Cheesemax. — On Birds of the Eermadec Islands. 221 



17. Geey Duck {Anas siipcrciliosa, Gml.). 



I did not see this, and insert it in my list on the authority 

 of Mr. Bell, who states that it exists on the crater-lakes, but 

 has been very scarce since the eruption of 1876. He is con- 

 fident that it is the same as the New Zealand species. Mr. 

 Stratford informs me that it is so rare that the total nmnber 

 found on the island does not exceed seven. A single specimen 

 of a smaller species is reported to have been seen on one 

 occasion. 



18. Wideawake Tern (Sterna fuUginosa, Gml.). 



This species arrives at the end of August, and remains 

 until the end of December or middle of January. According 

 to Mr. Bell, it is one of the commonest sea-birds on the 

 islands during this period, although very rarely seen dm-ing 

 the winter months. It is active and noisy, and, as mentioned 

 at the commencement of these notes, its first act on arriving 

 on the island is to drive off the few hawks which are present. 

 It is gregarious, breeding in immense colonies both on the 

 main island and the adjoining rocks, one of the largest breed- 

 ing-places being on the sandy beach of Denham Bay. Its 

 nest is a slight hollow scooped out of the bare sand, and it 

 only lays a single egg. The eggs seem to vary in size, but 

 the average of six sent by Mr. Bell is 2-lin. by 1-oin. The 

 colour is a pale buffy-white, copiously marked with blotches 

 of reddish-brown. I am indebted to Mr. Bell for several 

 skins, and to Captain Fairchild for living specimens taken 

 from Curtis Island. It is somewhat singular that no stray 

 specimens of this bird have been observed on the New Zea- 

 land coast, seeing that it breeds in such immense numbers in 

 two localities so near to us as Sunday Island and Norfolk 

 Island. It appears to be spread all round the world in tro- 

 pical and subtropical seas. 



19. Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia, Pall.). 



Inserted on the authority of Mr. Bell. I have seen no 

 specimens from the group. 



20. Whitecap Noddy (Anous mclanogenys, G. E. Gray). 



I have received two skins and several eggs of this hand- 

 some species from Mr. Bell. He states that it is tolerably 

 common during the spring and summer months, but disap- 

 pears at the commencement of autumn. So far as he knows, 

 it only breeds on Meyer Island. It makes a slightly-hollowed 

 nest of sea-weed mixed with leaves, which it cements to the 

 branches of trees a short distance from the ground. Usually 

 it selects a closely-branched Pisonia for this purpose, but the 



