3t;u 



DIOMEUEID.K. 



From Abbotsford, JNIelbourne, Victoria, Mr. Joseph Gabriel wrote me: — " The late Mr. H. 

 P. C. Ashworth and myself, on the 31st October, iXq^, had the pleasure of seeing the Shy 

 Albatross ( Dioiiuded cauta) durinj,' its bleeding lime un Albatross Kock. This rock lies about 

 eight or nine miles west of West Hunter Island, which is one of the largest of the Hunter 

 Group north-west of Tasmania. It is a most uninviting spot tn visit, as the westerly winds 

 generally prevail, and tlie swell breaks on the ruck in a most dangerous fashion. We had to 

 turn back without landing on the 2(jth October, but a stiff easterly on the 30th laid down the 

 swell, and the next day we stepped on the rock without any dilticulty, the iirst chance for 

 three months our boatman told us. Before we landed we could see tlie birds on their nests. 

 We had to climb a l,ittle Peni;uiii ( litiJyptiild ) track, then over some rocks through a cave, up 



o\'er another rock, 

 before wegot to the 

 A I bat ross rookery. 

 There we found 

 the birds nesting 

 on nearly every 

 favourable ledge 

 of rock. Mr. Ash- 

 worth was soon 

 busy with his pho- 

 t og raphic work, 

 while I had to 

 satisfy myself with 

 some eggs and 

 three birds, the 

 kiHing of which I 

 ha\ e not got over 

 to this day. The 

 nests were built of 

 earth, roots, and 

 grass; they varied 

 in height from five 

 to twelve inches, 

 the breadth of 

 hollow about 

 eleven or twelve 

 inches, and five 

 inches in depth. 



Their varying height points to the fact of their being used for many years. The eggs vary a 

 little in size, but are generally about four inches long by two and ihree-riuarter inches wide. In 

 no instance did I find more than one egg in a nest. i\Iost of the eggs taken were well advanced 

 in incubation. These beautiful birds, sitting on their nests, with the dark rocks forming a back- 

 ground, made e.\(iuisite pictures. When a mate returned from the sea quite a love scene took 

 place, rubbing of beaks and preening of feathers, etc. In one of Mr. Ashworth's pictures a pair 

 of birds can be noticed in the act of beak rubbing ; in another picture a bird is seen looking for 

 its robbed egg." ■. 



Mr. E. D. Atkinson, of Sulphur Creek, Tasmania, has kindly faxoured me with the following 

 notes: — " During a trip to the Hunter Islands, West Bass Straits, Mr. \Y. J. C. :\rmstrong and 

 I succeeded in landing on Albatross Island on Saturday, the 6th November, 190Q, and the day 





SHY ALHATimSS (iN NKST. 



