ADDENDA. 93 



Society* for 1886, thus describes this bird: — " Commou, and may often be seen chasing Terns and 

 Boobies till they make them disgorge their fish, as described by Mr. H. 0. Forbes iu his recent work. 

 I have never seen Frigate-birds fishing for themselves ; they are said to do so sometimes, but very 

 rarely. Their flight is magnificent ; I have seen one wheeling round and round in circles for at least 

 five minutes without once flapping its wings, during which time it must have covered a mile of 

 ground." Mr. Bourne, who collected the specimens, says : — " Ciannets and Frigate-birds breed at the 

 southern end of the island ; and, although they are well known to be enemies on the wing, the 

 Frigate-bird pursuing the Gannets and compelling them to disgorge the fish they have caught, yet 

 they nest close together without molesting one another." 



Page 42. Feigate-bird. — After writing my own ideas of the Frigate-bird, I was much pleased 

 to find that Darwin had commented on the fact of this web-footed bird now so rarely taking to the 

 water. He says no one except Audubon has seen the Frigate-bird alight on the water. He goes 

 on to show by the present formation of the web-feet that it is gradually changing into a land 

 species, or rather that its comparatively newly acquired mode of life is working this change in its 

 structure. 



Page 49. Gannet. — -In October, 1886, several letters appeared iu the ' Field,' mentioning instances 

 of the Gannet {Sula bassana) being met with in England very far inland. One that measured six feet 

 two inches from tip to tip, and three feet from tip of beak to tip of tail, was discovered in Cumberland, 

 forty miles from the nearest coast line. 



Page 57. — In my Chapter on the Terns I say that it is not likely we should meet with the 

 genus Giigis. They do not go farther south of the eastern shores of Australia than Moreton Bay. 

 But travelling by an Orient steamer, and passing Diego Garcia, we should probably see the White 

 Tern [Gycjis Candida), where Mr. Howard Saunders says it is very common, perching in the cocoa-nut 

 trees, and laying a single egg in the axils of the leaves. Mr. Darwin, describing Keeling Island, 

 says of this bird : — " But there is one charming bird, a small and snow-white Tern, which smoothly 

 hovers at the distance of an arm's length from your head, its large black eyes scanning with quiet 

 curiosity your expression. Little imagination is required to fancy that so light and delicate a body 

 must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit." 



Page 66. The Gull-billed Tern {Stanut angUca). — Mr. Howard Saunders says the American 

 S. aranua, the Australian »S'. macrotarsa, and the European S. <iii;ilic(i are all the same bird. 



Page 80, Kittiwake Gull {Rissa tridarti/la). — A well-known dealer in Leadenhall Market once 

 showed me a Gull that completely puzzled him. It turned out to be merely an immature Kittiwake 

 (called by some "Tarrock"), with the black beak and black markings. I believe for a long time these 

 one-year-old birds were considered a distinct species. Of course they oiuilit always to be distinguished by 



the tlircc toes (tridactj'la). 



Page 87, foot-note, for " ^-1. irrovata " read " 1>. irronttn." 



