A BIRDLOVER'S YEAR 



tropical seas. The late Professor Mosely 

 described a visit to the nesting-grounds of 

 this species, on the island of Fernando 

 Noronha, where the birds built their nests 

 on the verge of an inaccessible precipice, 

 though on another island (Raine Island) the 

 nests were on flat ground. One egg, of 

 white colour, is laid, and during the courtship 

 the male bird expands his scarlet pouch and 

 droops and spreads his wings. The tropic- 

 birds, or boatswains, belong to the family 

 Phaethontidae, and in appearance are not 

 unlike the terns, being somewhat inferior 

 in size to the common gull. They range 

 over all the tropical seas, and constantly 

 follow in the wake of vessels. During the 

 breeding season great numbers of the tropic- 

 birds frequent the Bermudas and the Pacific 

 Isles, and breed in companies, the nest 

 being simply some unlined hole in the 

 rocks. 



The ocean wanderers that now remain to 

 be considered are all members of the tube- 

 nosed order of birds (tubinares). They have 

 acquired their name from the fact "that 

 the external nostrils are produced into tubes 

 lying upon the surface of the beak and 



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