168 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



stomach. I have read that some years ago in the remote 

 islands of the Hebrides, the inhabitants actually formed them into 

 candles by passing a rush through the body and out at the beak, 

 which is found to burn as well as if dipped in tallow or any 

 other grease. 



I was anxious to ascertain at what hour the parent birds 

 returned from sea, as the holes were only tenanted by the young. 

 I waited at dusk, thinking they would come in about the 

 same time as the Mutton-birds ; however, there was no sign 

 of them until it was pitch dark, showing that they are a more 

 timid bird than their dusky relative. It was after nine before I saw 

 a sign of a bird, and then a couple flew close to me. It was too 

 dark then to make any observations, so I set off back to the boat. 

 Whilst walking back alongside a shallow creek that led to a larger 

 rookery, I heard what I took to be fish rising ; the fisherman who 

 was with me, however, said he thought they were Mother Carey's 

 Chickens, striking the water with their feet as they flew over it. 

 By striking several matches at once, we saw that they were indeed 

 the birds we were looking for, returning in the dark to their 

 young. I learned from my companion that when he has been 

 seining round the island the birds have frequently struck the 

 hauling line of the net at night. 



The night of my visit being too dark to make observations, I 

 determined to make another trip whilst there was a good moon. 

 Therefore, accompanied by Mr. Clifford Coles, I left Mornington 

 on 1 6th January. We had a grand moon on the night of our 

 visit, and at dusk we took up a position on the rookeries to wait 

 for the birds. The first bird was seen at a quarter past nine, and 

 they came in a few at a time until near ten o'clock, when there 

 were large numbers arriving. They circled round the spot 

 several times, evidently to identify their particular burrow, and 

 then noiselessly and gracefully alighted within a foot or two of 

 the entrance, and, finding it, burrowed energetically for a moment 

 or two and disappeared below. The birds flew with a soft flight, 

 making scarcely any noise, and gave no call, so that on a dark 

 night, with a breeze, one would scarcely know there was a bird 

 about. 



Shortly after ten we went and tried a few holes to see if the old 

 birds were in, but, after trying several and only finding young, we 

 soon came to the conclusion that the petrels merely stayed in the 

 burrows long enough to feed the young one, and then flew away 

 to sea. This was verified in a few moments, as I saw a bird 

 enter a burrow close by. The young one made a noise like a 

 chicken the whole time it was evidently being fed. After the old 

 bird had been in the nest exactly seven minutes, it came out and 

 flew away. Odd birds came in until twelve o'clock, and 

 apparently stragglers continued to arrive later, as on waking up 



