244 CORALS AND CORAL LSLANDS. 



numerous, has the habit of building up a pile of twigs and sticks, 

 twenty or thirty inches in height, particularly on Howlands, 

 where more material of that sort is at hand, on which they 

 make their nest. When frightened, these birds disgorge the 

 contents of their stomachs, the capacity of which is sometimes 

 very astonishing. They are gross feeders, and I have often 

 seen one disgorge three or four large flying-fish fifteen or 

 eighteen inches in length. 



"The Frigate Bird {Tachypetcs aquiius) I have already 

 alluded to. It is a large, rapacious bird, the tyrant of the 

 feathered community. It lives almost entirely by piracy, 

 forcing other birds to contribute to its support. These frigate 

 birds hover over the island constantly, lying in wait for fishing 

 birds returning from the sea, to whom they give chase, and the 

 pursued bird escapes only by disgorging its prey, which the 

 pursuer very adroitly catches in the air. They also prey upon 

 flying-fish and others that leap from sea to sea, but never 

 dive for fish, and rarely even approach the water. 



" The above are the kinds of birds most numerously repre- 

 sented, and to which we owe the existing deposits of guano. 

 Besides these are the Tropic Birds, which are found in consi- 

 derable numbers on Rowland's Island, but seldom on Jervis's 

 or Baker's! They prefer the former, because there are large 

 blocks or fragments of beach rock scattered over the island's 

 surface, under which they burrow out nests for themselves. A 

 service is sometimes required of this bird, which may, perhaps, 

 be worthy of notice. A setting bird was taken from her nest 

 and carried to sea by a vessel just leaving the island. On the 

 second day, at sea, a rag, on which was written a message, 

 was attached to the bird's feet, who returned to the nest, 

 bringing with it the intelligence of the departed vessel. This 

 experiment succeeded so well that, subsequently, these birds 

 were carried from Rowland's to Baker's Island (forty miles 

 distant), and, on being liberated there, one after the other, 

 as occasion demanded, brought back messages, proving them- 

 selves useful in the absence of other means of communication. 

 The game birds, snipe, plover, and curlew, frequent the islands 



