212 The Rt. Rev. H. H. Montgomery on the 



approaches the horizon. The islands where the Petrels breed 

 are as a rule devoid of trees. They are sandy knolls covered 

 with long grass, and seem useless, except to feed a few sheep. 

 Chappell Island has an area of 1200 acres, Little Dog Island 

 about 120 acres. These are fair specimens of the rookeries, 

 and I have calculated that 40,000 holes per acre is not an 

 exaggerated estimate. All day long the young birds are 

 absolutely silent. The uninitiated might imagine that 

 nothing edible existed underfoot, and that they stood upon a 

 deserted rabbit-warren. Gazing out to sea on all sides, the 

 watcher will not yet detect a single Petrel ; not till the sun 

 has set and the darkness is increasing is there any sign of 

 the wonderful rush of birds, which, to a naturalist, is so 

 fascinating a sight. The following figures, noted in the 

 month of February, may be of interest : — 6.35 p.m., not a 

 Petrel in sight; 6.40, the first bird visible out at sea; 6.43, 

 the sun disappeared ; 6.48, sunset from the top of the light- 

 house (Goose Island) and the light flashed out ; 6.53 the 

 first Petrel flew rapidly over the island without settling ; 

 6.56, the numbers so great that I ceased counting; 6.58, 

 the numbers become bewildering ; 7.6, the numbers at their 

 maximum — tens of thousands whirling, wheeling, flashing 

 up from all sides, are whistling like bullets past one^s head, 

 till it seemed almost dangerous to stand up ; 7.30, nearly all 

 the birds had arrived. Then, and not till then, do the noises 

 commence. The flight inward of the parent birds is con- 

 ducted in absolute silence. Nothing, indeed, can be more 

 weird than this rush of dumb creatures, so perfect in flight, 

 but uttering no sound. As soon as the majority have arrived 

 the ground emits the most extraordinary sounds — gurglings, 

 groanings, and hoarse laughter. It must be confessed that 

 there is no music in the note. On Chappell Island some 

 300,000 young birds would at this moment be receiving oil 

 into their throats, poured into them by the parents, who 

 thus give them the one meal the fledgelings receive in the 

 24 hours. 



I now proceed to give the results of a whole night spent 

 on a large rookery on Big Dog Island, under a full moon. 



