166 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST, 



of water. Heavy rain soon disappears to lower levels, and 

 is not allowed to saturate and sour the soil unduly, while 

 from these lower levels in summer the water is easily attracted 

 back again to the surface by the sun's heat in quantities 

 sufficient for the plants' uses. Thus the soil, which without this 

 water would be a desert half the year, becomes a paradise for 

 the island cattle. 



A TRIP TO MUD ISLAND, PORT PHILLIP BAY, 

 WITH NOTES ON THE WHITE-FACED STORM- 

 PETREL, FELAGODliOMA MARINA. 



By S. p. Townsend. 



(Read he/ore the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria, 9th March, 1903.) 



Between Christmas and New Year, having heard from the 

 fishermen that " Storm Petrels " bred on Mud Island, I deter- 

 mined to go down there and ascertain approximately the numbers 

 of birds and extent and condition of the rookeries. Sailors as a 

 rule have never heard the name petrel applied to tliese birds, 

 but always call them " Mother Carey's Chickens," and have a 

 superstition that their appearance forebodes a storm. 



We set sail from Sclinapper Point (Mornington) in the early 

 hours of the morning, and with a fair wind made the island in 

 about three hours' sailing. Mud Island is situated in Port 

 Phillip Bay, about i8 miles south-west from Mornington and 5 

 north-east from Queenscliff. It is an irregular oval, with a 

 shallow lagoon in the centre, with creeks running out of it. The 

 island itself is about three miles in circumference, and the soil 

 consists of sand and beds of cockle shells, and on the surface 

 this is in a loose, friable state, but lower down is a hard con- 

 glomerate of shells and sand (see exhibit). The vegetation 

 consists of different species of Saltbush, Currant Bush, and Pig- 

 face weed (Mesembryanthemum), with some stunted Lightwood 

 (Acacia nielanoxi/lon) scrub at the north end. There are shallow 

 tidal banks round the island, and on some of these sea-grass 

 grows, and forms the feeding ground of a large number of Swans. 

 The lagoon in the centre goes j^artially dry at low water, and at 

 the time of my visit was covered with flocks of Limicolse of a great 

 many difterent species. On a sand-bank, a few hundred yards 

 from the shore, there were eight Pelicans, which seemed to sleep 

 all day, but occasionally woke up and gave a tremendous yawn in 

 a most ludicrous manner. There are a few rabbits on the island, 

 which evidently live on bushes and Pig-face, as there is no other 

 ■ feed and absolutely no fresh water. The only land birds I 

 observed were the Grass-bird (which is fairly plentiful in the low 

 bushes), White-fronted Chat, Sparrow, Meadow Pipit, and Swamp- 



