In the harbor of Apia lay H.E.S." Laburnum" of the New Zealand navy, and 

 just before we sailed for Tonga there was transferred to us from her a more or 

 less tame, immature, female Fregata aquila . The bird was destined to the 

 Auckland Zoo, and the story ran that some officer on the warship had bought it, 

 a captive of some months standing, from a native of Hull Island in the Phoenix 

 group, ly notes — better skip them — say that this Frigate Bird's general 

 color is black-brown; upper parts dark brown; well-marked swal low- like, forked 

 taijl; upper mandible longer than the head, down-curved at the tip and slaty- 

 gray; head and upper neck, cinnamon-buff; irides, dark brown; eyelids naked and 

 provided with weak eyelashes; throat and about one-half of neck in front, deep 

 red; gular pouch, if present, not marked; secondaries show feathers edged with 

 white or gray; an irregular bar, two to three inches wide, runs through the 

 center of the upper wing; abdomen, white. 



Legs weak; tarsus partly feathered; feet incompletely webbed. By reflect- 

 ed light there is a metallic sheen on the black-brown feathers of the back. 



He-, or rather, if my guess should turn out to be correct, she soon became 

 an object of considerable interest to the passengers. From her comparatively 

 lofty perch on the gunwale of the life-boat that was set apart as her living 

 room she gazed with unconcern at the admiring crowd below. Many times a day 

 she scrambled from the depths of the life - boat to preen herself, expecially 

 after a shower, and to dry and air her immense wings in the tropical sunshine. 

 The ignominious part of the performance was that it was necessary to tie the 

 bird by one leg to the thwarts, and the restraining rope embarrassed her ef- 

 forts to perch and spread her wings, owing to her weak legs and her immense 

 wings; and it certainly was a beautiful sight to see her magnificent wing- 

 spread of not less than six feet. The officer who had new arrival in charge 

 certainly did all he could to make Fregata comfortable, provided her with a 

 box into which she retired whenever she wished, gave her all the fish she 

 could eat and all the water she could drink. In deference to the positive state- 

 ments of a passenger, who proclaimed himself an authority 

 on Man-of-War Birds, she was provided daily with a con of sea ivater, that 



being the proper drink for this ocean going fowl. As this dictum sounded much 

 like the ancient belief that parrots should never 'be given water to drink - 

 an obsession that has caused so much misery in the psittacine world - I deter- 

 mined to investigate it. And sooner than I expected the opportunity arrived, 

 because shortly we had a tropical doxmpour that thoroughly drenched the bird 

 and her surroundings. It was good to watch the Frigate for the half hour the 

 storm lasted. She certainly enjoyed her bath, spreading wide her long, pointed 

 pinions to allow the cool douche to reach the hot skin of her sides and un- 

 der parts. Now and then she would flap her xvings to shake off superfluous 

 water, but she did not retire to her box or make any other effort to avoid a 

 full bath. But the way in which that bird drank rain-water'. For at least ten 

 minutes she did nothing else - opening wide a capacious mouth to catch the 

 drops that not only fell directly into the orifice but that ran down the sides 

 ■of the mandibles. First she opened her beak, then pointed it aloft, as if 

 trying to drink in as much of the falling water as possible, and when she had 

 secured all her throat would hold, made evident swallowing movements. There 

 could be no doubt that for this bird at least soft water was a desirable 

 beverage; and I can redily believe that in the upper air, where her fdlks spend 

 most of their time, this performance may go on without the necessity of resting 

 on the waves or of roosting on dry land. 



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