874 'i'llH KAEDING PETREL. 



sliipiiig and dim liable upnii llic snulli. 'I'lu- tup has an area of snmclliing uvcr 

 an acre, and is nniipic for llie ahnndance and uni forniii y nf a rank grass wliicli 

 occupies the greater portion centrally. The grass has a stout ly-]:)rojecling 

 midrib so that it stands up at a height of two and a lialf feet, its roots being 

 iml)eddcd in a coxeringof its own waste to a de|)tli of six or eight inches more. 

 Circling all about this central bed is a border of close-set wiry turf, wdiile a 

 narrow stretch of the dwarf salmon-berr\- bushes, peculiar to this coast, 

 occupies the extreme crest of the slope upon the north. 



Iiuniediatelv upon arri\'al our attention was called to tin\- openings in the 

 grass, the orilkx> of subterranean burrows. Sometimes the entrance was 

 clear-cut ami open, with a little runway Ijeneath pa\ed (more b_\- accident and 

 use perhaps than b}^ (le>ign ) with little pebbles: but as often the nmuth of the 

 burrow was hidden Ijy a tangle of interlacing grass-stetiis. The tunnels are 

 about two and a half inches wide at the ninuth. and run in from two to three 

 feet. Thev seldom run straight but twist about at random, widening as lhe\' 

 proceed, until a considerable nesting chamber is reached. 



Here, according to the season, may be foutid two adult Ijirds, a l)ird ,and 

 an egg, or a bird and young. In the first case it is the male bird keeping com- 

 pany with his mate for se\'eral weeks before the single egg is laid. During 

 this hone\'moiin it is possible that the birds dme ont together; but when the 

 egg is laid, the male spends the day at sea, \isiting his brooding mate only at 

 late nightfall. Likewise, after the chick is hatched, it is the male who pro- 

 vides the food for mother atid l)al)e until such time as the rising appetite of the 

 junior lroglod\te reciuires the ser\ices of liMih parents. 



.\t the time of our \isit most of tlie nests contained young chicks .accom- 

 panied b\- their mothers, but some held eggs on the |)oitit of hatching. 



When remo\ed from the nest, the parent bird apjiears dazed and blinded, 

 and seldom seeks to escape by tlight. Taken into the hand, it jams its head 

 into the recesses of the fingers, thinking only of co\er. Placed upon the 

 ground, it pokes about the grass iti a fidgety, near-sighted way looking for a 

 hole, and does not scruple to enter the hole of a neighb<ir rather than remain 

 under sur\'eillance. Otice one Hew from the band and made oil to sea with 

 a bewildered, hesitant motion, a jerkiness somewhat similar to that of a 

 Nighthawk' at close quarters. Others I threw into the air, and the_\- too made 

 off to sea sheepishlw like waifs caught slee])ing on ;i ]iark bench and told to 

 moye on. 



In no instance di<l the mother betra\- an\- intere-t in her \'oung, or realize 

 that it, too, was in the same pli.sjbt. Now an<! then birds bit us. but their bills 

 were not strong enough to inflict injury. When molested. Petrels eject an 

 ill-.snielling oil, which either jiroceeiL fonu nr invohes the nostrils in its dis- 

 charge. This in turn is followed s])eedil\- b\ the contents ot the crop, if such 



