48 Wonders of the Bird World 



Bounds. The Females do's the same as to the Males 

 whom she leaves to the Males, and he drives them away. 

 We have observ'd this several times, and I affirm it to 

 be true ! 



" The Combats between them on this occasion lasts 

 sometimes pretty long, because the Stranger only turns 

 about, and does not fly directly from the Nest. However 

 the others do not forsake it, till they have quite driv'n it 

 out of their Limits. After these Birds have rais'd their 

 young One, and left it to its self, they are always together, 

 which the other Birds are not, and tho' they happen to 

 mingle with other Birds of the same Species, these two 

 Companions never disunite. We have often remark'd, 

 that some days after the young one leaves the Nest, 

 a Company of thirty or forty brings another young one 

 to it ; and the new fledg'd Bird with its Father and 

 Mother joining with the Band, march to some bye Place. 

 We frequently follow'd them, and found that afterwards 

 the old ones went each their way alone, or in Couples, 

 and left the two young ones together, which we call'd a 

 Marriage." 



The above account, of the authenticity of which there is 

 no reason to doubt, introduces us to a type of Bird life now 

 extinct, but existing on the globe within historic times, and 

 a strange interest therefore attaches to the nearest of kin 

 to the Dodo which survives at the present moment. This 

 is the Toothed-billed Pigeon of Samoa (Didunculus strigi- 

 rostris). This bird, which is about the size of an ordinary 

 domestic Pigeon, is only found in the Navigator's Islands, 

 as Samoa is sometimes called. It has perfectly-formed 

 wings, but until recently it never used them, as it had no 

 natural enemies in its island home, and was accustomed 

 not only to live on the ground, but to breed in colonies and 

 deposit its eggs on the side of a hill. As Samoa became 

 more civilized, however, the usual accompaniments of 





