NEST OF LESSER NODDY. 



51 



are so loosely put together, that, on pressure with 



the hand, the water rises through their interstices. 



The lesser noddy, a bird frequenting the Aus- 



tralian seas, constructs its nests close together, 

 generally on branches of the mangrove-trees, at 

 no great height from the ground. The nest is as 

 simple as it is possible to be : it is a mass of sea- 



