286 CORALS AND CORAL ISLANDS. 



is sometimes very astonishing. They are gross feeders, and I 

 have often seen one disgorge three or four large flying fish 

 fifteen or eighteen inches in length. 



"The Frigate Bird (Tachypetes aquilus) I have already 

 alluded to. It is a large, rapacious bird, the tyrant of the 

 feathered community. It lives almost entirely by piracy, 

 forcing other birds to contribute to its support. These frig- 

 ate birds hover over the island constantly, lying in wait for 

 fishing birds returning from the sea, to whom they give chase, 

 and the pursued bird escapes only by disgorging its prey, 

 which the pursuer very adroitly catches in the air. They also 

 prey upon flying fish and others that leap from sea to sea, but 

 never dive for fish and rarely even approach the water. 



" The above are the kinds of birds most numerously repre- 

 sented, and to which we owe the existing deposits of guano. 

 Besides these are the Tropic Birds, which are found in consid- 

 erable numbers on Howland's Island, but seldom on Jarvis's 

 or Baker's. They prefer the former because there are large 

 blocks or fragments of beach rock, scattered over the island's 

 surface, under which they burrow out nests for themselves. A 

 service is sometimes required of this bird, which may, perhaps, 

 be worthy of notice. A setting bird was taken from her nest 

 and carried to sea by a vessel just leaving the island. On the 

 second day, at sea, a rag, on which was written a message, 

 was attached to the bird's feet, who returned to the nest, 

 bringing with it the intelligence of the departed vessel. This 

 experiment succeeded so well that, subsequently, these birds 

 were carried from Howland's to Baker's Island (forty miles 

 distant), and, on being liberated there, one after the other, 

 as occasion demanded, brought back messages, proving them- 

 selves useful in the absence of other means of communication. 

 The game birds, snipe, plover and curlew, frequent the islands 



