﻿214 
  On 
  the 
  Birds 
  of 
  the 
  Gilbert 
  Islands. 
  

  

  to 
  the 
  Equator^ 
  we 
  daily 
  perceived 
  signs 
  of 
  land. 
  When 
  in 
  

   lat. 
  4° 
  15' 
  and 
  long. 
  178"^, 
  heavy 
  gales 
  brought 
  swarms 
  of 
  

   butterflies 
  and 
  small 
  land-birds 
  to 
  the 
  ship. 
  We 
  looked 
  in 
  

   vain 
  for 
  land; 
  therefore 
  this 
  discovery 
  remains 
  for 
  some 
  

   future 
  navigator.'' 
  {' 
  South 
  Pacific 
  Directory/ 
  4th 
  ed. 
  1877, 
  

   p. 
  756.) 
  The 
  Gilbert 
  Islands 
  have 
  nothing 
  on 
  three 
  sides 
  of 
  

   them 
  but 
  groups 
  of 
  low 
  coral 
  islands 
  like 
  themselves, 
  — 
  the 
  

   Marshall, 
  Ellice, 
  and 
  Phoenix 
  Islands, 
  which 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  

   equally 
  destitute 
  of 
  small 
  land-birds 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  nearest 
  place 
  

   where 
  such 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  occur 
  is 
  the 
  small, 
  high, 
  Nawodoor 
  

   Pleasant 
  Island, 
  about 
  300 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  west, 
  where 
  Dr. 
  Finsch 
  

   discovered 
  his 
  Tatare 
  rehsei, 
  a 
  species 
  as 
  plentiful 
  there 
  as 
  

   Sparrows 
  in 
  England. 
  Another 
  island, 
  lying 
  between 
  this 
  

   and 
  the 
  Gilbert 
  Islands, 
  and 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  expected 
  to 
  

   harbour 
  small 
  land-birds, 
  is 
  Ocean 
  Island 
  (Banaba 
  or 
  

   Paanapa), 
  but 
  this 
  spot 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  visited 
  by 
  an 
  orni- 
  

   thologist. 
  It 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  from 
  10 
  to 
  15 
  miles 
  in 
  circumference, 
  

   having 
  a 
  hill 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  seen 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  

   of 
  25 
  miles. 
  Now 
  that 
  the 
  Gilbert 
  Islands 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  

   under 
  British 
  protection, 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  hoped 
  that 
  some 
  one 
  will 
  

   find 
  an 
  opportunity 
  of 
  enlarging 
  our 
  scanty 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  

   ornithology 
  of 
  these 
  atolls. 
  Outlying 
  high 
  islands 
  like 
  

   Ocean 
  and 
  Nawodo, 
  where 
  Dr. 
  Finsch 
  was 
  only 
  able 
  to 
  spend 
  

   six 
  hours, 
  should 
  also 
  be 
  visited. 
  

  

  Glancing 
  farther 
  afield, 
  other 
  attractive-looking 
  spots 
  in 
  

   Polynesia: 
  are 
  Kushai 
  or 
  Ualan, 
  known 
  from 
  graphic 
  descrip- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  Kittlitz's 
  ^ 
  Reise,' 
  and 
  which, 
  among 
  other 
  things, 
  

   furnished 
  the 
  only 
  two 
  specimens 
  known 
  of 
  Rallus 
  monasa, 
  

   Kittlitz, 
  now 
  found 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Hartlaub 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  a 
  distinct 
  

   genus 
  [Aphanolimnas) 
  *; 
  Rapa 
  in 
  the 
  Austral 
  group, 
  only 
  

   known 
  as 
  the 
  habitat 
  of 
  Ptilopus 
  huttoni, 
  Finsch 
  ; 
  and, 
  more 
  

   especially, 
  the 
  Society 
  and 
  Marquesas 
  Islands, 
  where 
  some- 
  

   thing 
  more 
  may 
  remain 
  to 
  be 
  discovered, 
  and 
  where 
  there 
  is 
  

   some 
  reason 
  to 
  fear 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  — 
  the 
  Parrots 
  for 
  

   instance 
  — 
  found 
  there 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  century 
  ago 
  by 
  the 
  natu- 
  

   ralists 
  accompanying 
  Cook 
  are 
  becoming 
  rare, 
  or 
  in 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  

  

  * 
  Cy. 
  Hartlaub, 
  "Vier 
  seltene 
  Rallen," 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Verli. 
  Ver. 
  Bremen,' 
  

   1892 
  ; 
  also 
  Sharpe, 
  Bull. 
  B. 
  O. 
  C. 
  no. 
  iv. 
  p. 
  xix. 
  

  

  