Aces. 4'{ 



Inint the (tiiuiiot baokwiuxU ami forwanis, oontiuually trying to got 

 l)i>ueath it and to out off its rotivat to the tivos. T\\v oliaso may 

 last sovoral miniitos. bnt at longth tho oxliaustod bird disgorgos 

 somo of tho tish it luid swallowod. and this is innnodiatoly canght 

 in mid -air by ono of th«' pursnors. Mr. Uoss toKl mo that 

 oooasionally two Frigato-birds wonUl oon\o into ooUision aiid broak 

 thoir wings, bnt this I novor saw. Tho twigs for bnihling tho 

 nests aro obtained on tlu- sumo systom of robbory, and althimgh 

 thoso birds will juck np twigs lloating in tho si>a and lying on 

 tho boaoh, I novor saw ono attompt to break tluMn olf tho doa«l 

 branohos as tho (Jannots do. If, whon a nost is partly built, 

 tho bird in ohargo ot it is killod, dozons of its noighbonrs oomo 

 round and stoal tho n\atorial thus oonvoniontly ooUootod for thorn. 

 The nost oonsists moroly of a fow handfuls of twigs plaood on tho 

 fork of a small branch, and it sooms Mondorful how tho ogg 

 romains on it. Whon tho young has boon hatohod a fow days tho 

 nost booomos con\orlod into a liard, noarly flat oako of twigs aud 

 oxoremont. Old nosts, and thoso of Ciannots, arc ofton utilized. 



About tho In^ginning of January tho adult males begin to ao(iuiro 

 tho remarkable poneh of scarlet skin beneatli their thnntt. This 

 they can inflate till it is m>arly as largo as tho ivst of tho body, 

 and' a dozen or more of these binls sitting in a tree with out- 

 strotehed drooping wings and this great scarlet bladder under thoir 

 heads aro a most remarkable sight. When a hen bird ap])roaches 

 tho troo tho males utter a peculiar ory, a sort of ' wow-wow-wow- 

 vrow,' and clatter their beaks like oastanots, at tho sanu^ time 

 shaking tho wings. When they take to flight tho air is allowed 

 to oseapo from tho ])ouih. but occasionally they might bo seen 

 flying with it ji.'irtly inflated. 



The pairing -season extended from January till Ai>ril ; eggs wor<> 

 found in February, anil in August there wore still nmny youug 

 birds in white down, but by October all had llown. Tht> young 

 continue to got a certain amount of food from their parents oven 

 after the latter have begun to biiild again. 



In the neighbourhood of Flying Fish Cove the largo spocios 

 builds near tlu' .si\i. th(> small luio on tho higlu'r part of tho island 

 fartlu>r inland. The cry of the n\ale in the small s])ocios is (|uito 

 ditferout from, and mucii more musical than that of the large one. 



At ]>rest<nt Frigate-birds ari> ono of the cliief articles of food 

 of tho inhabitants of (,'hristmas Island, and they aro very good 

 indeed. Tho usual way of obtaining thorn is for a man to climb 

 into the topmost branches of a high tree near the coast, armed 

 with a polo eight or ten foot long and a red handkerchief. Tho 

 latter ho waves about, at tho same time yelling as h)udly as possible. 

 The birds attracted by tho noise and the red colour swoo]t rout\d 

 in large numbers, whon they aro knoiked down with the long i>olo. 

 In this way sutUcient birds to supply tho small colony with food 

 can usmdiy bo obtained in an hour or two; iiccasionally, however, 

 in unfavourable states of the wind, they are difficult to procure. 



