The Western outlook., 1915-10-16
ARE WITHOUT WATER
Curious Colony of Geological To-
tai AbstainerS.
island That Has No Water on IL, Not
Even Swamp-Unless Dew Can
Stake Thirst Must Do
Without Drink.

Recent Investigations on the little
known and rarely visited Henderson
or Elizabeth island have led to the dis
covery of complete and curious lit
tie colony Of geological total abstain
ers The island, which is uninhabited,
Is situated about 120 miles northeast
Of Pitcairn island-itself sufficiently
out of the way, but famous as the
home of the descendants of the mu-
tineers Of the Bounty.
There Is no water on it, not even
swamp, and it is only six miles long,
yet 1t harbors quite a managerial
kind of rat, a lizard, described as very
abundant, and no fewer than four
kinds Of birds, all peculiar to the is
land. These are a fruit pigeon, a
lorikeet or honey-eating parrakeet,
little rail or crake and reed warbler.
The strange thing about the inmates
of this curious little natural aviary
of coral rock surrounded by waves
instead of wires, is that two of it's in
ciated with water-the rail and the
warbler.
Yet 1t is evident that these, like the
rest, must do without drinking, unless
the dew can slake their thirst, or they
have acquired liberation for sea water
as beverage. A similar case Is that
of the peculiar and very handsome
wild goose of the Sandwich islands,
which frequents the barren lava flows,
where there Is no permanent water
supply, but thistle and berries. Here
we get an even more aquatic type of
bird marooned on dry land, but the
Sandwich island goose takes to water
readily enough when kept in Europe.
"As to the existence of animals with
out drinking, 1t is well known that
many have the power of sustaining
themselves in this way, and the phe-
nomenon occurs irrespective of their
diet being vegetable or animal, at any
rate in some cases." says the Standard
in commenting upon Henderson island
life. Rabbits as is we'll known can
live without water if given plenty of
salad, and so can parrots If supplied
with sop; yet both will drink on oc-
casions. So will hawks and owls, but
these birds can subsist for long peri
DDS without drinking in captivity; in
fact, under the old management at the
zoo the owls never had any water
given them. Neither did the curious
hornbills, which are by nature chiefly
fruit eaters, receive any. They have
the opportunity of drinking now, but
do 1t so aWkwardly trying to peck up
the water with their great bills that
the habit hardly seems natural.
''It has been recorded that a great
bustard lived for months in captivity
without drinking, although the species
does drink occasionally; and it may be
suggested that the bustards are fam
lily of birds accustomed to frequent dry
places and hence have acquired
power Of abstinence.
But, setting aside the fact that the
great bustard is often found near wa
ter, this explanation would not serve
In the case of parrots and hornbills,
which are as arule forest birds; more.
over, the family of birds most espe.
cially associated with desert condi'
tions-the sand grouse-does not show
any tendency to dispense with drink.
ing. Indeed they are very dependent
on water, flying to their drinking place
twice daily, and watering their chicks
by soaking their own underplumage
in the fluid, which is afterward sucked
off by the young.
'The camel itself, proverbial for its
adaptation to the desert and endur.
ance Of thirst, is equally in need OF
drinking, although on account of the
water storage arrangements in its
stomach it can do without a fresh sup.
ply for days. Yet it's endurance OF
thirst can be maintained only about
twice as long as that of the horse kept
under similar conditions, and as an
abstainer it cannot compare with the
giraffe, the Gland and some of the
other antelopes, which can subsist
without drinking for months at a time
and probably indefinitely.
ABILITY to exist without drinking is
evidently physiological popularity OF
certain species of families of animals,
and it is obvious from what has been
said above that this power is capri
ciously disturbed and has no necessary
connection with the creatures environ
ment, though under the pressure OF
circumstances 1t may become invalu'
able"