184 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



when they could get no rocks to nest under they took possession 

 of any Mutton-bird burrow they could near the beach, and when 

 once in possession no Mutton-bird could turn them out, but if the 

 hole was shallow they ran the risk of being attacked by ravens, 

 which had the advantage, owing to their large, powerful beaks, 

 and various skeletons of Penguins lying about bore grim testi- 

 mony to their power. We found eggs in various stages of 

 incubation, and only two in the clutch, but they soon get nest- 

 stained. It often strikes a visitor to such scenes how unmusical 

 and weird are the sounds uttered by the various sea birds, 

 especially Penguins, Petrels, and Albatrosses, in contrast to those 

 of land birds. 



Cape Barren Geese, Cereopsis novce-hollandice, were noticed on 

 several of the islands, but we were too late for eggs, although one 

 nest was found situated high up in a group of rocks in some 

 tussocky grass, and from which the young had just been hatched, 

 and we caught them not far from the nest, but liberated them 

 again to go with their anxious mother, who kept flying round, 

 uttering her call. The nest had some down in and dried grass. 

 The parents seemed to take their little ones to feed near the 

 water's edge when the tide was out. These birds do not increase 

 very fast, as the eggs are taken or destroyed by the inhabitants of 

 the islands on purpose to cheek any increase, as they find the 

 birds take the grass they want for their cattle and sheep. Both 

 the Pied and Sooty Oyster-catchers were very plentiful on the 

 beaches. They were noisy birds. We noticed that the Pied 

 variety, Hcematopus longirostris, generally nested on the sand, 

 frequently on the hummocks, whereas the Sooty, H. unicolor, 

 nested on dead vegetation or seaweed, near the rocks, a little 

 further inland. The eggs of the two birds are almost identical ; 

 that of the Sooty appeared as a rule slightly larger and darker, 

 but not always. 



We were enabled to visit Cat Island, but saw none of tlie 

 dreaded breakers on our way there that the Field Naturalists' 

 party came in contact with ; we found the open sea perfectly 

 smooth, and fully appreciated it, as our captain said he had seen 

 the breakers in easterly weather as high as the mast of his ship 

 breaking on the sand ridges, and we were quite content to take 

 his word for it. On this island we landed, and paid a visit 

 to the Gannet (Sula serrator) rookery, and a beautiful and 

 interesting sight it was to see so many birds congregated 

 together. The birds were evidently later nesting this year 

 than when the members of the Field Naturalists' Club visited 

 them in 1893, as they found young birds, whereas we only 

 found fresh eggs, although we were there at a later time 

 of the year. It was an interesting sight watching the birds and 

 seeing the various antics they went through one towards another. 



