698 Mr. M. J. Nicoll on the Birds collected and 



the island, and one, the finest individual of this species that 

 I have ever seen, was caught on the ground by one of the 

 crew. It is of a bright salmon-pink all over, far brighter 

 than any which I met with in the South Pacific in 1902-3. 



At mid-day on March 13th we left Assumption, and very 

 shortly afterwards sighted Aldabra. We were all much 

 struck by its size, and later on found what a really enormous 

 atoll it is. Judging by the size of the lagoon enclosed 

 by the island, or rather two islands, which are separated 

 by a narrow channel, Aldabra must be quite one hundred 

 miles in circumference. We were unable to anchor in 

 the place marked on the chart owing to the current, 

 so "stood off and on" until the next morning, when a 

 boat came off to us and took us to a good anchorage 

 outside the reef. Three delightful days were spent on 

 Aldabra, but owing to the size of the island and the difficulty 

 of getting about from one part to another, the time was 

 too short to procure examples of all the land-birds found 

 there. I, however, made a collection of the following 

 seventeen species. 



IxOCINCLA ROSTRATA RidgW. 



Ixocincla madagascariensis rostrata Ridgway, Proc. U.S. 

 Nat. Mus. xviii. p. 535. 



One adult male, two adult females. 



Iris hazel; bill orange ; tarsi and toes brownish flesh- 

 coloured. 



This bird is abundant all over the island. The examples 

 which I obtained were in very worn plumage and are so 

 ragged that it is impossible to say what colour the plumage is. 

 I cannot see any difference between the bill of this species 

 and that of /. madayascariensis, but as my birds are so worn 

 I have followed Mr. Ridgway in calling it a distinct species. 



ZoSTEROPS ALDABRENSIS RidgW. 



Zosterops aldabrensis Ridgway, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xviii. 

 p. 537 (Aldabra). 

 One adult male. 



