Habits of the Mutton-bird. 215 



"hireling" till March 20tli, there was much danger that the 

 colony would be extirpated ; but I consider that the present 

 regulations are sufficient. 



A few facts about the process of birding may be of interest. 

 Temporary huts are erected on these islands, and wood and 

 water stored there before March 20th ; for, as a rule^ these 

 islets are otherwise uninhabited. The workers start from 

 their huts and work outward, but no regular division of 

 ground is made. The "birder''' thrusts his arm into the 

 burrow up to the shoulder and secures the young Petrel by 

 the neck, not by the leg. It is most important that the oil, 

 of which the creature is quite full, should not exude from its 

 mouth ; if it gets on the feathers these will not scald off. 

 Having broken the bird's neck, he transfers his booty to his 

 left hand and holds it head upward. A dozen can thus be 

 held in the left hand. They are then transferred to a stick, 

 still head upward, and a child takes them to the women, 

 who have tubs of boiling water ready. Before the bird is 

 scalded it is emptied of its oil, which varies from a table- 

 spoonful to almost half a pint at times. The oil is used in 

 lamps and is also sought after for machinery. Enormous 

 shoals of fish are attracted by the entrails of the birds, which 

 are thrown into the sea ; but no one has time to fish, for 

 nature has put a limit to the industry. The birds fly aw^ay 

 in May. 



I add, as a curiosity, a statement of a theory held by every 

 inhabitant of these islands, which will probably cause amuse- 

 ment. Every " birder " says that as soon as the young bird 

 emerges from its hole it commences to eat gravel, that 

 it does so in order to ballast itself, and that no bird can swim 

 upright or fly till it has devoured its ballast. They declare 

 they have tested it times without number. That the birds 

 eat gravel is certain ; but whether it is that they are ravenous 

 or that a healthy bird needs some grit inside it before it can 

 feed as the old birds feed, I have no means of deciding. It 

 may be that here we are in the presence of a fact in bird-life 

 which still requires explanation. In future years I hope 

 to be able to time my visit to these regions so that I may 



