1891.] BIRDS OF THE PHCENIX ISLANDS. 293 



retracted to the level of the general contour of the neck. The 

 interior of the pouch is in communication with the air-sacs of the 

 neck ; it is therefore filled and emptie;! through the bronchi. Bands 

 containing blood-vessels, with which the wall of the pouch is very 

 richly supplied, traverse the cavity, passing- from the fleshy part 

 of the neck to the outer wall. On blowing through a tube into the 

 great air-sac at the base of the neck, the pouch becomes distended, 

 and remains so if a ligature is tied round the neck, below the 

 pouch. 



By far the greater number of nests at Phoenix Island contained a 

 single white egg, about as large as a hen's ; some nests, however, 

 contained two eggs. There were no young birds at this island. 



At Canton Island, though some nests contained young birds, 

 others were being built. I saw a male bird bringing sticks in his 

 bill to the female, who arranged thein in the nest. There are pools of 

 fresh water on this island, and here and at Swain Island (south of 

 the Union Islands), where there is a freshwater lagoon, I saw 

 Frigate-birds coming down to drink. Sweeping down to the 

 surface, they scooped up the water with the lower mandible. 



Peale obtained the eggs of Frigate-birds (he does not give the 

 species) in the Caroline Islands (Enderby Island) in January, and at 

 Puka-puka (Honden Island), in the Low Archipelago, in August, and 

 at other islands during the intervening period. He states bis 

 opinion that there is no definite period for the nesting of these birds 

 in equatorial regions. The fact that there was not a single un- 

 fledged young bird among the thousands of nests with eggs at 

 Phoenix Island shows that the members of this coloiay had begun 

 nesting at the same time. 



Phaeton rubricauda, Bodd, 



There were several of this bird, which ranges through the tropical 

 parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. One was caught in its 

 nesting-place, which was in a pile of the rough coral blocks which 

 had been thrown together by the guano-diggers. There was a 

 single egg. At Canton Island I found the birds incubating their 

 solitary eggs on the ground under cover of bushes ; they were so 

 tame as to allow themselves to be caught. 



The plumage was tinged with a pale pink colour, though more 

 deeply iii some than in others. 



There were three kinds of Gannets on the island : — Sula cyanops 

 (Sundev.), S. leucogaster (Bodd.), and /S'. piscatrix (Linn.). These 

 species all have very extensive ranges in the tropics. 



Sula cyanops (Sundev.). 



There were numbers of these birds, some solitary with their eggs 

 and some in groups. The eggs are laid on the ground, singly or in 

 pairs ; they are of a pale blue colour almost covered with the white, 

 chalky, uric-acid covering. In some cases there were young birds, 

 who with the parents hissed and barked defiance with great spirit 



