Birds of Kerguelen Island. 23 



(EsTRELATA LEssoNi (Garuot) ; Salvin, Cat. B. xxv. 

 p. 402. 



My first notice of this rare white-headed Petrel was on 

 the 30th parallel, immediately to the north of the island. 

 " Mutton-birding '' in Kerguelen is quite a different matter 

 from what it is in Victoria. In the first place, a hooked stick 

 is of no use, as the holes are never straight, and, as they 

 penetrate to some 5 feet distance, the digging is difficult 

 work ; besides, the nests are few and far apart. 



I found that both sexes of this species take part in incu- 

 bation in the daytime, a male sitting in one case and females 

 ia others. From a nest which contained a nestling I took 

 a parent bird, which spat at me in a very nasty way from 

 its bill. It has not been recognized as usual with this Petrel 

 to attend its young in the daytime. Cuttle-fish seem to be 

 the favourite food, as I always extracted a large quantity 

 of tiny mandibles from the very small stomachs of these 

 Petrels. 



As I had gathered from Dr. Sharpens report on the birds of 

 this island that the coloration of the foot of this species had 

 not been carefully recorded, I noted in January the following 

 colours in seven birds : — Outer toe : all digits ebony-black. 

 Middle toe : prox. digit flesh- white, the other two digits black, 

 but not so black as those of the outer toe. Inner toe : prox. 

 digit flesh-white, distal digit nearly so, with a trace of black 

 down the centre. Webs : (a) between outer and middle 

 toes the distal half is brownish black, the prox. half is flesh- 

 colour; (b) between middle and inner toes the distal one- 

 fifth is brownish black, the prox. four- fifths being flesh- 

 colour. Nails horn-black. 



Nesting takes place on dry ground on the mainland or 

 islets, up to 100 feet above the sea-level. I got to know the 

 homes of this species by finding feathers loosely strewed along 

 the floor of the tunnel, and occasionally twigs of Acaena or 

 dry Azorella in small quantities. 



In nine nests found previously to 28th January all the eggs 

 contained well-developed embryos ; but a few days later L 

 procured an egg that was tolerably fresh. On the 29th 



