104 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



flew screeching, twisting, and turning in their rapid flight, from 

 one part of the wooded slopes to another. Here perched upon 

 a rock, there on the bare arm of some high out-leaning tree, 

 sat, beautiful in the Gull-like purity of their delicate grey and 

 white plumage, thelai^ge White-bellied Sea-eagles (C. leucog aster) . 

 Occasionally one passed us soaring high overhead, and one came 

 suddenly down past us from a great height, with a rush like that 

 of a falling meteor, and struck, scarcely 100 yards ahead of us, 

 and swooped away with, a large fish. Turning a little projecting 

 point, from some unnoticed rfook, out darted a lovely Kingfisher, 

 it passed within ten yards of the boat, and there was no mis- 

 taking Halcyon atrocapilius, but there was as much sea on as 

 we could well manage, it was next to impossible to fire, and it 

 would have been quite impossible to retrieve the bird if shot, so 

 that we were compelled let it dart away unmolested. Every 

 here and there all round the island we disturbed the Blue Reef- 

 herons, perched in ones and twos on piles of lava blocks over- 

 hanging or surrounded by the surf. In one place we came 

 upon a small party of Pond Herons [Ardeola Grayii) seemingly 

 somewhat out of place, amidst the roar of breaking waves, 

 and an atmosphere loaded with foam flakes. Along the whole 

 coast the inevitable Sandpiper [Tringoides hypoleucos), never 

 more than one at a time, was to be seen tripping along the rocks 

 at the water's edge, or as we approached nearer than it approved, 

 scudding away after the usual preliminary bows and tail jerks, 

 with rapid strokes of its little wings. 



As we approached the landing place on our return we got 

 under the lea of the island and were soon in still clear water. 



The landing place is in a tiny bay, on one side of where a 

 vast stream of lava has burst open the outer shell, and has then 

 fallen, from a height of about 50 feet, into the sea. 



The little bay is shallow and in the clear water shoals of mar- 

 vellously colored fish might be seen darting about, above and 

 amongst a perfect jungle of coral, madrepores, sponges, sea ane- 

 monies, and the like. At the head of this minute bay, just where 

 we landed amidst black blocks of coke-like lava, a fresh, hot 

 spring wells out in the midst of the sea water. It is not by any 

 means boiling ; droves of little amethystine-colored fish seemed 

 rather to prefer its neighbourhood than otherwise, and as to 

 cooking eggs in it, as some previous visitors were fortunate enough 

 to do, those ive put in emerged utterly raw after a quarter of an 

 hour's immersion, but still it was hotter than the hand could 

 well bear and the thermometer showed a temperature of nearly 

 140° F. 



