'^"mi^^'l FERGUSON, Notes on Australian Tubinarcs 109 



June 2ncl. — Sooty x\lbatross (/'. fusca) — Xumerous. Noted one 

 with slieht grey on najie. Another with conspicuous white 

 mark on sides of neck, and back sHghtly dappled ; couldn't dis- 

 tinguish any yellow on lower mandible, nor any white ring round 

 •eye. It is to be noted that Loomis lists only one s])ecies of 

 Sooty Albatross, Pharbctria palpcbrata. 



To turn to the smaller Petrels, I find in my notes a record of 

 having once identified the Diving Petrel ■; Pclccanoidcs iirinatrix) 

 in ])ass Strait. Its small size and mode of flight render it fairly 

 <iasily distinguishable. Crossing from Mobart to the I'.lutt in 

 December, 1911, our vessel was followed by several white-l)ellied 

 storm petrels, with light underwing coverts and white rumj). 

 These were provisionally identified as the White-bellied Storm 

 Petrel iFrcgctta grallaria), but this identification is by no 

 n.eans certain. Smiilar birds were also seen in January, 1914, 

 between Wellington and Sydney. The I.'lack-bellicd Storm 

 I'etrel {Frcgeita tropica) I have seen in the South Indian Ocean, 

 but owing to the loss of my notes cannot give the dates of obser- 

 \ation. Wilson, or Yellow-webbed, Storm Petrel (Occanitcs 

 vccanicus) I have observed in the Ijight (March, 1916), and the 

 White-faced Storm Petrel {Fclagodronia nmrina) on the eastern 

 coast, but I have never met with the Grey-backed Storm Petrel 

 (Garrodia nereis) unless several grey-backed storm Petrels seen, 

 not too distinctly, in the IJight (March, 1916) belonged to this 

 species. 



The Shearwaters are almost impossible to identify at sea, 

 unless when passing the breeding place of a known species. In 

 this way, I am certain of having seen the Wedge-tailed {Puffiuns 

 pacificus), on the east coast of New South Wales, and ofif Rott- 

 nest Island; the Fleshy-footed (P. carneipes), near King 

 George Sound; the Short-tailed or Mutton-bird (P. 

 ienuirostris) , in Victoria; and the Sombre (P. griseus), 

 in New Zealand. The latter is fairly readily recog- 

 nised by the grey underwing coverts, and the Fleshy- 

 footed {P. carneipes) by its light-coloured bill, but isolated 

 specimens of any of these species would be impossible of identi- 

 fication. 



The Fluttering Shearwater {PufUnus qavia) is common on the 

 New South Wales coast, and may be recognised by its fluttering 

 i.'ight, quite unlike that of the Wedge-tailed [P. pacificus), with 

 which it occurs. I have seen it as far north as Cape Hawke. 



The Allied Petrel (P. assiniilis) I have doubtfullv identified on 

 one or two occasions, but not close to the Australian coast, un- 

 less birds seen off the south-west corner of the continent be- 

 longed to this species. I find in my notes queried identifica- 

 tions of this species for birds seen between Sydney and Auck- 

 land, and also two days out from Fremantle, in the Indian Ocean. 



Much discussion has taken place over the species of Procellaria 

 (Majaqueus) found in Australian seas, and over the question of 

 the identity of the Spectacled Petrel (P. conspicillata), with the 



