270 Mr. E. Newton's Ornithological Notes from Mauritius, 
a narrow-necked bottle; and it invariably utters it when about 
to swallow a piece of offal.” Decidedly not! The bird happens 
to have no cry at all, and (like most other Storks) wants the 
sterno-tracheal tendinous muscles, and is therefore voiceless. 
The only noise it can produce is by clattering its mandibles to¬ 
gether, as may be likewise observed in the case of Ciconia alba . 
Calcutta, March 25th, 1861. 
XXVII.— Ornithological Notes from Mauritius. By Edward 
Newton, M.A., C.M.Z.S.—No. II. A Ten Days 3 Sojourn at 
Savanne, 
I left Port Louis on the 26th September, 1860, for St. Martin, 
an abandoned sugar-estate situated on the coast of Savanne, the 
southernmost district of Mauritius, where I was in hopes of find¬ 
ing a very different lot of birds from those which frequent the 
neighbourhood of the metropolis. Being the first holiday of any 
length I had taken since my arrival in the island, I determined to 
devote it to getting a better knowledge of its ornithology ; and, 
as may be supposed, I greatly enjoyed not merely the complete 
relaxation from all work thus afforded me, but also the being able 
to turn my attention more fully to my favourite pursuit. The only 
drawback was the short time that I could be away. Two of my 
friends had preceded me, and I found their tent pitched within 
twenty yards of high-water mark, under the shade of a line of 
Pilao-trees—Madagascar Eir ( Casuarina equisetifolia) . The 
ground all along the sea-shore was covered with short grass— 
almost down-like, and unencumbered by the large blocks of basalt 
which are found nearly everywhere else over the island. Alto¬ 
gether it was as pleasant a spot for a camp as ever was seen. Un¬ 
fortunately there was not, anywhere near, above three or four feet 
of water inside the reef (which lies about a mile and a half out); 
and the bottom was covered with long slug-like monsters which 
have very sharp feelers, and scratch uncommonly if you tread 
upon them; so there was not much bathing to be had, beyond 
sitting for half an hour or so in a place free from these brutes. 
In many parts of the tropics it would be impossible to encamp 
by the sea-shore on account of the sand-flies and mosquitoes, 
