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CHAPTER XXIV. 



TRIP TO THE LAGOON. 



Another trip to the lagoon afforded me as much 

 pleasure as on the day of its discovery. The same 

 amount of bird life was visible, but four species that 

 I had not formerly seen were now conspicuous. The 

 first, the scissor-bill (Rhynckops flavirostris), re- 

 markable for its graceful flight, but awkward, un- 

 finished, or broken-looking beak ; the white-winged 

 black tern {Sterna leucopterd), heavy and slow upon 

 the wing, and, therefore, as great a contrast as can 

 be imagined to its near relative, our well-known 

 British bird the " sea swallow. Pelicans and boat- 

 bills were also numerous, the first rotund and 

 comfortable-looking at a distance, like a well fed but 

 overgrown goose, but gifted with a far greater air 

 of importance than the familiar fowl of our village 

 greens ; while the last, the boatbills, resemble cranes 

 with the mumps, and human beings suffering from 

 polypus. Their bills are certainly a novel-looking 

 arrangement to the human eye. but they doubtless 

 answer the purpose for which they were intended, and 

 the owners, knowing no other, are perfectly satisfied 

 with the want of grace of their boat-like appendage. 

 As transport on our return journey is the great 



