530 
THE VOYAGE OE H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
There were no eggs of the birds in the nests, but mostly far advanced young which were 
covered with frills of a rusty coloured down. The old birds soared overhead, and could 
only be obtained by being shot ; whereas the Gannets were easily knocked over on the 
nests with sticks. It was curious to see the Frigate Birds, the nesting place of which is 
usually on high cliffs- as at Fernando Noronha, here, through the entire security of the 
locality, nesting on the ground. The main body of the Frigate Birds remained during the 
stay of the party on the island soaring high up in the air with their eagle-like flight, far 
above the cloud of other birds beneath. In the stomachs of some of these birds which were 
shot, small cuttle-fish and Spirula shells were found. One Phaethon cethereus was seen. 
The shells of numerous turtles which had died on the island were lying about. In 
one place there was quite a heap of these at a sort of miniature gully, bounded by a 
perpendicular wall of rock about 2 feet in height. ' It appeared as though the turtles had 
crawled up from the sea shore to spawn, and being stopped by this small cliff, had been 
unable to turn round or go backwards, and had died there. A Locust ( Acridium ) was very 
common amongst the grass on the island, and a large Earwig (Forjicula) under the stones. 
Whilst the naturalists were on shore, the ship obtained a few soundings close to the 
island, the position of the soundings being fixed by the officer at the beacon taking a 
bearing and masthead angle of the ship at each cast. The exploring parties returned at 
11 a.m., when two hauls of the dredge to leeward of the island were obtained, but they 
were not very productive. 
Raine Island is situated on the west or leeward edge of a small coral atoll, which 
extends over two miles in a southeast and northwest direction, and is about a mile 
broad (see Sheet 27). The lagoon of this atoll is represented merely by shallow patches 
of water with sandy bottoms. The atoll is separated from the Great Detached Reef and 
the Barrier Reef by channels with a depth exceeding 100 fathoms, and the outer edge of 
the reef has a very steep slope. The island itself is about a third of a mile long and a 
quarter of a mile broad, and is composed of a blown calcareous sand which has consoli- 
dated towards the centre of the island into a compact limestone. In some places there 
is a soil from 2 to 3 inches thick. Numerous fragments of pumice were picked up on 
the island. 
The soundings. and dredgings in 135, 150, and 155 fathoms showed that the deposit 
was a coral sand, composed of white and brownish coloured fragments of Corals, Molluscs, 
and Foraminifera shells, with a considerable admixture of calcareous Algae. Mr. H. B. 
Brady, F.R.S., 1 found in this deposit a larger number of species of Foraminifera than in 
any other taken during the cruise. The deposit contained 8 7 per cent, of carbonate of 
lime, and it was estimated that more than half of this consisted of pelagic Molluscs and 
pelagic Foraminifera. The few mineral particles in the deposit consisted of rounded 
fragments of quartz, felspars, mica, apatite, and fragments of pumice. 
1 Zool. Cliall. Exp., part xxii. pp. 93, 94, 1884. 
