THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 126 



or May. If it is going to breed in the Southern Hemisphere, the 

 date is probably about September." 



Curlew {Ntimenius ) appears throughout the year. 



*Sooty Tern {^Sterna fuliginosd). These birds are called " Wide- 

 awakes" from the peculiar cry they utter. They breed in a com- 

 pany of many hundreds, laying one egg upon the bare ground, 

 generally in November, but sometimes in April and May. 

 *Panayan Tern {Sterna ancestheta) is similar in appearance, and 

 habit to the Sooty Tern, but smaller. *Noddy Terns {A?ious 

 stolidus) resort in numbers to the small islands in the lagoon to 

 breed. No nests are made, their single eggs being simply de- 

 posited a few yards apart. They commence to lay in November, 

 but sometimes a few birds are earlier. 



Blue Tern {Atioi/s coeruleiis), found on islands in the lagoon. 

 At early morning they fly in companies of about 50 or 60 towards 

 the outer beach, returning at evening. They are by no means 

 timid birds. In October they also lay a single egg under some 

 shelving piece of coral. Hitherto I think the egg has not been 

 described. Its ground colour is of a soft, warmish white, mode- 

 rately distributed with spots of pinkish red and light dull purple, 

 the latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. 

 Dimensions, 37 x 2*8 cm. Another specimen has less and finer 

 markings, but with the addition of one or two large bold blotches 

 of dark brown. Dimensions, 3'85 x 2*8 cm. 



Lanulated Tern {Sterna lunata) is an occasional visitor, pos- 

 sessing a very restricted range in that region of the Pacific. Small 

 White Terns {Cygis microrhynchus) continually frequent the 

 island. 



*Masked Gannet {Sula cyanops). One or two eggs are laid in 

 November, but sometimes in March, upon the ground at the east 

 side of the lagoon. Nests made of herbage. Young in down 

 white. Both male and female assist at incubation, and fear to 

 leave their tasks when Frigate Birds are hovering about. *Brown 

 Gannets {Sula leucogastra) deposit in company two or three eggs in 

 herbage-constructed nests upon the small islands in the lagoon 

 during the months of November and December. 



*Red-legged Gannet {Sula piscator) is the rarest of the 

 " Boobies." It occasionally breeds upon the island. One egg is 

 laid. Young have been noticed in December. *Small Frigate 

 Bird {Atagen inino7') always inhabits Maiden Island, but is found 

 in greater numbers during the laying season — March and April — 

 when they arrive in thousands and take up their quarters upon 

 the lagoon islands. One egg is laid. The young in the down 



* Australian birds. 



