1176 
PHAETHON FLAYIEOSTEIS. 
however, taking care to have a good platform in front. I have taken the eggs at depths varying from 2 to 
4 feet in the rock. The Phaeton never appears to lay more than one egg, of a character which, clearly separates 
the genus from all other Steganopodes ; and I have observed that, as a rule, the eggs of P. flavirostris are 
more invariably richly coloured, and supply very rarely a pale or shabbily-washed surface, like those of 
P . rubricauda. The female sits assiduously, and is fed during incubation by her mate. The young are naked 
when hatched, and, to judge by the constant visits of the parents, have a voracious appetite. It is curious to 
watch the parents clinging to the cliff after the manner of a Swift, and coaxing the young bird forward to 
receive the little fish from its bill, while her tail is expanded widely against the face of the rocks, the two or 
three long central feathers forming a fine train. The young are first covered with white down, but the adult 
plumage is rapidly assumed. When first persuaded to take the water, the young have much difficulty in 
rising, and I have more than once run them down on the sea and captured them from a sailing-boat. For 
several weeks they seem to return to their breeding-places to roost, and then, when the nestling down has been 
all cast, the whole colony disappears on a sudden in August, and not a straggler was ever seen till the following 
spring. The soldiers were great adepts at capturing them by night on their nests ; and my friend Mr. Hendri 
and myself, having once incautiously offered a shilling apiece for specimens, we were invited next morning by 
the sergeant to visit the lighthouse on Gibbs's Hill, where over 100 birds were incarcerated in a dark cellar, 
more than half dead with fright and exhaustion, and an equal number of eggs were displayed on the lighthouse- 
keeper’s table. I speak of more than thirty years ago. But, alas ! I am told that whereas formerly the 
Tropic-birds might be reckoned by thousands, the numbers who return in spring can now be reckoned on the 
fingers ; and Bermuda, as a breeding-place, will soon be among the traditions of prehistoric ornithology.” 
STEGANOPODES. 
Fam. PELEOANIDJ5. 
Bill straight, the tip hooked in all but one genus (Sula) ; nostrils basal, exceedingly small ; 
throat furnished with a pouch, more or less developed. Wings long, with the ulna much 
lengthened. Tail moderate, stiff in some. Legs short and stout ; the tarsus less than the middle 
toe, which is shorter than, or only as long as, the outer ; all four toes connected by a full web. 
Sternum with an open, shallow, and wide indentation on each half of the posterior margin ; 
furcula joined to the keel, which rises from the anterior portion of the sternum. 
Genus SULA. 
Bill straight, conical, pointed at the tip, which is straight, the edges of the upper mandible 
near it being serrated ; gonys short and pronounced ; upper mandible with a narrow groove near 
the culmen ; gape wide, the edge of the upper mandible adjacent to it inflated ; nostrils basal, 
very narrow, and almost invisible ; culmen flattened at the base ; facial skin and throat at base 
of bill bare. Wings long and pointed, the first two quills the longest. Tail long and cuneate, 
varying in the number of feathers. Tarsus shorter than the middle toe, broad and reticulate in 
front, keeled behind ; the outer and middle toe equal, but the middle claw much larger than the 
outer, and slightly serrated. 
Sternum with one wide conical notch in each half of the posterior margin ; keel united to 
the furcula by a close joint. 
