Letter from the Pacific. 431 
voyages always too many things to carry to leave room for 
books. 
In regard to the first-mentioned species I may add that 
I observed the same also in the Marshall group. All these 
sea-fowl are not easy to recognize, as they seldom come near 
the vessel, cruising along the tops and in the valleys of the 
waves, where they disappear in a short time. They were 
also very few in number, and I never observed more than 
two or three in the course of a day. Therefore I hesitate to 
give any names with certainty, although I watched these 
birds with especial interest. Once I saw a very strange bird, 
which I could not make out to be any thing else but a Leséris. 
This bird had quite a different manner of flying from Shear- 
waters. It was of a light brown colour, and came so near 
to the vessel that I could easily see a white cross band on the 
underpart of the primaries. Of “ Boobies” I observed two 
species, Dysporus cyanops and D. sula, which cruised round 
the vessel for a few times and then disappeared. They were 
observed only a few times singly, and when we were not more 
than perhaps a hundred sea-miles from land. Coming within 
sight of the latter large flocks of Noddies (Anous stolidus), 
mixed with Sterna melanauchen and a few Gygis, were re- 
peatedly observed. They hovered over the waves, attracted by 
swarms of fishes, on which they frequently pounced ; Sterna 
bergu especially falls down from a considerable height into 
the water and disappears for a moment. Of this species I 
observed once in the lagoon of Tarowa a large flock of perhaps 
fifty or more, sitting on a sand-bank, apparently resting. 
I may add here that I procured specimens of Sterna mela- 
nauchen in the first plumage in the beginning of October at 
Taluit. They were not then able to fly, and had black lancet- 
shaped spots on the front and vertex, besides other marked 
differences from the old bird. 
Very striking it was to me to find not a single Anous me- 
lanogenys in the Gilberts; the only Noddy observed by me 
was Anous stolidus. At Tarowa this bird was breeding in 
the middle of December. The nests, composed of twigs 
and roots, were placed on the lower leaves of cocoanut-trees 
