THE NODDY. 



639 



which arises from the refuse food that is suffered to putrefy in the 

 very nest. 



There are very many sea-birds which hatch their young on 

 the shelves of precipitous rocks, and of them I have chosen for 

 an example the bird which is called the Noddy {Anous stolidus). 

 It is a species of Tern, and has long been celebrated among sailors 

 for the ease with which it can be captured, especially if the day- 

 light has departed. 



The Noddy. 



The Noddy mostly chooses for its nesting - place some lofty 

 precipice, and generally lays its eggs upon a shelf of the rock. 

 Sometimes, but rarely, it takes a fancy to some low and thick 

 bush, and in any case is but an indifferent architect. Often the 

 nest is nothing more than a heap of sea- weed, on the top of which 

 is excavated a very slight hollow ; and in no case does the bird 

 seem to exercise any skill in the disposition of materials. As it 

 returns year after year to the same spot, and never clears away 

 the old nest, it manages in time to accumulate a heap of sea-weed 

 that is sometimes more than two feet in thickness, and of consid- 



