66 BATCHIAN. [chap. xxiv. 



its size larger than those of any other pigeon, and its 

 pectoral muscles are immense. A fact communicated to 

 me by the son of my friend Mr. Duivenboden of Ternate, 

 would show that, in accordance with these peculiarities of 

 structure, it possesses the power of flying long distances. 

 Mr. D. established an oil factory on a small coral island, a 

 hundred miles north of New Guinea, with no intervening 

 land. After the island had been settled a year, and 

 traversed in every direction, his son paid it a visit ; 

 and just as the schooner was coming to an anchor, a bird 

 was seen flying from seaward which fell into the water 

 exliausted before it could reach the shore. A boat was 

 sent to pick it up, and it was found to be a Nicobar 

 pigeon, which must have come from New Guinea, and 

 flown a hundred miles, since no such bird previously 

 inhabited the island. 



This is certainly a very curious case of adaptation to 

 an unusual and exceptional necessity. The bird does 

 not ordinarily require great powers of flight, since it 

 lives in the forest, feeds on fallen fruits, and roosts 

 in low trees like other ground pigeons. Tlie majority 

 of the individuals, therefore, can never make full use 

 of their enormously powerful wings, till the exceptional 

 case occurs of an individual being blown out to sea, 

 or driven to emigrate by the incursion of some carnivo- 

 rous animal, or the pressure of scarcity of food. A 



