220 Cruise of the "Alert" 



season, for we saw several of the excavations in which they were 

 in the habit of depositing their eggs. 



We got under way at seven o'clock in the morning, and after 

 running several lines of soundings over the outer edge of the 

 Amirante bank, steamed over to Eagle Island, which lies about 

 thirteen miles to the southward of African Islands, and again 

 dropped anchor. 



Eagle Island is somewhat oval in shape, and is a quarter of 

 a mile long by one-eighth in breadth. It is entirely of coral 

 formation, is low and flat, is covered with a thick growth of 

 stunted bushes, and in other physical features is much the same 

 as the African Islands. There was, however, an increase in the 

 fauna in the shape of a small red-legged partridge, which was very 

 abundant, and afforded us some good shooting. Owing to the 

 thickness of the scrub, and weedy undergrowth of grasses, ill- 

 conditioned gourds and calabashes, it was found very difficult to 

 recover the dead birds, so that I fear there were a good many 

 shot which were never bagged. The only other land-birds on the 

 island were domestic fowls gone wild. Of these we saw an old 

 cock and hen, and some three or four chickens, which, on being 

 disturbed, rose and took to flight like pheasants. 



In the interior of the island, among a tangled scrub of bushes, 

 we found the remains of an old stone-built hut, which from the 

 solidity of its four walls would seem to have been originally 

 intended as a permanent dwelling for Europeans. 



I took several specimens of a small species of lizard, and also 

 some of the tiny spherical eggs of the same. I stowed away the 

 eggs in a matchbox with some sand, and left it open on the table 

 of the deckhouse on board. After a day or two the young 

 lizards began to break out of their eggs, and to wander about 

 among the materials on my work-table. I broke open one egg, 

 and found that the youngster was at once able to run about. 

 After it had wandered about the table, and up and down the 

 sides of some bottles standing near, it returned to the matchbox 



