28 



cities; arid so numerous were they on tbis occasion that they formed a 

 cloud when they arose from the ground, and their clamor deadened the 

 roar of the surf. They make no attempt at buildiug a nest, but de- 

 posit their one egg anywhere on the bare ground. The eggs were almost 

 as thick as the clinkers on the coral beach. 



ANGUS STOLIDUS, (i>imi.) Gray [Nos. 67323, 67326J. 



Sterna stolida, Linn., Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 227. 



Megalopterus stoUdus, Bp., List, 1838, 61. 



Anous StoUdus, Gray, List Gen. of Birds, iii, 1841, 100.— Coues, Key N. A. Birds, 187,2, 



323 ; Birds Northwest, 1874, 710. 

 Anous niger, Steph., Gen. Zool., xiii, 1826, 140. 

 Gavia Imcoceps, Sw., Classif. B., ii, 1837, 373. 



Localities : Palmyra and Christmas Islands. Breeding in both local- 

 ities. There was a marked difference in the habits of the birds of the 

 two islands. On Palmyra, they build nests of twigs in the forks of the 

 tallest trees ; a few were observed to build nests in the cocoanut-trees 

 at the bases of the leaves. On Christmas Island, where there are no 

 trees, they lay their eggs on the bare ground within a circle of a few 



twigs. 



GIGIS ALBA, (Sparrm.) Bp. [No. 67335]. 



Sterna alia, Sparrm., Mns. Carls., No. xi, 1786. 



Sterna Candida, Gm., Syst. Nat., 1, 1788, 60T. I 



Gigis Candida, Wagl., Isis, 1832, 1223. | 



Gigis alba, Bp., Compt. Eend., 1856, 773. J 



Gigia nepoleonis, Bp., Compt. Rend., 1856, 773. | 



Localities : Palmyra and Christmas Islands. These furnish us with 

 another interesting example of the power of birds to conform to their 

 surroundings in their breeding habits. They lay but one egg, which is 

 very large for the size of the bird, and it was in every instance, on Pal- 

 myra Island, placed on the naked branch of a tree. In some cases, the 

 diameter of the limb on which it rested barely exceeded that of the egg 

 itself; yet there it remains during the whole period of incubation, and 

 the narrow lodge is the resting-place of the young bird until it is able 

 to fly. On Christmas Island, the same obstacle is in the way of the grat- 

 ification of their desires as was mentioned in the case of the noddy terns, 

 namely, the absence of trees, but the surfaces of the large coral blocks 

 are made to serve their purposes equally as well. The Gigis alba 

 exhibited a greater degree of curiosity than any of the other birds of 

 the islands. They were continually hovering about over our heads when 

 •we were ashore, and, indeed, often seemed inclined to alight upon the 

 theodolite while the officers were triangulating about the island. 



