This l a n d is approximately 1500 acres in extent and contains rich deposits of almost pure phosphate of lime on top of the grain base. The eggs of the gray-backed tern, which breeds in thousands in the phoenix group, and the sooty tern on Christmas Island are eaten in times of food shortage. Probably a large part of the old Gilbert's navigation is based on the seabirds' regular flight routes.
The colony's s c a t t e r e d islands lie close to the equator, and although there are occasional stormy priestly periods from November to February, the weather and temperatures remain remarkably constant throughout the neighborhood, with winds and winds. t years. Brown Noddy is, for example, been observed n e s t i n g every half of the year. from t e colony from time to time. They dive with folded ?rings from a considerable height in the water and quickly resurface with the prey, which consists of small live fish, crustaceans, cuttlefish and other things. small creatures from near the surface of the sea.
The rest of the body is dark brown with slight brown tints on the underside. t h e f e e t bro~mecky black with yellowish nets. I once spent a night among the colony of Numatong;. odor and commotion prevailed everywhere, and this, together with the wandering of ghost crabs, dispelled all ideas of n i g t ' s r e s t . The rather dusty gray down of the chicks compares poorly with the brilliant snowy white of the parents, but is of considerable value as camouflage on the branch.
The white on the female's side extends back under each wing roughly corresponding to the side spots of the male; it's about the only easy way to tell it apart.
PROCELLARIIDAT3 ( SHEARWATERS MJD PETF3LS )
The eggs are laid again and the breeding season runs from approximately November to April. sometimes they are gray-brown and sometimes white. Breeding sites have been reported in Canton, NcJCean and Christmas. the breeding season lasts from May to August. The coloration is similar to the dark phase of P. Breeding sites are known on Christmas Island, Canton and Phoenix Island.
Nesting takes place from May to December on the surface of the ground, under bushes or in a crevice between rocks. A rihite egg is usually on the surface of the soil under clumps of vegetation, or occasionally shallow. The petrels are the smallest of the seabirds, the above species being only about 8 inches in length.
The a d u l t i s sooty-black to grayish-black above with a noticeable white spot across the rump and a sooty band across the b r e a s t ; that. The upper part brings and back a r e gray with a greenish tinge and some brownish t i n t s ; the head, neck, and underside are l i g h t pearl-grey, with pink t i n t s on the underside; under t a i l - c o v e r t s a r e deep reddish- b r o m, and the underwings grey. Nonouti had four offspring, and in June two females had nested about ten feet from the ground in an old dead house; the n e s t s were of grass and straw and b u i l t i n s i d e o l d boxes; each contained two eggs, oval in shape and creamy white in color.
Both the b i r d s and the eggs are smaller than common domestic fowl in European countries, being highly inbred with various imported s t r a i n s . Although both Kirby and King list the Gilbertese name a s 'kokil~okilro', I have not spoken to any Gilbertese n a t i v e 10rks from Christmas Island that has r e f e r r e d t o t h e r than 'bokikokiko'. With the exception of the long-tailed cuckoo, all the migratory b i r d s which v i s i t these islands usually n e s t i n the northern half-.
Most of these birds leave the colony for the northern breeding grounds around March or April and return south again, a f t e r the short Arctic summer, in September and October. Allowing for a longer time each way over some six thousand miles of sea, it is evident that the nesting season is comparatively short. June to August - and y e t during the first period they manage to prepare the n e s t s , lay and hatch the eggs and feed the young, they are strong enough to accompany the parents on the southern migration.
A flock of about 200 Golden Ploverspias seen departing north from one of the old wartime a i r f i e l d s a t Tarawa on April kth, 1 9 5 5 Many of these b i r d s feathers i n the darker breeding plumage and they have been for several days gathered here. As with other species featured below, a few non-breeding birds can be seen in the Colony during the northern summer.
CHAR4DRIIDAIC (TURNSTONES AND PLOVERS)
SCOLOPACIDAE (TATTLEFS, CURLEWS, GODWITS )
In adults, the upperparts are speckled with light and dark spots; the belly is pale yellow, almost white under the tail; the plumage has a distinct, red tint, and in summer breeding clothing the males have a stronger reddish-brown color on the neck and chest. There is a pale line down the center of the cm and another above each eye, and a dark brown line through each eye. On the other hand, godwits hold the head and beak straight down horizontally into the water and lift them back up with a light scooping action.
Balrer notes that the Godwit reaches Australasia by migrating to the city along the edge of the continent, and probably there. One or two birds otherwise indistinguishable from the above at a distance, but which were yellowish (that is, a gray or black), e.g. the Least Sandpiper, E r o l i a minuta. On several occasions, groups of up to 34 in number were observed walking on the so f t red a l g a l mud bordering brackish pools; another. frequently visited was the dry sparse-grass a r e a of the school sports f i e l d a t Bikenibeu, Tarawa, from which the b i r d s appear to have been obtained from small in s e c t s .
7; The i4hitney expedition included a male from Canton on March 12 and a female from Sydney Island on March 21. One of the birds I observed was feeding on the reef between Turnstones at low tide, while the other was feeding alone on a sandy beach in a lagoon at the edge of the tide, running busily to and fro with each wave; no call was heard. The Cuckoo is a bird of the forest and is only glimpsed briefly during its journey and rapid flight from one palmtop to another, or perhaps for longer periods while feeding.
The b i r d i s e a s i l y recognized by i t s hawk-like appearance, long tail and by the caracal repeated whistle. There have been no authentic reports from the Line Islands; a Gilbertese native informant told me a few v i s i t e d .provides more cover and probably greater food supplies. however not in large numbers ever. Apparently they have not been hunted for food by the native peoples, and although they seem to be known on all the islands, there is nothing. I have been given vernacular names for the two species that I have seen.
King saw one or two of these occasionally on ponds near --. race not seen by the present w r i t e r . From the few observations made and from accounts of other w r i t e r s t h i s seems to be the main a r i v a l period, and April to June the time of departure, although some may remain in this area all year round . TWO drakes i n f u l l color were seen on 2nd April on fresh water ponds near o l d a i r s t r i p a t Bonriki, Tarava.
