis- 

 appeared. It would be more 

 appropriate to call them 

 " prophet birds." During a 

 gale they meet the fierce 

 gusts with seeming equanim- 

 ity, neither wing moving; 

 but Avith bodies rigid and 

 heads to windward they re- 

 main almost stationary, ex- 

 cept occasionally a slightly 

 ^,Mfi •« — ««* perceptible swaying and mo- 

 memtarily opening and clos- 

 ing of the tail feathers — a 

 steadying agency probably, 

 besides an aid of ascent — of 

 which a few remarks will be 

 added later. Then with a lightning turn they gracefully sweep at a 

 downward angle Avith fearful velocity for any given distance with the 

 wind, and then with the most consummate ease bring up " all stand- 

 ing," poised as before, the wings meantime remaining stiff, but 

 scarcely horizontal, at the time the bird prepares to turn. Such a re- 

 sistance do they offer to a storm that sometimes when a bird is bal- 

 anced a short distance overhead one can almost imagine seeing the 

 wind rushing past its form. They have never been seen to approach 

 the water closer than 300 feet, while, on the other hand, they often 

 soar upward to a considerable height. The evident method these 

 birds adopt to ascend is peculiar, and very interesting to watch at 

 close quarters. For, though the bird itself is practically rigid, except 

 for slight movements— particular i^arts of which have been alluded 

 to — yet those simple actions really explain how the bird rises. Thus, 



