an area 
m 
- 33 - 
of three acres la a long lino near th© northern end. scattered 
plants of pigweed occurred elsewhere hut at considerable intervals# Insect 
life had practically disappeared and land shells* abundant on most of 
these islands were extinct# Thaanum f the oonohologist* was fortunate 
in discovering their dead shells embedded in humus that had formed under 
AT> d around lumps of long dead coral# A species of rat had "been reported 
as abundant here but had also been exterminated; no specimens of it had 
been preserved for soienoe. Perching birds had never been reoordod here 
but the fauna of the island in its primitive condition Is only imperfectly 
known# 
Bird life naturally focussed about the little area of grass and 
here were small colonies of gray-backed and sooty terns y boobies* frigate- 
birds, « tm potrslsydioso nests and gsnsral activities nsro another 
involuntary oheok to the spread of vegetation. Albatross wore scattered 
over the flats but were only fairly common. In fact the only abundant 
bird was the wedge-tailed shearwater whose nesting burrows undermined the 
soil in every direction so that one broke through into them every ten 
steps in traversing the island; a simple walk across the flats was thus 
filled with haaarda for the uninitiated* but most of us soon beoame ao- 
customed to stumbling among these hidden pitfalls and were ,iL,le to vievv 
with considerable amusement the breakneak progress of oasual visitors 
from the ship. Pairs and groups of the shearwaters rested on the sand 
in every direction and at dusk a host of others came in from the sea to 
spend the night in hole digging, fighting and general deviltry^ ^ .Aoconpaniod 
by wailing moaning oalls that near at hand suggested so many alley cat 3 
making a night of it but that at a distance merged into a blended volume 
