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Miss A. Hutchinson



the cocoa nut and rubber plantations, and I must not forget to

mention the three bright scarlet birds, about the size of Magpies,

which I saw, flying together in the bush ; the flight was something

like that of a pigeon. I am sorry to say that I am very ignorant of

the names of the tropical birds found on the East African coast, and

would have been so glad to have had somebody with me who knew

them. Most of our passengers were coming out for big game shoot¬

ing' and seemed to know very little about the birds.


The reason for sending to the Magazine this little account of

my voyage to Natal—which I expect has been made by many of the

members of our Avicultural Society—was to tell of a bird incident

which happened when we were in the middle of the Red Sea. I

had just finished dressing for dinner, and was sitting up in the

writing room, when suddenly there was a whirr of wings and a large

bird flopped on to the floor almost at my feet ; it had evidently

been dazzled by the light, and had dashed through the opening from

the deck into the room which was just at the top of the companion

above the dining saloon. It was so dazed that it allowed me to pick

it up gently, and was quite passive while I examined it carefully to

see if it was hurt and also to see what kind of bird it was ; luckily

it was uninjured. I took it to be a very beautiful specimen of the

Common Tropic Bird, which I suppose is of the family of Terns,

judging by its two long white tail feathers, and I think I was right,

for it exactly answered to the description of one in E. J. Detmold’s

“ Book of Baby Birds,” which, by the bye is a book worth having,

if only for the illustrations, which are beautifully done. Detmold

says “ In appearance, the Tropic Bird is something like a Gull or

one of the larger Terns. He has a strong pointed bill, nearly

arched ; his plumage is of a satiny white with curved lines on the

back, while a few of his feathers are black, tipped with white.

The four toes are joined by a web, and his flight is more like that

of a duck, since he gives constant and rapid strokes of the wing.

He is able to soar without resting for longer than almost any other

sea bird, and it is said that he can pass whole days in the air with¬

out needing to settle. He is a great favourite with the sailors who

give him the name of Boatswain on account of his shrill whistle.

The Tropic Bird builds no nest, but lays a single egg, generally in



