88 Transactions. — Zoology. 



steep mountains, which they choose for the purpose of easier 

 flight, as they have difficulty in ascending from the level ground. 

 They are expert climbers ; I saw them, by the aid of their 

 sharp claws, their bill, and wings, climbing up trees out of the 

 perpendicular, from whence they flew away. In November, 1882, 

 on the eastern slope, and near the centre of the Little Barrier 

 or Hauturu Island, situated north of Auckland, at about 2,300 

 feet above sea level, on a steep precipitous ridge, I noticed my 

 dog repeatedly setting at burrows, which, on examination, I 

 found contained Procellaria parkinsoni ; they were cleaning out 

 their old burrows ; and, staying to observe, I noticed them 

 digging with their bills, removing the earth by a backward 

 motion of their feet, till the burrow was cleansed. In most 

 cases I found them working, in others the burrows were clean 

 and the refuse outside ; some burrows in loose soil, others under 

 the roots of trees and under stones, also in hollow trees. I have 

 found them sometimes very far inland, always on the tops of 

 mountains. 



In December, 1884, on the Waitakerei Ranges, 1.000 feet 

 above sea-level, and twelve miles from the ocean, I found the 

 female sitting on an egg, nearly hatched. I measured several 

 burrows of these birds, the entrance was from 8 to 12 inches 

 in diameter, the depth from H to 2| feet, and the height 

 about 1 foot. When they have finished cleaning out the bur- 

 rows, which process male and female accomplish together, they 

 remain quietly till the last rays of the sun have disappeared, 

 then any one can hear them call, which is similar to the Black 

 Swan (Cyijnus atrata), and, on coming out, they stop a moment, 

 pick up a few leaves or grass, and go back into the burrows ; 

 this they repeat several times, and always on entering tbe 

 chamber they make a peculiar noise together. After dark both 

 come out, rise and circle round, calling until they attract others, 

 and when a large flock is assembled they fly away to their 

 haunts on the ocean, returning before daylight. At this season, 

 before they lay, tbey are very fat. When caught, on their return 

 from the ocean, if they cannot protect themselves by scratching 

 and biting, they expectorate a lot of oily matter on their as- 

 sailant. The first time I caught one of these birds it treated me 

 in this manner. As soon as they have finished building their 

 careless nest, which is a deepening in the chamber, with a few 

 leaves in it, the female lays one white egg about the size of that 

 produced by a Brahma fowl. When the female lays, the male 

 separates from her during the day, while she is hatching, and 

 remains in a separate burrow of his own not far away. The 

 first egg of the Procellaria parkinsoni I found on the 28th 

 November, 1882, at the Little Barrier. After this date I found 

 and examined several, but never found more than one egg or 

 young in a nest, and the female always sitting on the egg. 



