Vol. VI. 

 1907 



I Campbell and Mattingley, Rookery of Slorm-Petrels. igi 



posed of " whale's food," a small species of crustacean found 

 floating on the surface of the ocean. This they regurgitate, and 

 when they enter their burrows a faint purring note of welcome 

 is made by the nestling, evidently in anticipation of its evening 

 meal. Opening its mouth wide over the head of its young one, 

 which forthwith thrusts its beak into that of the adult and opens 

 it, the parent bird brings up the dainty and juicy contents of its 

 stomach. With this meal the young one has to be content until 

 next night, but as it lives an indolent life, quietly ensconced in 

 the cool shade of its burrow, it waxes exceeding fat, so much so 

 that in some parts of the South Sea Islands, where these birds 

 also nest, the natives, passing a dry rush through a dead young 

 one's body, form thereby an excellent candle. 



Lying out, wet and cold, and with eyes filled with sand which 

 was being whirled about by the gale, observations of the home- 

 coming of these fragile ocean wanderers was anything but 

 pleasant. About 8.30 p.m. the first bird arrived, and not until 

 9.10 p.m. did the next one put in an appearance. They flickered 

 over the rookery for a few seconds to pick up their bearings, 

 then noiselessly descended to the mouth of their burrow, some- 

 times having to clear away the sand which had blown into the 

 mouth. Having fed the young one and caressed it, they depart, 

 probably carrying away in their bills the excrement in the 

 burrow, the time spent in the burrow being between 7 and 10 

 minutes. 



Two enemies of the White-faced Storm-Petrel are found on 

 the island — the Harrier, and, worse still, the common rat, intro- 

 duced by the guano-getters. If these rodents are not exterm- 

 inated, it is only a matter of time when they will destroy the 

 occupants of the rookery, since several freshly killed remnants 

 of these fragile birds were found about. On visiting the rookery 

 again on the 23rd and 24th February, it was noticed that a large 

 proportion of the Godwits, Stints, Lesser Golden Plover, and 

 Curlew had departed, presumably on their northern pilgrimage 

 to breed. A fair proportion of the Storm-Petrels that had 

 reached the adult stage had also departed. Mr. Joseph Gabriel 

 informs me that some years ago many of the White-faced Storm- 

 Petrels, and also the Mutton-Birds, did not nest ; they were 

 found dying in thousands along the shore. This was attributed 

 to the scarcity of " whales' food," which is the principal diet of 

 these sea-roaming birds. It has been reported (see Ej/iti, vol. 

 ii., page 129) that when " whales' food " is abundant the Mutton- 

 Bird has been seen in hundreds of thousands feeding upon 

 it, the birds covering the surface of the water for miles and 

 miles. 



The following is a list of birds noticed about the island. 

 Reference should also be made to a list published by Mr. S. P. 

 Townsend in the Victorian Naturalist, vol. xix., p. 166 :— 



