THE WHITE-TAILED TROPIC BIRD 



167 



long, the shafts and parts of the web next to them being black; the 

 remainder of the webs scarlet. Total length about 36 inches, culmen 2.55- 

 2.65, wing 12.6, tail 17-18.5, tarsus 1.2. 



Lays on the ground or rock-ledges without any nest, usually 

 on an island. The egg is pinkish-cream, marked with various 

 shades of reddish-brown, and thickly covered with minute 

 reddish-brown dots; it measures about 2.88 x 1.95 inch. 



Often called by sailors the Boatswain bird. 



"The Emu." Tom Tredale. 



Red-tailed Tropic-Bird iPhdethon erubescens) on Egg in Nesting-place, Sunday Island. 



The White-tailed Tropic-bird. 



Phaethon lepturiis. 



Tropical Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. 



General colour white, very similar to P. ruhricauda; bill yellow; four 

 outermost primaries with the outer web black to within an inch and a 

 half of the extremity. 



Nest on the bare ground, usually in hollows or under rocks 

 on islands. The single egg is greyish-pink, thickly freckled with 

 reddish-brown dots ; it measures about 2.06 x 1.51 inch. 



