FRIG A TE-BIRDS. 



303 



"Judging from the size of the bird, 1 should Say the nest is about 

 2 ft. in diameter, and, when in a forlc, to be 18 in. deep. Others on flat 

 branches are shallower. They are composed entirely of twigs and small 

 branches, and I could detect no lining in those nests which were thrown 

 down to me. 



"The eggs are invariably three in number, and on the 11th November all 

 I took were either fresh or only slightly incubated. The female bird sits 

 very closely, and frequently I found that the bird would not fly off her eggs 

 till I fired a gun. It was a most ludicrous sight to see the sitting birds 

 stretch neck and head out of the nest to have a look at us, as often happened. 



"Notwithstanding the millions of birds which breed in this forest, a most 

 wonderful silence prevails. The Pelican seems to be perfectly mute, and the 

 Adjutants only bellow at intervals. The only sound which is consequently 

 heard — and after a time, even this sound passes unnoticed — is a sort of ^olian 

 harp caused by the movement of the wings of innumerable birds high in air." 



In certain particulars the Frigate-Birds, of which there are only two, 

 are closely allied to the Pelicans. Like the latter birds, they have the 

 clavicle anchylosed to the sternum, and other osteological 

 characters in common, while they also have a large gular The Frig-ate- 

 pouch. Besides this, they are remarkable for their Birds. —Sub-order 

 hooked and almost raptorial bill, and their habits Fregati. 



partake of those of the Birds of Prey to a great extent. 

 The flight of the Frigate-Birds is wonderful, and can be sustained for an 

 extraordinary length of time ; while the birds have a complete arrangement 

 of air-cells beneath the skin which they are able to inflate at will. Mr. 

 Palmer, who collected birds for the Hon. Walter Rothschild in Laysan and 

 the adjacent islets, has given 

 some interesting notes on the 

 habits of the Frigate-Birds. In 

 his diary of 20th June he writes : 

 — "WhUe walking in Laysan I 

 turned some of the Frigate-Birds 

 which had young off their nests. 

 Scarcely had I pushed one off 

 when another Frigate-Bird would 

 rush up, seize the young one, fly 

 off, and eat it. Sometimes the 

 parent bird would give chase, H^. 50.— The Great Feioate-Bieds (Fretntfa OQwiia). 

 but it always ended in one or the 



other eating the young bird. I could scarcely believe my own eyes, so I 

 tried several ; but they would even take young birds out of the nest which 

 were almost fully feathered." Again from Liasinsky Island he writes :— - 

 "The Frigate-Birds have their nests on the scrub round the lake. It is 

 very interesting to watch them getting their food. In the daytime they soar 

 about all over the island, and every now and then one of them picks up a 

 young Tern. Then a number of others chase him, and keep taking the prey 

 one from' the other till at last it is eiten or drops to the ground. But they 

 generally make for the sea with their prey, as it is easier for them to pick up 

 on the sea than on land. When soaring they hardly seem to move a 

 wing, and sometimes I have seen them cleaning and picking their feathers 

 as they floated along in the air. In the evening, just before sunset, they 

 hover close round the island, waiting for the Petrels and other birds to come 



