50 ANCHOR OFF BRAMBLE CAY. 



N.E., but owiiio- to calms and lig-ht winds had to 

 anchor twice. A strono- N.W. breeze which came 

 on last nig-ht^ and caused us to drag* the stream 

 anchor^ at leng-th brought us up to our destination^ 

 near which we anchored in 25 fathoms^ sand^ the 

 island bearing- N.W. J W. distant a mile and a 

 quarter. In the afternoon I landed for an hour, 

 passing- many turtle on the water both g'oing- and 

 returning-. As usual the islet was covered with sea 

 birds, only two species, however, of which were 

 breeding*. The Brown Booby {Sula fusca) and a 

 larg-e tern (Thalasseus Pelecanoides) existed in about 

 equal numbers 5 the latter, in one g-reat colony, had 

 laid their solitary larg-e speckled eg-g-s in a slight 

 excavation in the sand, the former were scattered 

 all over the island, and had reg-ular nests of weed, 

 containing either two eg'gs, or a single young* bird 

 covered with white down. Well does the booby 

 deserve its name. The grotesque and stupid look 

 of the old bird standing by its eggs or young — 

 irresolute whether to defend them or not, and 

 staring' with an intensely droll expression at the 

 intruders — is very amusing ; at length on being too 

 closely approached, it generally disgorges the con- 

 tents of its stomach — consisting at this time of very 

 fine flying fish — and after some half shuffling, half 

 flying movements, manages to get on wing and be 

 off. As the tern's eggs were within a short time of 

 beinor hatched we broke all we saw in order to 

 ensure some newly laid ones in a day or two. 



