BY A, F. BASSET HULL. 649 



palm-glade here, where the interlaced foliage overhead is so thick 

 tliat the sun's rays do not penetrate it, and the islanders have 

 given this spot the somewhat gloomy name of the " Valley 

 of the Shadow of Death." At night time, during the months of 

 October, November, and December, this Valley is full of weird 

 moanings and wailings, enough to make one's flesh creep. They 

 are, however, only the conversational efforts of the Mutton Birds 

 as they meet a friend (or foe) when digging their burrows, or 

 coming in from the day's feeding. The unwary visitor frequently 

 plunges through the thin iRjer of sand over these burrows, which 

 extend in some cases to a distance of ten feet from the entrance. 

 A single egg is laid at the end of the burrow during the last 

 week of November. It is pure white, generally pointed oval in 

 shape, but varying occasionally to an almost elliptical form. The 

 size also varies considerabl}'. Dimensions of two specimens 

 selected from a number taken by Mis. ISichols in December, 

 1907 : {a), 2-8 x 1-8 (pointed oval); (6), 2-5 x 1-7 (elliptical). 



• 88(M). IS.Majaqueus ^quinoctialis Linnaeus. 



Spectacled Petrel. 



Majaqueus gouldii Hutton, Ramsay, p. .38. 



Hab. — Lord Howe Island. (Australian Seas, Atlantic Ocean). 



This bird appears to be merely a visitor to the seas adjacent to 

 Lord Howe Island. There is no evidence of its having bred 

 either on this Island or on Norfolk Island. 



95(M). H.CEsTRELATA NEGLECTA Schlegel. 



Big Hill Mutton Bird(L.H.L). 



Procellaria phillipii Gray. 



(Estrelata phillipii G. R. Gray, North ' Nests and Eggs' p,416; 

 Hutton, "Petrels of the Kermadec Islands," Proj. Zool. Soc, iv. 

 p.75.5(189.3). 



Hah.—luovd Howe Island, Norfolk Island. (New Zealand, 

 Kermadec Islands). 



According to Hutton, on the authority of Cheeseman, (Estrelata 

 neglecta breeds in the open, and does not burrow like other 



