XXVIII. 



IQ12 



] Gabriel, Notes on the Mutton-birds of Bass Strait. 209 



nearly as far north as Sydney, and I found upon inquiry that 

 there was a great scarcity of " whale-food " (small molluscs 

 belonging to the class Pteropoda) about that year. As this 

 is the birds' principal food, it sufficiently accounts for this 

 great mortality. Yet, in spite of this, in two seasons after- 

 wards we found the birds on the rookeries as numerous as ever. 

 This was the only year I recollect the birds being reported as 

 short, which, as starvation was the sole cause, cannot be 

 wondered at. 



Coming now to the more controversial part of my paper — ■ 

 the paragraphs which recently appeared in the newspapers : — 



AIUTTON-iiiRDS.— Disappointed Collectors. 



Wonthaygi, Monday. — The Mutton-birds can usually be expected to 

 come into Phillip Island about the same day every year, as Cape 

 Woolamai is the hatchery they have always frequented. The birds 

 were expected on about 23rd or 24th November, and several parties 

 proceeded from Wonthaggi on Saturday in order to collect the eggs. 

 There was a large crowd on the island from other parts of the .State. 

 The majority, however, were doomed to disappointment, as up to the 

 present very few birds have arrived, and very few eggs were gathered. 

 This is said to be due to the fact that the wind has not been favourable 

 to bring in the birds. Some people hold the opinion that last vear the 

 eggs were collected in such numbers anil the birds slaughtered to such 

 an extent that if the same thing continued for a year or two the birds 

 would become extinct. A great many favour a proposal to make Cape 

 Woolamai, the Mutton-birds' home, a sanctuary for them — Herald., 

 27th November, 1911. 



Inquiries are being made by the Came and Fisheries Department into 

 the destruction of .Mutton-birds at Cape Woolamai. and it will submit a 

 report to the Covernment on the matter. The Department had its 

 representative at Woolamai during the time in which the wanton 

 destruction of birds was complained of, and the police should have been 

 present also. From 1902 to 1906 a proclamation was in force protecting 

 Mutton-birds at the two principal nesting-places at Phillip Island, but 

 they are not now protected at all. The Department considers that as 

 Cape Woolamai is the principal nesting-place, it might well be closed, 

 and if the birds are protected in this place it is likely that a similar step 

 will be taken in regard to Phillip Island. Recommendations are shortly 

 to be submitted for the protection of the birds. — Age, 30th November, 191 1. 

 Mutton-birds at Woolamai. 



The proposal to proclaim Cape Woolamai a sanctuary for bird life is 

 regarded with great favour by field naturalists. Cape W^oolamai is one 

 of the last strongholds of the Short-tailed Petrel, or Mutton-bird, on the 

 mainland, and the rookery, it is considered, should be protected before 

 it is too late. At a recent meeting of the Field Naturalists' Club of 

 Victoria, Mr. E 13. Nicholls read a paper describing a trip to the Bass 

 Valley, in which he referred to the Mutton-birds on Woolamai, and 

 advised that some measures be taken for their protection. Mr. Nicholls 

 states that many residents of Wonthaggi are in the habit of visiting the 

 rookery, and do much damage. Young birds are taken from the 

 burrows and roughly handled, while others are carelessly trampled upon. 

 A man at Wonthaggi was overheard saying that he was " looking for- 

 ward to good sport on Cape Woolamai.'' One reason for the reservation 



