82 THE BIKDS OF AUSTRALIA 



The single egg is usually pinkish-white and marked with reddish- 

 brown blotches often blurred at their margins, and sometimes 

 most numerous at the larger end. The eggs measure about 

 2 X 1.50 inch. 



These birds nest in immense numbers on the Houtman's 

 Abrolhos. Gilbert, who was the first to describe the rookeries on 

 these islands, says that there the nest is constructed of seaweed, 

 about six inches in diameter and four to eight inches high. The 

 top is nearly flat, there being but a very slight hollow to prevent 

 the single egg from rolling off. The nests are so completely 



v.. 



Lesser Noddy: Micranous temdrostris. 



A.. J. CampbeU. 



plastered with the excrement of the bird, that at first sight they 

 seem to be entirely formed of that material. They are placed 

 either on the ground in a clear open space, or on the tops of the 

 thick scrub, over those of the Sooty Tern, the two species 

 incubating together in perfect harmony. The male Sooty Tern 

 sits quite close to the nest of the Noddy, while its mate is sitting 

 below on her own nest. The birds kept their posts with great 

 tenacity. They would not stir off the egg or young, but allowed 

 themselves to be trodden upon or taken off by the hand. The 

 young of both Terns are largely destroyed by a lizard which is 

 very abundant about the breeding places. In Torres Strait the 

 nests are made of small twigs, over which are strewn fragments 



