33. The gun can be ignored as a menace to the bird, another more serious menace (but which is really of little account) is that nesting in swamps etc. and the returning there of adults for the eclipse moult (when the birds are unable to fly) not proven definitely but believe this is the case, natives with their dogs catch young and even well grown and adult birds at certain seasons. Even so I doubt the annual total mortality for ducks on the whole island reaches much above 100 and that in such a wide ranging species is negligible, natural enemies hawks (especially Falco and to a less degree Accipiter) doubtless accounting for as many or more. In the case of the rarer pigeons especially Columba the only largish pigeon on the island, the case is different and human persecution is a serious matter in this already naturally rare bird though its position is somewhat difficult to under- stand and numerical fluctuations seem to point to outside area influences. The position of Porphyrio also seems to point to outside influences and increases from those areas, though this is very open to doubt. This species has an eclipse moult and during such and in the immature to adult phase is subject to capture by dogs in the swamps to which it retires at such time. In passing as regards dogs and their possible influence on such birds as Anas and Porphyrio and rails it is worth men- tioning that though there are no pigs on Uvea to hunt every native has a tribe of dogs. The Uvean native is credited by other natives with eating dogs and this is probably true though "man Uvea" hotly denies such accusation. Such is quite under- standable on an island like Uvea where pigs and even domestic