NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 88^ 



expelling snakes aud other vermin, and mariying and giving in marriage 

 aj:e carried on day and night till the first week in November, when all 

 go to sea again for a trip. During the biuTow cleaning process it is 

 a curious sight to see the clouds of sand issuing from the holes all over 

 the land. The return of the birds, both male aud female, the latter to 

 lay, commences about the 18th November, and continues for about ten 

 days, the great focus of adTivals occm-ring probabl}^ on the evening of 

 the 25th or 26th, or after what is known to fishermen and others as 

 the Mutton Bird gale. If the weather be boisterous, the birds usually 

 arrive earlier in the evening.* 'ihe female lays diu'iug the night sh;; 

 aiTives or night following. After the egg is deposited she leaves for 

 a week to recrait and gi-ow fat at sea, while her lord steadfastly sits. 

 He goes out the following week, and so on, turn and tiuTi about, for 

 eight weeks, till the egg is hatchedf The young remain in the burrows 

 till about the middle of April, when they are simply a ball of fat, and 

 have a tallowy appearance — hence, it is said, tlie name Mutton Bird — 

 and heavier than their parents. At this stage the parents desert them. 

 As a consequence, fatty absoi-ption ensues, quills and feathers sprout 

 and develop, and the youngsters, becoming impatient ajid hungry, clear 

 out too, about ten days or a fortnight after their parents. By the 

 first week of May not a feather — save a few dead carcasses — remains 

 upon any of the islands. Nothing is seen of the Mutton, Birds again 

 till the following spring, when some balmy evening in September, their 

 familiar dusky fonns may again be seen swiftly cutting the horizon and 

 approaching from over the sea. 



It should be mentioned that before the young Mutton Birds follow 

 their parents they devour a quantity of sand or gi'avel. They may 

 do this to aid their digestion when at sea, but tlie popular belief is, it is 

 taken to ballast themselves, because it is said that young birds not so 

 balla.sted, if thrown into the water, will eventually drown. 



When visiting their nesting homes, the birds come and go imder 

 cover of darkness, it is thought on account of the dread of their 

 enemies — Gulls, &c. One early morning, just fom- minutes after the 

 last Petrel had departed seaward. Dr. Montgomery heard the barking 

 wail of a Pacific Gull. Twenty minutes later, a squadron of these gi-eat 

 creatiu'es, accompanied by many crows, came wheeling overhead, no 

 doubt after belated Petrels or stray eggs. 



Turning to the economic value of the Mutton Bird, not, only are the 

 eggs, when fresh, sought after, but the birds themselves, more paiiicu- 

 larly the young, wliich are the staple food of the islanders. Pei-sons 

 who are fond of bacon, pork, and other fatty foods, take readily to the 

 rich fle.sh of a young Mutton Bird, which is decidedly delicate and 

 delicious in flavour, if properly cooked. Some liken the flavour to that 

 of fresh caug'lit hen'ing. 



The islanders commence to preserve the young birds about the 20tli 



' During our trip to the Furneaux Group we ascertained tlie first eggs were 

 taken on Babel Island, on the iSth, while previously we had taken eggs on the 20th 

 on New Year's Islands. 



t Bishop Montgomery states that the male returns every evening and probably 

 feeds the female during incubation. 



