EGGS OF GULLS AND THE OSPRET. 273 



have increased until their number is legion. Plad 

 they a supply of fresh water, they would in a short 

 time become so much more numerous as to consume 

 all the herbage within their reach. We seldom 

 visited the island without bringing away half-a-dozen 

 of them. Occasionally, in running our arms into 

 the burrows for rabbits, we would take hold of a 

 disgusting iguana, or get a handful of small eggs, 

 deposited by a very diminutive variety of gull, that 

 burrows in the ground, and there hatches its young. 

 The whole island is excavated by these little diggers. 

 Their eggs, almost double the size of a pigeon- 

 egg, have a white shell, and are very excellent eat- 

 ing. The larger gulls lay an egg superior in size 

 to those of our domestic hens, which are mottled, 

 and food fit for an epicure. The shag, another 

 variety, lays a pink egg, of goodly size, which is also 

 equally palatable. These birds would lay on the 

 bare ground ; and, on our robbing their depositories, 

 they would move to another island, and repeat the 

 process. This they did four or five times, and at 

 last either gave up in despair, or lit upon some place 

 secure from our depredations ; for we were unable 

 to procure a further supply. 



On Long Island we saw several osprey-nests, in 

 one of which were eggs ; in another, the half-fledged 

 young of the species. The eggs were about the size 

 of a goose-egg ; but, as we had reason to think they 

 were addled, we had no opportunity of testing their 

 fitness for the table. 



During the whole of one day we observed immense 

 flocks of birds flying in the direction of this island, 

 and ou visiting it found the clumps of mangroves 



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