98 
ST. HELENA. 
sent down into the valley or ravine below to pick np the birds as they 
fall. Cats are great enemies to these birds, as well as to the game- 
birds in the Island, by preying on the young. 
Fam. Larida. 
Sterna, Linn. 
*S. fuliginosa, Gmel. — Egg-bird. Not very abundant, but 
inhabits George’s and Speery Islands, with other rocky islets oft' the 
coast, in considerable numbers. Egg-birds do not remain all the year 
at St. Helena, and probably migrate to Ascension, nearly seven 
hundred miles distant, where they are to be found in tens of 
thousands, and are so tame and plentiful at a spot called “ Wide- 
awake-Fair” that they may be knocked down by hundreds with a 
walking-stick. They are there protected for the sake of the eggs, which 
form an article of food with the inhabitants. They arrive in St. Helena 
at the end of the year, and lay in January, February, and March. 
Much risk of life is run in obtaining the eggs, which are brought to 
the market, and by some persons are considered a delicacy equal to 
plovers’. These birds seldom, if ever, come near the inhabited parts 
of the Island. 
Gygis, Wagl. 
*G. Candida, Wagl. — White-bird. One of the most abundant 
sea-birds in the Island, in numbers perhaps next to the Noddy. It 
associates intimately with the Tropic-bird, but comes more inland, 
building its nest in rocky cliffs and columnar basaltic dikes, such as 
Lot, Lot’s Wife, and others situated several miles from the sea-coast ; 
occasionally it is seen flying high over the central part of the Island. 
Its curiosity is very remarkable ; it is easily attracted by a white 
object, and will come within a foot or two, often in a disagreeable 
manner, peering into the face of a person wearing a white hat or 
some white article of clothing. 
Anous, Leach. 
*A. stolidus, Linn.— Noddy-Tern. A less shy and retiring 
species than the other sea-birds, generally frequenting the roadstead, 
where, in the neighbourhood of ships at anchor, it may be seen 
sitting on the surface of the water or on boats. It inhabits prin- 
cipally the cliffs of the islets, such as Egg Island, where it breeds in 
