RELATION L)E l/lLE IlODllIGUE. 329 



fish at more than a league away, .1 have not been able to discover 

 ■where they lay their eggs. 



There are many Boatswain birds {Paille-en-qiieuey which are all 

 ■white, and others of white red. The Boatswain-birds nest or- 

 dinarily in the holes of the cliff or in the hollow trees which 

 abound, especially the Benjoin.^ 



There are some Cm-lew (Corlieux),^ -which fish along the shore 

 and at low tide on the reefs, where there remain some pools of 

 ■water and small fishes. I have not killed any of them, because 

 they do not let one approach them ; on the contrary, when they 

 see people they take their flight, uttei'ing cries. 



There are also some birds which they call in France Eqtierets^ 

 They are of the size of a pigeon ; beneath the belly it is white as 

 well as under their wings ; the back is black, and the coverts of 

 their wings the same; the beak, two or three inches long, is 

 pointed. They are on the islets which are to the south of the 

 main island, and there lay their eggs. 



There is another small bird,^ which is of the size of a hoopoe, 

 ■which is quite ■white, and the back black. They are also on the 

 islets to the south of the island ; they are but few in number. 



The bird which we have named SentuieUe^^ : it is one in fact, 

 for directly it perceives any one approach, it takes to fliglit, crying 

 without cessation. It is not possible to approach nearer than 

 sixty paces. It fishes on the bank of the streams and marshes ; it 

 is of dark colour mingled with light grey ; it is a little larger than 

 a hoopoe^ and is not in great numbers. 



^ Phaeton phoeniciir us et Phaeton Jiavirostris. 



2 Bois charron, Terminalia Benzoin, an endemic Mascarene species, 

 occurs abundantly. (Balfour, I. c, p. 340.) Balfour, writing of the 

 Nyctaginaceie, describes the Bois mapou as a tree very abundant on a 

 small ledge of coralline limestone, on the west side of Frigate Island, 

 ■where it is the favourite nesting-place of the Fou {I. c, p. 365 ; vide 

 supra, p. 325). 



^ Curlew. Coarlis, Numenius jjha^opus (^Scolopax phieopus, Linn.). 



* Equerets, or Querets, possibly the Ferrets mentioned by Leguat. 

 Probably, says Milne-Edwards, rOnychoprion anasthcetus. 



'" Oygis Candida, Wagl. 



6 Sentinclle, a species of Heron ; Butorldcs atricapiUa, perhaps. 



