A VISIT TO FERNANDO DO NORONHA. 43 



b'lt a certain Captain Roma, who was going to work and export 

 guano from Fernando do Noronha, having persuaded Captain 

 Farrell, of the 'Nasmyth' (a steamer trading to Liverpool), to 

 take him and some of his men to the island, kindly introduced us 

 to Capt. Farrell, who took us also on boai"d, and in two days we 

 were landed on Fernando do Noronha. Here we were well 

 received and housed by the Director of this group of islands, and 

 at once began the work of exploring and collecting. 



The islands form a chain of about eight miles long, the most 

 western of which is the largest, and here is the establishment of 

 convicts, 1400 in number. The other islands are not inhabited, 

 with the exception of Rat Island, the most eastern of the group, 

 where there is the immense deposit of guano, which is being 

 worked by Captain Roma. The main island has a rich vegetation 

 of creepers and other plants, with dense wood at the further end, 

 although there are no trees of large size. This district is called 

 the Sapate. The whole island is both hilly and rocky. The cliffs 

 of basalt are draped with a dense growth of Cactus and other 

 plants, and near the village rises the Peak, a lofty rock of 

 phonolite, inaccessible even to the boldest alpine climber, and 

 the nesting-place of the Tropic-bird, Phceton cethereus, one of the 

 most conspicuous and beautiful birds to be found here. 



When the island was first discovered by the Portuguese sailor 

 whose name it bears it was tenanted by immense flocks of sea- 

 birds, and it was the sight of these that led to its discovery. 

 They have now well nigh disappeared, although not from exter- 

 mination, and all that remains to indicate their former abundance 

 is the immense deposit of guano, estimated at two million tons, 

 on the two easternmost islands. Perhaps the commonest bird here 

 is the Noddy, Anous leucocapillus ; it nests on the cliffs in many 

 places, and in the Sapate, where there are two or three colonies 

 of them in the trees. They live chiefly on the Sardinha, a small 

 and excellent fish which occurs in large shoals near the shore. 

 A young Noddy was brought to me, taken from the nest, and 

 I endeavoured to rear it, but it very soon died. The convicts 

 were skilful at snaring these sea-birds, and brought us besides 

 live Boobies, Sulci fusca, and Tropic-birds. The Boobies are 

 likewise very common, and may often be seen diving from a 

 considerable height into the surf for Sardinhas. They nest on 

 the cliffs at Egg Island, and also on St. Michael's Mount. The 



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