188 BIRD LIFE ON ISLAND AND SHORE 
woods. On the other hand, as Coleridge says of 
mankind in one of his lyrics— 
“ All thoughts, all passions, all delights, 
Whatever stirs this mortal frame, 
All are but ministers of Love, 
And feed his sacred flame ”— 
inclinations vitally and continuously affecting the 
manners and conduct of our race are of ephemeral 
concern to the avian tribes. Exclusive possession 
of the female as mistress, companion, or nurse 
is the ideal of man. It is not the ideal of the 
Sea Hawk. | 
The union of these three particular birds was 
by no means unique or even uncommon. On Te 
Puka, visited for a few hours, but where we were 
unable to camp because of weather conditions, 
there existed just another such triplicate house- 
hold. There, too, were to be seen the normal 
two eggs, the produce of the single hen. Further- 
more, in another volume I had noted and won- 
deringly commented on the toleration of mated 
Sea Hawk owning nests ready for eggs towards 
other members of the breed. I know now that it 
was the presence of the third individual in the 
family that had so surprised me, and which for 
lack of fuller experience had then seemed so in- 
comprehensible. | 
It was not long before the presence of my 
camera and myself became not indeed indifferent 
