736 FRIGATE-PETREL. 



of New Zealand, and in other similar places. The 'Challenger' 

 Expedition found it in burrows on Nightingale Island, one of the 

 Tristan da Cunha group, in the South Atlantic ; while as a wanderer 

 northward it has occurred on the coast of Massachusetts. 



Mr. Grant obtained many specimens from the burrows on the 

 Great Salvage Island, and there, strange to say, the sitting birds are 

 often killed and have their brains eaten by mice, which also suck 

 the eggs. Out of twelve sitting birds three were males ; and the 

 most advanced eggs were but half-incubated on April 27th. These 

 were white, more or less finely spotted — and often zoned towards 

 the larger end — with dark red and purplish dots, but a few were 

 uniformly spotted all over the shell : measurements i "4 by i inch 

 {cf. Ibis 1896, pp. 51-53). On the Rombos islets, belonging to 

 the Cape Verde group, Mr. Boyd Alexander found that all the 

 incubating birds were females ; three males, which were also captured 

 in the burrows, being merely "keeping company." Here, as on the 

 other islets, breeding was earlier than in the Salvages. The birds 

 which were disturbed ran along the ground in a dazed condition, 

 and were promptly picked up by Black Kites ; in fact the general 

 evidence seems to be that this species is very nocturnal in its habits. 

 The note is described as grating, or grunting. 



The adult has the crown of the head, nape, and a patch behind 

 the eye dark slate-grey ; forehead, lores and eye-stripe white ; upper 

 part of mantle grey, wing-coverts brown, quills blackish ; lower back 

 and tail-coverts clear grey, with some white at the bases of the 

 feathers ; tail-feathers black, ashy at their bases ; under surface 

 white, mottled with grey on the sides of the neck, flanks, and 

 under tail-coverts ; bill and feet black ; webs of toes yellow. 

 Length 775 in. ; wing, 6-25 in males and 6"38 in females. 



