A FRIGATE BIRD ROOKERY." 109^ 



Hermanos Islands, and shall give an account of their 

 nesting habits on the latter islands later on ; but here the 

 sites chosen for their nests were quite unlike anything 

 we had seen before. They were large clumsy masses 

 of sticks and grass, not supported and built up between 

 the branching divisions of the trees as in the case, say, of a 

 rook's nest; but simply laid upon the very tops of th& 

 trees, where they rested on the densely -matted surface 

 of the leaves themselves. 



After several attempts, we succeeded in finding a tree 

 which we could climb ; for we were anxious to get some 

 photographs of these birds engaged in the work of incu- 

 bating their eggs. One of the sailors followed up the tree, 

 and between us, we managed to get ourselves and the 

 kodak in such a position, fchat by standing on the very 

 slender and swaying branches at the top, we could 

 protrude our heads through the spreading canopy of leaves 

 into the full glare of the sun. 



We have often thought since, what an intense surprise 

 this sudden apparition of our heads and shoulders must 

 have been to these birds ; for immediately in front of us and 

 within a few feet on either side and behind us, were about 

 a dozen pairs of frigate-birds with their nests. Some of 

 these refused to move, apparently having no conception 

 of the possible dangers of the situation ; while others rose 

 noisily and clumsily into the air, fanning our faces with 

 the powerful strokes of their wings, six feet across. 



We are not a good hand at photography at the best of 

 times ; but to stand with one's feet wedged in the forks 

 of two swaying and somewhat frail branches, with 

 both hands engaged on the camera, and with the 

 positive knowledge that thirty feet below, there was an 

 unpleasantly hard and jagged surface of coral-limestone 

 to ahght on, in case of a sudden upset, is not conducive 

 to good work. We therefore offer but a slight apology for 

 the photographs, which might no doubt be considerably 

 better. They give but the faintest notion of the reahty 

 of the scene with which we were surrounded ; for some 



