1}S91.] BIRDS OF THE PHOENIX ISLANDS. 297 



of four or six and perch on the top of a rock or shrub close at hand 

 in the most friendly manner. 



I found the egg afterwards at Canton Island early in July. It 

 was laid in a hollow among the rough weathered clinkers of coral 

 rock above high-tide level. A few bits of thin shells, pieces of coral, 

 and some sticks composed the nest. There was one egg in each of 

 the two nests I found. The egg is astonishingly large for the size 

 of the bird, measuring 1-5 in. in length and 103 in breadth. It is 

 pale cream-colour with a thin uniform sprinkhng of small spots, the 

 underlying ones pale greyish brown and indistinct, the superficial 

 ones sharply defined and rich brown. 



Peale found the eggs, three in a nest, at Puka-puka or Honden 

 Island in the Paumotu Archipelago, in August \ and Dr. Graffe 

 found them at M'Kean Island, in the Phoenix Group, in October 

 and November^. 



The bird ranges widely, at least over the Central Pacific. It has 

 been recorded from Christmas Island^, Fanning Island*, the 

 Marquesas ^, the Paumotus ^ and the Phoenix ^ and EUice Islands*. 



Gygis CANDIDA (Gmeh). 



Abundant here and at Canton Island. They frequently came 

 flying round my head in pairs, uttering their curious nasal note, and 

 approaching so close that I quite naturally put up my hand fancying 

 for the moment they vpould alight. They lay their solitary eggs on 

 the bare coral rock in the absence of the branches of trees which 

 they use elsewhere. The bird is distributed widely through tropical 

 seas. It appears that it is absent from the shores of Africa and the 

 Malay Archipelago. 



There were three kinds of Wading birds on the island — Curlews, 

 'PloYers (Charadrius fulvus, Gmel.), and Turnstones {Strepsilas inter- 

 pres (Linn.) ) ; but as my specimens came from Canton Island I 

 will defer mention of them to the account of our visit there. 



Rabbits are fairly plentiful on the island, having no doubt been 

 left here when it was worked for guano. 



A large scarlet Hermit-crab is very abundant, and proved a great 

 nuisance in attacking the birds that were left under shelter, tearing 

 their feet and the bare skin about the throat. The birds arrived at 

 the ship in rather a draggled condition, having been wetted by a 

 shower ; some of them had been mauled by the crabs, and, to finish 

 up, they were all more or less soused with sea-water as we were 

 putting off from the difficult landing. 



All the time we were on the island there was a deafening clamour 



^ Cassin, U. S. Expl. Exped., Mamm. & Orn. p. 394. 



^ Finscli and Hartlaub, ' Fauna Centralpolynesiens,' p. 240. 



^ Bennett, he, cit. 



* Arundel ; Tristram, Ibis, 1883, p. 48. 



' Tristram, Ibis, 1881, p. 252. 



<= Peale, Zool. U. S. Expl. Exped., Birds, p. 285. 



'^ Finsch and Hartlaub, loc. cit. 



« Whitmee ; Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 271. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1891, No. XX. 20 



