388 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Sterna fuliginosa, came out from under the low branches in such vast 

 numbers, that, in a sort of defile, I ran in amongst them, and merely 

 striking them down as they rose, soon obtained as many as I could 

 carry. There were three species of Sterna, one of Tachypetes, and per- 

 haps three of Sula, observed in this island, nearly all of which were 

 engaged in rearing their young; and it seems somewhat remarkable, 

 that of any species, we very rarely noticed more than a single egg or 

 young bird in a nest, however different the genera might be, as though 

 it was a conventional arrangement amongst themselves. 



The Sooty Tern {S. fuUginosa) was more numerous than all the 

 others combined. Its breeding-place occupied the weather side of the 

 grove, or that most exposed to the sea, and extended backwards per- 

 haps seventy feet. The trees on this side gradually diminished in 

 size, presenting outwards a dense thicket of branches almost to the 

 ground, beneath which the birds were obliged to crowd out before tak- 

 ing flight. The extremities of the branches over this breeding- place 

 were observed to be bare of leaves and thickened and projecting. In 

 some instances there were evident signs of the leaves having been 

 cropped, though whether universally so, or for what purpose, I am at 

 a loss to conjecture, but it evidently has had the effect of gradually 

 rendering the thicket more impervious. 



" The eggs of this species were placed on the ground, under the 

 thicket, without any nest, but with some regularity, at about the dis- 

 tance of two and a half feet apart. In two instances only, out of at 

 least a thousand observed, there were two eggs together. Their color 

 was dirty-whitish, splashed and mottled with reddish-brown. The 

 birds, after having once risen, mostly kept flying around the grove, 

 and their cries might have been heard at a considerable distance. It 

 was remarked that, on the discharge of a gun, or a lou(^ shout, there 

 was universal stillness for a few moments, but the noise soon recom- 

 menced." 



This bird is again repeatedly mentioned in Dr. Pickering's Jour- 

 nal, in fact at nearly all points visited by the Expedition in the Pacific 

 Ocean. It is one of the most extensively diffused of aquatic birds, 

 being found in temperate and tropical regions almost throughout the 

 world. Numerous specimens from various and widely separate locali- 

 ties are in the collection of the Expedition. 



