Bullek. — Notes on Neio Zealand Birds. 81 



everywhere by long, grey, hairy down, and found quite near 

 the station. They were found often afterward, and were 

 much hunted by the dogs as food. From their squealing 

 when captured, the structure of their bills, the depth of the 

 burrows in which they were found, the black plumage of those 

 subsequently taken, and their offensive odour, I supposed them 

 to be the young of Majaqueus, but was assured by the whalers 

 that they were ' Mutton-birds,' and of quite a different species. 

 A curious circumstance with regard to them is the fact that I 

 never succeeded in getting any positive clue to the old birds to 

 which they belonged. At different times I set snares in front 

 of the burrows, and sprinkled light dry earth within their en- 

 trance, but never captured any birds ; nor did I find any 

 tracks upon the earth. It certainly seemed as if the old birds 

 had finally abandoned them. It must be remembered, also, 

 that one of these young birds was found as early as the loth 

 September, and that I found Majaqueus with eggs on the 16th 

 December. The Mutton-birds had certainly not begun to fly 

 before December. Two specimens captured on the 10th No- 

 vember had the body still partially covered with down. The egg 

 is single, regularly ovoid, and white, without shell-markings of 

 any kind. It is generally, however, much soiled by secretions 

 from the oviduct and dirt from the burrows. The shell is 

 thin, homogeneous, and compact in structure, very smooth to 

 the touch, but under the lens is seen to be marked by small 

 pits and shallow linear depressions. The largest obtained 

 measures 3 - 26in. by 2-17in." 



Pelagodroma marina, Latham. (The White-faced Petrel.) 



I am indebted to Mr. C. H. Eobson for a note stating that 

 he has obtained an egg of this species, and that, instead of being 

 all white, the larger end is sprinkled with reddish-brown spots. 

 He is possibly mistaken in the bird, for I have recently ob- 

 tained a number of specimens from Otago, together with the 

 skins of the birds, taken from the burrows, and in all cases the 

 shell is entirely white. The egg of Garrodia nereis (the Grey- 

 backed Storm-Petrel) is, however, marked in the manner 

 described. He may therefore have confounded the two 

 species. 



Oceanites oceanicus, Kuhl. (Wilson's Storm-Petrel.) 



Eeferring to the specimens obtained by Dr. Kidder's ex- 

 pedition on Kerguelen's Land, Dr. Elliott Coues remarks : 

 "I have looked at a great many 'Wilson's Petrels' from 

 various parts of the world without having been able to 

 see any differences between them. In any event, the bird 

 here presented is the original occanica of Banks, Kuhl, &c. ; 

 it is the other one, wilsoni, Bp., 1824, which is to be cut 

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