1472 The Zoologist — December, 1868. 



The Birds of Si. Helena. By Eden Baker, Esq. * 



I willingly comply with your request to give you the best account 

 I am able of the birds of St. Helena, only stipulating that, as I have 

 no pretensions to scientific knowledge on the subject, you must expect 

 accuracy only where facts and personal observations are mentioned. 



Considering the position of St. Helena, it is singularly destitute of 

 the oceanic birds of the South Atlantic. The great albatross and the 

 smaller man-of-war bird are seen from ships near the island, but never 

 approach its shores. The Cape pigeon follows ships with a south- 

 easter from the Cape of Good Hope to St. Helena, but when the island 

 is approached it leaves them to roam elsewhere. Penguins have been 

 brought in numbers from Ichaboe and the other guana isles on the 

 south-west coast, and let loose in the harbour here : they were never 

 seen again. So far as I know we have only three sea-birds here as 

 residents, and one visitor. 



1. The "Tropic Bird," vulgarly so called, but whose card properly 

 written bears the name of Phaeton aethereus, deserves the chief place. 

 From its immense expanse of wing, its short legs, and the shape of 

 the beak, it seems to belong to the albatross family, but doubtless its 

 whole history can be found in any book of sea-birds. It inhabits 

 certain lofty precipices overhanging the sea, and the nests are some- 

 times cruelly robbed of the young birds by skilful and daring climbers, 

 who bring them to the town, vainly expecting a great price, in which, 

 of course, they are disappointed, and the poor things soon die. The 

 plumage of the old bird is wonderfully thick, downy, strong and light : 

 the breast part is cut off with the skin to make plumes for ladies' hats ; 

 it is very beautiful, but the live bird itself, sailing in the air at about 

 two hundred yards above the sea, apparently motionless, with its 

 wings wide outspread, and the two long tail-feathers looking like the 

 tail of a kite, and then to see it suddenly drop straight down into the 

 water, as if shot, after the manner of sea-birds catching fish, is a far 

 more beautiful sight, and makes one regret that any one should ever 

 be able to get at their nests to plunder them. Nevertheless I will 

 send you a tropic bird's egg. 



2. Next comes the beautiful little " White Bird." It is a small tern, 

 not so large as a pigeon, snow-white in plumage, red beak and legs; 

 generally seen iu pairs, very numerous in some parts of the coast ; 



* Communicated by Henry F. Bailey, Esq. 



