116 A NATURALIST ON DESERT ISLANDS. 



of the clijffs and the fringe of some wind-flattened trees, 

 the commencement of the thick woods with which the 

 island is covered. This extremely rough ground, over- 

 grown with scraggy bushes or carpeted with mesembryan- 

 themums (Sesuvium), was simply strewn with the nests 

 of the boobies ; while iguanas were perched on every 

 available point of rock. The iguanas eyed us with a sort 

 of supercilious stare, but did not offer to move until we 

 had approached within a yard or so. Several times, by 

 making a sudden dash at their tails the sailors caught these 

 ferocious-looking, but perfectly harmless, lizards. Although 

 supposed to be simple vegetarians, their presence here 

 seemed a little suspicious ; and we cannot help thinking 

 that, as in the case of our vegetarian cranks at home, 

 they helped themselves from time to time to an egg or 

 two derived from the birds' nests. 



The boobies, in contradistinction to the red-footed 

 gannets, invariably nested on the ground, choosing as a 

 rule a soft spot on the thick beds of sesuvium. Failing 

 these, they made a foundation of dry sticks and covered 

 them with sea-grape leaves. 



Tame as all these animals, which we have so far men- 

 tioned, were, they were even beaten by the vitelline warbler 

 (Dendroica vitellina), which on Little Swan Island seemed 

 to surpass all limits, and to be quite fearless. In the low 

 bushes, that we had to crawl under on first landing, they 

 busied themselves in picking off insects within arm's 

 length ; totally unconcerned at our presence, and in marked 

 contrast with the other non-indigenous warblers which 

 also frequented the bushes. 



There was another animal present along this southern 

 terrace, very different in nature, and in the scale of hfe, 

 from anything we have so far referred to. This was a 

 minute grass-tick, or "Bete Rouge," which lived in its 

 thousands in the grass and bushes and quickly trans- 

 ferred itself to our legs. I draw a veil over the habits 

 of these disagreeable pests ; merely saying that they cause 

 the most intense irritation in one's skin, and render life 



