1 12 Director's Annica/ Report. 



ing their half-grown young. The nest, a low flat heap, invariably 

 placed on the ground, is a rude strudlure twelve to twenty inches 

 across by from two to six inches high, composed of sticks, dry 

 leaves and rubbish piled loosely together, in the top of which is a 

 depression to retain the eggs. Some nests were little more than 

 wallowed-out places in the sand. The edge of these had been 

 finished off, as a- rule, by the addition of such leaves and twigs as 

 the mother bird could reach without leaving the nest. Owners of 

 these more slipshod excuses for nests seemed conscious of being 

 remiss in the performance of this preparatory maternal funcflion. 

 Whenever we would approach they w'ould at once busy themselves 

 in rearranging the meagre materials about them. Picking up a 

 stick from one side and carefully laying it down on the other ; catch- 

 ing up a leaf here and putting it where the stick had been. Thus 

 they would appear entirely engrossed until we came within a few 

 feet, when, after hissing and snapping their bills a few times, they 

 would disgorge such food as they might happen to have, and 

 clumsily leaving the nest would go off to sea, always returning in a 

 few minutes to see w^hat might have happened during their absence. 



Two eggs were the usual complement, though not uncommonly 

 only one was deposited. One is usually quite soiled, evidently by 

 the bird's feet, while the second and last to hatch is always clean 

 and fresh looking. 



From the difference in the appearance of the two nestlings I 

 conje(5lured that a period of ten days must have elapsed between 

 the deposition of the eggs. The chicks, when first out of the shells, 

 are repugnant looking, naked little things, but they rapidly grow 

 a coat of fine white down which they retain until about half-grown. 

 At this period they look like veritable "fools in the down", and 

 make the name "booby" equally as applicable to the young as the 

 old. The first new dark feathers to show are the coverts along the 

 humerus, the primaries and the tail feathers. As the bird begins 

 to feather the down is ebraded from the ends of the barbs of the 

 feathers, which leaves the new plumage over the back clove-brown 

 with paler edges. The eggs are incubated and the young fed b}' 

 both parent birds. Fish is the food most in favor. It is taken by the 

 young putting their bills crosswise in the open mouth of the parent 

 bird, when they receive their nourishment without farther ado. 



A hissing noise made by both old and young birds when dis- 

 turbed is not unlike that made by a setting goose ; but the bite of 



