Nov., 1928 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
104 
birds seem very proud of their young ones, and look very 
contented with their big chicks. When the young ones 
are small the mother runs away when a stranger ap- 
proaches them, and deserts its young, but as the young 
birds grow older the parent exhibits no fear, in fact, ir 
becomes quite tame. I have approached them with my 
camera within five feet and could have got even nearer. 
The male bird, who by the way, provides the food for 
the mother and young, is not so tame, but rather shy. 
Strange to say in this particular part of the island no 
other birds could be seen. The next day we noticed a 
large number of Gannets on Fairfax Island, but here there 
were also many White-capped Noddies, Sea Gulls, and 
other birds. 
It is of interest that on each island there exists one 
pair of Sea Eagles. This is invariably the case, except 
North-west Island, where there are about three pairs. 
North-west Island is the largest in the group, and con- 
tains about three hundred acres. We stayed there for 
most of our time; plenty of fresh water can be had from 
the turtle factory, and many and varied are the points 
of interest. The reef itself is very extensive, very rough 
and treacherous to walk on; nevertheless fine shells and 
marine specimens are in abundance; wonderful coral pools 
on the edges of deep water, luxuriantly coloured and 
camouflaged to suit the surroundings. This island is 
about 100 miles north of Lady Musgrave, and it seems that 
the tropical climate improves the already glorified condi- 
tions. Also the vegetation on the island is much more 
abundant. The island is heavily timbered with Pisonia, 
attaining a height of 50 to 60 feet. The bird life is in- 
deed magnificent; countless numbers of Terns and Mutton 
birds make this their abode, at least at that time of the 
year. In the evening before sunset wanderers start to 
come home, and until it is too dark to see them they still 
come, and the sky is almost black with birds. 
The Noddies are day birds and are resting at night; 
not so with the Mutton bird, which seems to require no 
rest at all. After being far out at sea in the day, they 
return to the islands when it is getting dark, or even 
later, unable to land among the trees and bushes, they 
just fly to the shore and run along among the trees and 
bushes to a place they select for nesting. This is done in 
the ground by making great burrows 4 to 5 feet long, 
and 12in. to 18in. deep, the roots of the Pisonia trees and 
other shrubs keeping the sand from falling in. These 
burrows are all over the three hundred acres of the island, 
