50 ANCHOB OPF BRAMBLE CAY. 



N.E.^ but owing' to calms and li^ht winds had to 

 anchor twice. A strono- N.W. breeze which came 

 on last nig-ht^ and caused us to drag' the stream 

 anchor^ at length brought us up to our destination^ 

 near which we anchored in 25 fathoms, sand, the 

 island bearing* N.W. ^ W. distant a mile and a 

 quarter. In the afternoon I landed for an hour, 

 passing many turtle on the water both g'oing and 

 returning'. As usual the islet was covered with sea 

 birds, only two species, however, of which were 

 breeding-. The Brown Booby {Sula fused) and a 

 large tern [Thalasseus Pelecanoides) existed in about 

 equal numbers ; the latter, in one great colony, had 

 laid their solitary larg-e speckled eg'g'S in a slig"ht 

 excavation in the sand, the former were scattered 

 all over the island, and had regTilar nests of weed, 

 containing' either two eggs, or a single young bird 

 covered with white down. Well does the booby 

 deserve its name. The grotesque and stupid look 

 of the old bird standing by its eggs or young — 

 irresolute whether to defend them or not, and 

 staring with an intensely droll expression at the 

 intruders — is very amusing ; at leng-th on being too 

 closely approached, it generally disgorges the con- 

 tents of its stomach — consisting at this time of very 

 fine fl}"ing fish — and after some half shuffling, half 

 fl3dng movements, manages to get on wing and be 

 off". As the tern's eggs were within a short time of 

 being' hatched we broke all we saw in order to 

 ensure some newly laid ones in a day or two. 



