T 



THE BIRDS OF 

 THE SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS 



By R.A. B. Ardley, R.N.R. 



(Plates X-XI I ; text-fig. i) 



INTRODUCTION 



H E following notes on the birds of the South Orkneys comprise a complete list of 

 all the birds which visit the group for breeding purposes, or which occur as 

 occasional stragglers. A few species of petrel, notably several of the albatrosses, in their 

 ocean wanderings approach quite near to the islands when they are clear of pack-ice, 

 but it is doubtful if they ever come within about ten miles of them. These wanderers 

 of the adjacent seas have not therefore been included. 



The notes are compiled from observations made during the month of January 1933, 

 when the R.R.S. ' Discovery II ' was engaged in a hydrographic survey of the islands, ^ 

 and during a few days in February 1931, when the ship revisited Coronation Island. 



There are no truly resident birds in the South Orkneys, for the breeding species all 

 leave the islands in the winter and either become pelagic or move to less rigorous regions. 

 However, occasional individuals of most of the species visit the islands from time to 

 time during the winter. All of the birds are oceanic, with the possible exception of the 

 Sheathbill, and none of them are peculiar to the South Orkneys. 



In the summer, the bird life is extremely rich, and sixteen species were found to 

 breed in the islands, with two others regarded as possible breeders. These are Eudyptes 

 chrysolophiis and Halobaena caeridea. 



An excellent account of the birds of the South Orkneys observed during the Scottish 

 National Antarctic Expedition is given by Mr Eagle Clarke in the Ibis for January 1906. 

 The observations of this expedition, however, were almost entirely confined to Laurie 

 Island and the neighbouring islets; the present notes include the whole group. It has 

 not been found necessary in most cases to enlarge on the descriptions of the plumage 

 of such species as are included in the Scotia report, or are already well known. 



A matter for regret is that hardly any material was brought back from the South 

 Orkneys. This was due partly to the writer's inexperience in skinning and partly to 

 pressure of work, for in only twenty-eight days the entire group was surveyed and the 

 ship's company was kept fully occupied. Eggs of most of the breeding birds were 

 obtained. The breeding-places of sixteen species are shown in Fig. i. 



My thanks are due to Mr N. B. Kinnear for his assistance and interest, to Mr A. G. 

 Bennett, and to Mr Bruhns of the Argentine Meteorological Station in Scotia Bay for 

 information regarding the bird life there. 



1 See J. W. S. Marr, The South Orkney Islands, Discovery Reports x, pp. 283-382, pis. XII-XXV. 



