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Show 290 MR. J.J. LISTER ON THE [Apr. 21, Island '; and the references in the papers of Messrs. Arundel and Hague mentioned in the footnote. I had the opportunity, thanks to the kindness of Capt. W . J. L. Wharton, R.N., F.R.S., Hvdrographer to the Admiralty, of visiting the group in the months of June and July 1889, in H.M.S. «Egeria.' The islands touched at during the cruise were Sydney, Phcenix, Enderbury, Canton, Birnie, and Hull Islands, but it was only at Phcenix Island and Canton Island that our stay was sufficiently long to allow of anv detailed observations on the birds. Sydney Island, Canton Island, and Hull Island are regular coral atolls, having a complete or nearly complete ring of land enclosing a lagoon. Phcenix Island, Enderbury Island, and Birnie Island are smaller, and in them the lagoon is absent. At Hull Island and Sydney Island the land ring supports an abundant growth of trees ; but at the other four islands the vegetation consists only of low bushes with coarse grass and a few trailing shore-plants. The birds were assembled in the greatest numbers at Phcenix Island. As the < Egeria' approached, a great column of wheeling Frigate-birds could be seen over one part extending many hundreds of feet up into the air, while at lower levels crowds of other birds flew hither and thither, and the clamorous noise of their cries came over the water from far away. The island is of a rounded triangular shape, and measures about | a mile across. It is surrounded by a narrow reef of coral on which the big rollers, coming up before the trade-wind, break, making a deep undertone to the cries of the birds. On the leeward side there is a gap in the reef, and here a party landed for the purpose of making a survey of the island. The beach of coral boulders slopes gently up to a height of some 12 to 15 feet above the level of the reef platform. From the top of this beach ridge there is a rather steep slope down to the flat inner part of the island. Thus the island is somewhat saucer-shaped, being flat with a raised margin. At the time of our visit the interior of the island was occupied by a shallow brackish pond with soft muddy sides, and swarming with mosquito larvae. This probably stood in a depression made when the island was worked for guano. I found only four kinds of plants on the island. The largest of these was a yellow-flowered shrub (Sidafallax, Walp.) belonging to the order of the Mallows, and growing from two to three feet high, with trailing branches spreading outwards from the central stems. The others were a coarse grass growing in tussocks and two small trailing plants. Bare tracts of coral-shingle interrupted the covering of vegetation here and there. I was on the island for about seven hours, and obtained specimens of the following species of birds. FREGATA MINOR (Gmel.). From the boat I went off to the part of the island over which the Frigate-birds were wheeling. Here I found their nests in great 1 P. Z. S. 1886, p. 79. |