G Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



whitish, with pale-yellow feet and bill. Young in down of 

 graceful tern white underneath, rest of surface slightly 

 mottled ; feet and bill pink. Eyes dark in both species," 



In conclusion, I should like to record the dates and 

 breeding locahties of two petrels. 



First. — The Fleshy-footed Petrel {PufUnus carneipes, 

 Gould), which I found breeding on Breaksea Island, King 

 George's Sound. The first eggs were noticed by the 

 lighthouse keepers on 80th November, and were plentiful 

 on 7th December. The same dates apply to Mutton-bird 

 Island, Tor Bay, where some eggs were also collected on the 

 mainland. This is the first instance, as far as I am aware, 

 of petrels laying on the mainland of Australia. They 

 invariably resort to isolated rocks or islands for the purpose 

 of breeding. The burro v.'s of the fleshy-footed petrels are 

 mostly tunnelled in sandy soil, in an oblique direction from 

 four to six feet, but sometimes to the depth of eight feet. 



Second.— The Wedge-tailed Petrel [Puffinus sphenurus, 

 Gould). — I first made the aquaintance of this nocturnal 

 creature on Rottnest Island, where I obtained a couple of 

 eggs on 22nd Novembei'. When I reached Rat Island 

 (Houtman's Abrolhos), I ascertained the first eggs there 

 were discovered in the burrows on 17tli November, while 

 the majority of eggs were collected the following week. 



Some of the islands of the Abrolhos, which are about 

 fifty miles off Champion Bay, for prodigious numbers of 

 birds, brought to my recollection the journey of the Israelites, 

 when quail fell among them. Truly it seemed to me, when 

 upon Rat Island, that the face of the earth, as well as the sea, 

 was covered with birds, " as it were a day's journey on this 

 side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side," round 

 about our camp. For there were noddy terns breeding as 

 close as they could pack upon the bushes, sooty terns were 

 croaking over their task under the bushes, wdiile the ground 

 underneath was honeycombed with petrels, moaning and 

 groaning, especially at night, when it might be readily said, 

 the whole island " groaneth and travaileth in pain." 



Mr. G. K. Beddoes, C.E. (Manager of the Guano Station), 

 and I, calculated that there were about 300 acres of Rat 

 Island occupied by birds, and that they averaged at least 

 one bird for every square yard, giving a total of 1,452,000 

 birds for one small island alone. Some of the photographs, 

 exhibited to-night, will give a very fair idea of the flights 

 and multitude of birds. 



