Habits of Fregata Aquila 155 



developed. Through his courtesy the accompanying picture 

 is reproduced. 



Birds of this species are all cannibals, and will quickly de- 

 vour any egg or young bird left unprotected ; hence constant 

 vigilance is necessary on the part of the parents, who take 

 turns in protecting the nest. Despite this watchful care I 

 more than once saw a youngster dragged from' its nest, car- 

 ried high in the) air, and torn to pieces by his harpy relatives. 



When suddenly disturbed the parent bird not infrequently 

 disgorges a fish beside its offspring before taking flight. 

 Some observers believe this is to provide food for the young 

 during the parent's absence, but the fact that this fish is never 

 eaten by the young bird would seem to indicate that the 

 parent simply wished to relieve itself of an additional weight 

 so that it could more readily get under way. This inference 

 is supported by the fact that gannets and other sea-birds when 

 disturbed on the beach, some distance from their nests, were 

 observed to act in this same way before taking wing. 



Man-o'-war birds are light and spongy in structure, the 

 body, wings, and paper-like bones being filled with a series 

 of air chambers. On comparatively calm days they sail with 

 motionless wings on the air-currents hundreds of feet above 

 the island when it would be necessary for an albatross to fly 

 very swiftly and with much muscular effort in order to keep 

 suspended. Although masters of the air, these birds are al- 

 most helpless on the ground, their tiny feet and weak legs 

 affording insecure support for the bulk of their enormous 

 wings ; and again, although totipalmate, they never alight on 

 the water. A member of our party once threw a light bam- 

 boo stick into the air, thinking that the playful creatures 

 might try to catch it, but unfortunately it came in contact 

 with one of the flyers, and so fragile was its texture that the 

 blow broke both its wings. On another occasion a flying 

 man-o'-war inadvertently collided with an albatross, breaking 

 one of its own wings, while the albatross was apparently un- 

 harmed. They are fond of amusement, a fact particularly 

 true of the immature birds that are easily recognizable by 



