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Transcription
very common bird on the island and when seen is generally
flying very high, soaring. I doubt it breeds on the island,
though odd pairs might. It appears to obtain most of its
food on Uvea from amongst the flocks of migrant waders
(Pluvialis, etc.) which frequent the mud flats in the tidal
lagoon arms in north and south of the island. Very rarely
does it attack domestic chickens. I never was within gun
shot of one and only saw about a dozen on Uvea and many of
these were probably repeat sight records of the same birds.
Definitely it does not favour the island as a habitat.
FALCO PEREGRINUS ERNSTI (SHARPE):- None collected
on Uvea though it is fairly common and breeds about the
cliffs of the abrupt coral outcrops in the east of the is-
land. (One was collected on Beaupre Island). It does not
seem to feed to any extent on land birds on Uvea, but attacks
ducks (Anas) large waders including Demigretta and all species
of sea birds. It is common about the islands of the western
chain, but probably does not breed there except on High Island,
and feeds much on the seabirds which come to the islands to
roost for the night. It is also very common on Beaupre Island,
but I doubt it breeds there, where it lives on the seabirds
of the nesting and roosting colonies on the sandbanks to the
north. It will kill birds as large as the Blue-faced Booby
and manage to carry them off. It is generally exceedingly
fat from living on these fat seabirds. It commonly flies
from Uvea to the seabird colonies and back in a day, arriving
at the seabird colony with the first streaks of dawn. Gene-
rally go to Beaupre to rest and digest a kill. Generally
speaking, it looks on Uvea as a place to breed and roost and