86 AVOYAGETO 



1776. general, only ufing the land for breeding, and for a refting- 

 place. The molt confiderable are feals, or (as we ufed to 

 call them) fea bears ; being that fort called the urfme feal. 

 Thefe come afhore to reft or breed ; but they were not very 

 numerous, which is not to be wondered at, as it is known 

 that thefe animals rather frequent out-rocks, and little 

 iflands lying off coafls, than bays or inlets. They were, at 

 this time, fliedding their hair, and fo tame, that we killed 

 what number we chofe. 



No other quadruped, either of the fea or of the land 

 kind, was feen ; but a great number of birds, viz. ducks, 

 petrels, albatrofTes, fliags, gulls, and fea-fwallows. 



The ducks are about the fize of a teal or widgeon ; but 

 fomewhat different in colour from either. They were in 

 tolerable plenty about the fides of the hills, or even lower; 

 and we killed a confiderable number, which were good, 

 and without the leaft fifhy tafte. We met with fome of 

 the fame fort at the ifland of Georgia, in our late voyage. 



The Cape petrel, or Pintado bird ; the fmall blue one, 

 which is always feen at fea ; and the fmall black one, or 

 Mother Carey's Chicken, are not here in great numbers. 

 But we found a neft of the firft with an egg in it, about the 

 fize of a pullci's ; and the fecond, though fcarce, was met 

 with in fome holes like rabbit-burrows. 



Another fort, which is the largcft of all the petrels, and 

 called by the feamen Mother Carey's Goofc, is in greater 

 numbers; and fo tame, that at fiift we could kill them 

 with a ftick upon the beach. They are not inferior in fize 

 to an albatrofs, and are carnivorous, feeding on the dead 

 carcaiTes of feals or birds, that were thrown into the fea. 



Their 



