Journal of Edwin H. Bryan, Jr. while with the Whitney Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History on the schooner France, February to October 1924
Page 153
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Transcription
5. Stunted sida, principally on East and South sides. 6. Sesuvium, around the lagoon, especially on N.W. end of it. (Plant Spec. 19) Took Roll 10:6 and 11:1-6 of the lagoon, Frigate birds and vegetation on island. Animals:- Rabbits, white yellow and brown ex-domesticated, fairly abundant, but do not seem to have hurt the vegetation. Quantities of Sea Birds:- Terns:- sooty, blue, gray, white (love-bird). 4 spp. Shearwaters. (According to Correia) Holes shared by rabbits. Frigates with numbers of young, nesting on seaweed. Boobies, Petrel, Cerlew, etc. Turtle remains (of which I took the skull) would indicate their presence on I. No lizards, no rats (seen). Insects:- Muscid fly, small black fly, small moth very abundant. Spiders (large like on Necker) and Dermestids under dead bird. Leaf hopper. "Monoplane" moth on Boerhaavia, Ephydrid fly about lagoon, bugs, micro moths. No earwigs or butterflies. Took bunchgrass sweepings to look for landshells, but no shells seen. Shed and hut (marked on chart) long since gone. Tramway covered, but one pair iron wheels left. Back to ship at 6:00 P.M. Log. 34.5 steering N.E. by N. for Canton Island. Phoenix is so low, reef so narrow, no trees, and so few breakers that it is practically invisible at night. Even with a crescent moon we could see nothing of it 1/2 hour after leaving, at 7 P.M. March 11, 1924, Tuesday. 6 A.M. Log. 79.4. Enderbury Island being S.S.E. distant about 10 miles. Canton W.M.W. about 26 miles. Using sail and