THE LACCADIVES AND THE WU2ST COAST. 429 
can adequately convey an idea of the brightness of the tints 
that are blended to form one of these real ocean gems. 
First, there is the central portion of the lagoon, an exquisite 
chrysophrase green, then a broad zone of this color, dotted 
and freckled with olive green, then the reef itself, a deep olive 
brown, interspersed with little patches of dark green, and every- 
where frosted with the snowy curls of the breakers, then 
a narrower or wider belt of bright apple green, and beyond, 
the deep purple of the open sea. 
We remained three days at this reef, as its position had to be 
accurately observed, and during this time I circumnavigated 
it and went all about it. 
There is not the smallest trace of vegetation on any one of 
the tiny islets, the largest of which, that on the northern extre- 
mity of the reef, is only about 200 yards long, by perhaps 50 
yards in breadth. Its highest point may be about 7 feet above 
high water level. 
About the reef we saw a solitary Booby (S. jer), numerous 
Turnstones (S. interpres), and great numbers of Noddys and 
Terns, Sternula minuta, Sterna Bergit, S. bengalensis ; S. albigena, 
S. fuliginosa, S. anosthetus, and Anous stolidus, and secured many 
specimens, but what interested me most was to find, on the 
northern islet, both the Noddy and §. fuliginosa breeding. 
The moment we set foot on the island we were positively 
mobbed by tens of thousands of these birds; crowds of other 
Terns, especially of anosthetus, were sitting about the place 
when we arrived, but these all took themselves off to one of 
the other islets and left us to settle matters with the Noddies 
and Sooty Terns. 
We found that the latter had nearly finished breeding ; with 
all our care we could only find some 380 of their eggs, and all 
so hard set, that I only succeeded in preserving 23 of them 
after a hard day’s work. On the other hand, the reef swarmed 
with the young ones, that ran about chirping between one’s 
legs in such wise that it was difficult to avoid treading on them. 
They were very tame and fearless, most comical and yet sensible 
looking little fellows. We put about a dozen in a carpet bag, 
and took them on board, meaning to rear them, but, though quite 
reconciled to their new position, only now and then uttering 
alittle chirping cry, doubtless of astonishment, at their parent’s 
neglect, they would neither eat nor drink anything we could 
give them, so, after keeping them 36 hours, and selecting three 
which we killed for specimens, we took the rest back, and let 
them loose again on their minute spot of native soil. In less 
than three minutes, amidst the pattering uproar of thousands of 
pairs of wings and through the haze of the dense flock of birds 
