290 MR. J. J LISTER ON THE [Apr. 21, 



Island ' ; aud the references iu the papers of Messrs. Arundel and 

 Hague mentioned in the footnote. 



I had the opportunity, thanks to the kindness of Capt. W. J. L. 

 Wharton, R.N., F.R.S., Hydrographer to the Admiralty, of visiting 

 the group in the months of June and July 18b9, in H.M.S. ' Egeria.' 

 The islands touched at durina; the crurse were Sydney, Phoenix, 

 Eiiderbury, Canton, Birnie, a' id Hull Islands, but it was only at 

 Phoenix Island and Canton Island that our stay was sufficiently long 

 to allow of any detailed observations on the birds. 



Sydney Island, Canton Island, and Hull Island are regular coral 

 atolls, having a complete or nearly complete ring of land enclosing 

 a lagoon. Phoenix Island, Enderbury Island, and Birnie Island are 

 smaller, and in them the lagoon is absent. At Hull Island and Sydney 

 Island the land ring supports an abundant growth of trees ; hut at 

 the other four islands the vegetation consists only of low bushes with 

 coarse grass and a few trailing shore-plants. 



The birds were assembled in the greatest numbers at Phoenix 

 Island. As the ' Egeria ' approached, a great column of wheeling 

 Frigate-birds could be seen over one part extending many hundreds 

 of feet up into the air, while at lower levels crowds of other birds 

 flew hither and thither, and the clamorous noise of their cries came 

 over the water from far away. 



The island is of a rounded triangular shape, and measures about 

 I a mile across. It is surrounded by a narrow reef of coral on which 

 the big rollers, coming up before the trade-wind, break, making a 

 deep undertone to the cries of the birds. On the leeward side 

 there is a gap in the reef, and here a party landed for the purpose 

 of making a survey of the island. 



The beach of coral boulders slopes gently up to a height of 

 some 12 to 15 feet above the level of the reef platform. From the 

 top of this beach ridge there is a rather steep slope down to the flat 

 inner part of the island. Thus the island is somewhat saucer- 

 shaped, being flat with a raised margin. At the ti:ne of our visit 

 the interior of the island was occupied by a shallow brackish |iond 

 with soft muddy sides, and swarming with mosquito larvEe. This 

 probably stood in a depression made when the island was worked 

 for guano. I found only four kinds of plants on the island. The 

 largest of these was a yellow-flowered sbrub {Sida fallax, Walp.) 

 belonging to the order of the Mallows, and growing from two to 

 three feet high, with trailing branches spreading outwards from the 

 central stems. The others were a coarse grass growing in tussocks 

 and two small trailing plants. Bare tracts of coral-shingle inter- 

 rupted the covering of vegetation here and there. 



I was on the island for about seven hours, and obtained specimens 

 of the following species of birds. 



Fregata minor (Gmel.). 



From the boat I went off to the part of the island over which the 

 Frigate-birds were wheeling. Here I found their liests in great 



' P. Z. S. 188(i. p. 79. 



