Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 711 



fly in a broad stream 20 or 30 yards in breadth^ which often 

 continues without interruption till one o'clock in the day. 

 They settle on some place where fish is abundant and form 

 immense islands on the sea a mile or so in diameter. Wide 

 areas are covered by them, and they sit so close together 

 that those on the outside have to rise first into the air 

 before the birds in the interior are able to get enough 

 air under their wings to admit of their rising directly from 

 the sea. 



Next in importance to Bougainville's (Cormorant is the 

 Pelican, known as Pelecanus thagus. These birds also nest in 

 enormous flocks, which however, do not assemble so closely 

 as the Cormorants. They often occupy great areas in the 

 middle of Bougainville's Cormorants area, and are sur- 

 rounded on all sides by the Cormorants. In the nesting 

 season the two agree and are fairly harmonious together. 

 The Pelicans also present a wonderful sight when they ascend. 

 For the purpose of fishing they start off in long, narrow 

 streams, but congregate on the fishing grounds in consider- 

 able crowds. Here they drop down into the sea like so 

 many sacks. 



When they are feeding some five or six thousand may be 

 seen diving and fishing before they go home, having filled 

 the great sacks with which Nature has furnished them imder 

 their loAver beak. They are very much more timid than 

 Bougainville's Cormorants. One can go close up to the 

 nesting area of the latter without alarming them so that they 

 fly away, but the Pelican is off before it is possible to draw 

 very near. 



There are two other species of Cormorant which are of 

 smaller but still of considerable value. These are the Sea- 

 Crow and Grimard's Cormorant (P. nigra and P. cirriger). 

 The next most important birds are mostly on the Lobos 

 Islands. They are two species of Gaunet [Sulci var'iegata and 

 B. nebouxi), and, together with the Pelican, are the chief 

 producers of guano on those islands. They do not sit in the 

 same close array as the Cormorant. These Gannetsare very 



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