A naturalist's wanderings in the Eastern archipelago; a narrative of travel and exploration from 1878 to 1883 (1885) (14782660864)

Identifier: naturalistswande01forb (find matches)
Title: A naturalist's wanderings in the Eastern archipelago; a narrative of travel and exploration from 1878 to 1883
Year: 1885 (1880s)
Authors: Forbes, Henry O. (Henry Ogg), 1851-1932
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



Text Appearing Before Image:
o hatch outtheir domestic fowls, which they do with care, a species of Snipeand a Teal visit the islands every February and March in largenumbers, where they find a grateful rest in that annual voyage—v, hence and whither I could not ascertain—that the changingms rcsistlessly impel them to. Jungle fowl, introducedfrom Java, were breeding and throve well; and lastly, I ob-tained some nests of the Yellow Weaver-bird (Ploceus liypox-anthns. ; Strange to say, it also comes often across the sea (mostprobably from Java) to nest on this lone island. Mr. Eoss in-formed me that it builds more frequently on North Keeling;neither parents n<»r brood, however, take up their residence,hut wend their way back whence they came, leaving theirelegant flask-shaped nests on the branches of the trees tointimate that they have come and gone. llfiXL IU 111U SllllUCU ux ~~, — U To escape this latter most improbable admission, which impliesthe existence of submarine chains of mountains of almost the
Text Appearing After Image:
••. ■*^ mici.v.o moy came, leaving iirr- elegant flask-shaped nests on the branches of the trees tointimate that they have come and o-one. IN THE COCOS-KEELING ISLANDS. 35 CHAPTER III. SOJOURN IN THE COCOS-KEELING ISLANDS—continued. Coral reef formation—Observations on the elevation or subsidence of theKeeling atoll. As the Keeling atoll was the reef most carefully examined anddescribed by Mr. Darwin, and that with which, in propoundinghis famous theory of coral reefs, he has compared the others hedescribes, I felt specially pleased at being able to go overhis own ground with his book in my hand, and gain a clearerunderstanding of several points which I had found it difficultto comprehend. Unfortunately the weather during my visit was not suffi-ciently favourable to enable me to examine so closely as Icould have desired the corals of the outer margins or to makethe series of seaward soundings I had intended. The first questions that present themselves to the travellerin mids