338 CORAL AND ATOLLS 



AYES. 



Colu;brifoemes. 



(1) Carpophaga Whartoni, Sharpe. 



Native name, Pergdm. 



Introduced from Christmas Island, but by 1906 it was 

 practically extinct in the atoll. 



Ralliformes. 



(2) Rallus philippiensis, Linn. 

 Native name, Ayam utan. 



Very abundant on all the islands, and is everywhere very 

 tame, it being a matter of some difficulty to make it take 

 wing. It feeds on the shore when the tide is out, but it may 

 also be seen perched high in papaia trees eating the ripe fruit, 

 and it has a bad name for eating the eggs of domestic fowls. 

 It nests in September, in tufts of grass, about a foot from the 

 ground ; it lays from two to six eggs, very like the English 

 corncrake's. The young are all black when hatched, and can 

 run directly they are out of the Qgg. The call-note is a shrill 

 grating sound, and in the breeding-season the cock adds a 

 deep croak not unlike the noise made by frogs. This species 

 is not found in Christmas Island. 



Larifoemes. 



(3) Sterna fuliginosa, Gmel. 



Native name, Burung dali. 



Breeds in Keeling Island but not in very great numbers. 

 It keeps very much to itself on the breeding-grounds, and lays 

 one Qgg in the sand above the beach rise, on the western side 

 of the island. By sailors it is called the whale-bird. Although 

 not uncommon, and often seen at sea. far from the atoll, it 

 does not occur on Christmas Island. 



