﻿OBSERVATIONS 
  IN 
  NATURAL 
  HISTORY, 
  ,fr. 
  415 
  

  

  I 
  might 
  mention 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  practically 
  no 
  mammals 
  in 
  any 
  

   of 
  these 
  islands, 
  Bats 
  excepted. 
  There 
  are 
  of 
  course 
  Eats, 
  but 
  

   these 
  are 
  all 
  imported, 
  and 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  well-known 
  species, 
  

   Mus 
  rattus. 
  

  

  On 
  May 
  6fch 
  we 
  sailed 
  from 
  Suva 
  for 
  Thursday 
  Island, 
  Torres 
  

   Straits. 
  On 
  May 
  16th 
  several 
  moths 
  appeared 
  on 
  board 
  ; 
  these 
  

   must 
  have 
  come 
  many 
  miles 
  by 
  sea, 
  the 
  nearest 
  land 
  being 
  New 
  

   Guinea, 
  sist} 
  7 
  miles 
  distant. 
  

  

  During 
  our 
  passage 
  to 
  Torres 
  Straits 
  several 
  Gannets 
  (Sulci 
  

   leucogastra) 
  came 
  on 
  board, 
  and 
  I 
  was 
  surprised 
  to 
  see 
  with 
  what 
  

   ease 
  they 
  managed 
  to 
  sit 
  on 
  the 
  rigging. 
  I 
  should 
  not 
  have 
  

   believed 
  that 
  a 
  clumsy 
  web 
  -footed 
  bird 
  like 
  aGannet 
  could 
  perch 
  

   on 
  a 
  rope 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  they 
  did. 
  I 
  noticed 
  during 
  our 
  passage 
  

   through 
  Torres 
  Straits 
  that 
  the 
  islands 
  towards 
  the 
  Pacific 
  end 
  

   are 
  of 
  coral 
  formation, 
  while 
  those 
  to 
  the 
  westward 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  

   volcanic. 
  Several 
  of 
  the 
  Torres 
  Straits 
  Islands 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  

   stopping-places 
  of 
  many 
  birds 
  migrating 
  from 
  New 
  Guinea 
  to 
  

   Australia, 
  and 
  vice 
  versa. 
  As 
  an 
  instance, 
  I 
  might 
  state 
  that 
  on 
  

   Thursday 
  Island 
  I 
  put 
  up 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Bustards 
  (Otis 
  australis 
  ?) 
  

   close 
  to 
  the 
  town, 
  a 
  most 
  unlikely 
  place 
  for 
  these 
  birds. 
  We 
  

   spent 
  several 
  days 
  at 
  Thursday 
  Island, 
  and 
  whilst 
  there 
  I 
  made 
  

   several 
  collecting 
  trips 
  in 
  this 
  island 
  and 
  the 
  neighbouring 
  Prince 
  

   of 
  Wales 
  Island. 
  An 
  interesting 
  sight 
  on 
  these 
  islands 
  was 
  the 
  

   enormous 
  nests 
  of 
  the 
  White 
  Termite, 
  several 
  of 
  these 
  nests 
  

   being 
  fully 
  eight 
  feet 
  in 
  height. 
  

  

  On 
  both 
  these 
  islands 
  I 
  found 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Slowworm 
  (Lialis 
  

   burtoni) 
  abundant. 
  This 
  species 
  has 
  a 
  longer 
  and 
  more 
  sharply 
  

   pointed 
  head 
  than 
  our 
  Common 
  Slowworm. 
  

  

  On 
  May 
  23rd 
  we 
  left 
  Thursday 
  Island 
  for 
  Singapore. 
  All 
  

   the 
  day 
  we 
  were 
  passing 
  numbers 
  of 
  Sea-Snakes, 
  which 
  were 
  

   lying 
  motionless 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  water. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  Snakes 
  

   was 
  foul-hooked 
  on 
  a 
  line 
  which 
  we 
  were 
  trailing 
  astern 
  ; 
  it 
  

   proved 
  to 
  be 
  Acalyptophis 
  peronii. 
  

  

  The 
  remainder 
  of 
  our 
  voyage 
  was 
  by 
  a 
  route 
  too 
  well 
  known 
  

   to 
  need 
  much 
  description. 
  Touching 
  at 
  Singapore, 
  I 
  made 
  a 
  

   day's 
  excursion 
  inland, 
  collecting 
  insects. 
  Here 
  I 
  noticed 
  that 
  

   the 
  Sparrows 
  in 
  the 
  streets 
  were 
  all 
  Tree- 
  Sparrows 
  (Passer 
  

   montanus). 
  

  

  From 
  Singapore 
  we 
  steamed 
  to 
  Colombo, 
  from 
  thence 
  to 
  

  

  