1476 • Australian Natural History. 



the distance of a mile. Crossing the reef, we landed on a steep 

 sandy beach, and a few yards further brought us upon one of those 

 vast breeding-places of birds, of which none but an eye-witness can 

 form an adequate idea. The ground was so thickly strewed with eggs, 

 that we could not walk about without occasionally crushing them un- 

 der foot ; myriads of terns, noddies and boobies darkened the air 

 around ; the mingling of loud, harsh, discordant cries was absolutely 

 deafening, and caused even a painful sensation, which, with the stench 

 from numbers of putrify in g carcasses and other sources, was almost in- 

 sufferable. The birds appeared so little accustomed to the sight of 

 man, that many, busily engaged in incubation, allowed of very close ap- 

 proach. Some frigate-birds sitting upon their nests awaited our coming 

 up with perfect composure, and stoutly defended their eggs with open 

 beak, nor would they take to wing until pushed off the nest with a 

 stick. A large flock of gannets and boobies covered a bare spot in 

 the centre of the island, chequered black and white with their dense 

 masses. The eggs and newly-fledged young of the tern and noddy 

 were turned to good account by the party established upon the 

 island, and with an occasional turtle, now and then some fish, and 

 abundance of fresh vegetables, they fared considerably better than'on 

 board ship. I amused myself one day with making a calculation of 

 the consumption of young birds and eggs during the month of June, 

 and found it to amount, at the lowest reasonable estimate, to 3,000 of 

 the former, and 1410 dozen of the latter. 



The birds found by me on Raine's Islet are of eighteen species ; of 

 these the three first may be regarded as stragglers, having occurred only 

 once, the remainder being either permanent residents or visitants dur- 

 ing the breeding season ; eight are land-birds, three waders, and the 

 others are sea-fowl. 



Callocalia arborea Thalasseus strenuus 



Rhipidura Thalassipora fuliginosa 



Porzana Anous stolidus 



Rallus Philippensis ? Phaeton phaenicurus 



Erodias Atagen Ariel 



Erodias Sula personata 



Charadrius Virginianus Sula Fiber 



Strepsilas australis Sula 



Xema Jamesonii Puffinus 



To these were afterwards added by Lieutenant Ince, Anous leucoca- 

 pillus, Thalassipora Panayensis, and Atagen Aquilus. 



Rallus Philippensis. Is very abundant all over the island, the 



