Timid Sea Citizens 353 



pointed almost like those of a swift. The beak is 

 straight and nearly white, the eyes, in common with 

 most sea-birds, full and dark. The legs are long in 

 proportion, and of a yellowish hue, feet small with 

 delicate webs, and tail slender and tapering. In spite 

 of the shape of its wings it does not ily with the darting 

 sweep of the swallow, nor has it the bold, decided 

 action of the thrush when on the wing. In company 

 with a band of its companions it flies slowly, almost 

 heavily for so slightly built a bird, the whole flock 

 rising and falling like a wave at a fairly level distance 

 of some thirty or forty feet above the sea. Their 

 movements are as unlike those of the ordinary sea- 

 birds as one can imagine, they appear to have no 

 objective, and to be so timid that they hardly dare 

 to descend and feed. Yet, as far as one can tell, there 

 is no ground for this excessive fear. They do not 

 appear to have any enemies, as indeed may be said 

 of most of the Southern Sea birds, among men or birds 

 or fish, so that when they die it is almost always by the 

 operation of some peculiarly natural force. 



The only time that I can ever remember seeing 

 these tiny sea-wanderers feeding was once when landed 

 upon an outlying cay of the Loyalty Islands for wood 

 and cocoa-palm leaves for making brooms. We had 

 toiled very hard for some hours, and had at last been 

 graciously accorded a short rest for a smoke. I lay 

 separated from my shipmates under the shadow of a 

 great rock out of the fierce noon-day sun, dreamily 

 puffing at my pipe, and gazing over the dazzling stretch 

 of sand before me at the bold landward rush of the 

 mighty breakers. Suddenly there appeared a small 

 flock of Whale Birds gliding undulatory towards me 

 from seaward, and with many a graceful flutter, 

 settling and rising again, they finally folded all their 



23 



