32 Transactions. — Zoology. 



The plumage of this Petrel is so singularly like that of Prion 

 that we may, 1 think, regard it as a case of mimicry for pro- 

 tective purposes. The two genera are perfectly distinct, 

 but, as we get better acquainted with the species, we shall 

 probably find that this Petrel hunts with the communities 

 of Prion that are so common in our seas. What protection 

 is gained in the struggle for existence by this curious re- 

 semblance of plumage can only be a matter of speculation till 

 we know more about the habits and general economy of these 

 birds. 



Ossifraga gigantea, Gmelin. (Gianb Petrel.) 



Mr. Napier Bell, the well-known Civil Engineer, in a 

 letter from Perth, Western Australia, says: "Two islands 

 here are the home of the Giant Petrel. This bird is as large 

 as a Goose, and of a dark slate-colour. I saw one which flew 

 on board one of the dredges at Fremantle and dropped into 

 the hopper, which is a great compartment where the dredge 

 deposits its dredging ; but, as this dredge is worked by suction 

 from pipes laid to the shore, the hopper is unused, and full of 

 water. The bird has lived there quite contentedly for a 

 month, and refuses to leave the hopper. It is fed every day, 

 swims about in the water, and roosts in the iron girders." 



Puffinus tenuirostris, Temm. (Bonaparte's Shearwater.) 



Mr. David Lyall, writing from Stephens Island, in Sep- 

 tember, says: "There is one Petrel here that I cannot find 

 anything about in your ' Manual.' It is not so large as the 

 Mutton-bird, and lays a pure-white egg, of the size of a 

 common fowl's. The colour of the bird is dark-black, and 

 white on the under-side. It has a call almost the same as 

 that of the Laughing Jackass, of Austraha. I will send you a 

 pair of them." He kindly did so, and it proved to be the 

 above species. 



PuflEinus griseus, Gmelin. (Sombre Shearwater.) 



-The late Dr. Shortland, nearly fifty years ago, published a 

 graphic account of the " mutton-birding " operations of the 

 Maoris in the South Island. These operations have been con- 

 tinued annually ever since, and it is a perfect marvel that the 

 species continues to exist, in undiminished numbers, notwith- 

 standing this wholesale slaughter. The last information I 

 have on the subject is contamed in the following newspaper 

 paragraph: "The Western S^ar reports the arrival of a craft 

 from the mutton-bird islands with the Riverton and Colac Bay 

 contingent, which comprised seventeen families, numbering 

 fifty individuals. The natives report that the birds were ex- 

 ceedingly numerous this season, and in splendid condition. 



