500 BIRDS or AUSTRALIA. 



The late Commander Ince, R.N., who, dming the sm^veymg 

 voyage of H.M.S. Fly, was for some time stationed on Raine's 

 Islet, superintending the erection of a beacon, informed me 

 that on his landing on this small island, which is situate in 

 lat. 12° S., at about seventy miles from the north-eastern 

 coast of the Australian continent, and surrounded by a part 

 of the great barrier reef, he "found this bird breeding in 

 colonies at its S.W, corner, the nest being composed of a few 

 small sticks collected from the shrubs and herbaceous plants 

 which alone clothe the island, and placed either on the 

 ground or on the plants, a few inches above it. The eggs, 

 which are generally one, but occasionally two in number, are 

 of a pure white, not so chalky in appearance as those of the 

 Gannet, and nearly of the same shape at both ends. Upon 

 one occasion I killed the old birds from a nest that contained 

 a young one ; on visiting the spot I found the young bird 

 removed to another nest, the proprietors of which were 

 feeding it as if it had been their own : I am sure of this 

 fact, because there was no other nest near it containing two 

 young birds. Some of the eggs were quite fresh, while others 

 had been so far sat upon that we could not blow them; and 

 many of the young birds must have been hatched some two 

 or three weeks. We regarded these birds as the Falcons of 

 the sea, for we repeatedly saw them compel the Terns, Boobies, 

 and Gannets to disgorge their prey, and then adroitly catch it 

 before it fell to the ground or water. We never saw them 

 settle on the water, but constantly soaring round and round, 

 apparently on the Avatch foi* what the smaller birds were 

 bringing home. I have found in their pouch young turtles, 

 fish, cuttle-fish, and small crabs." 



The male has the entire plumage brownish black, the 

 feathers of the head glossed Avith green, and the lengthened 

 plumes of the back with purple and green reflexions ; orbits 

 and gular pouch deep red; bill bluish horn-colour; irides 

 black ; feet dark reddish brown. y 



