14 THE Victorian naturalist. [Voi. xxv. 



utter at first a sharp note of anger, and then peck viciously at 

 one, and woe betide the uninitiated who foolishly attempts to 

 stroke them, since they can inflict a nasty wound on one's hand. 

 After a little judicious handling, however, they become quite 

 tame, Interspersed with the homes of the penguins were the 

 rabbit-like burrows of the Short-tailed Petrels, Fuffinus tenui- 

 rosb'is, or " Mutton-birds," as they are more often called. Their 

 burrows are easily singled out from those of the penguins by 

 having a smaller opening, besides being more deeply excavated. 

 Their holes are usually from 4 feet to 7 feet deep, whereas the 

 penguins' burrows rarely exceed 2 feet 6 inches in depth, but are 

 generally only 18 inches deep, and with an arched and a cave-like 

 opening. On some of our coastal islands penguins nest under the 

 overhanging grass tussocks, also sword-grass and other vegetable 

 growths,* and on rare occasions they utilize a crevice in a rock. 

 Investigation of all the homes of the Mutton-birds revealed the 

 fact that only three burrows were tenanted, and on walking 

 around the rookery the remains of the carcasses of these sombre- 

 coloured birds were seen m every direction. This dire mortality 

 at first puzzled me, but whilst wandering over the summit of the 

 rock later on I disturbed a pair of Black-cheeked Falcons, Falco 

 melanogenys, which were feasting on the body of one of these 

 birds. The Mutton-bird lays but one large white egg at the end 

 of its burrow, at which place it excavates a cavity and lines it 

 with but an apology for a nest, and in some instances with no 

 lining at all. Their eggs are excellent eating, and are gathered 

 in thousands upon thousands on the islands of Bass Strait and 

 Phillip Island, for culinary purposes, each nesting season. They 

 are larger than the egg of a domestic duck, and when fresh they 

 are a clean chalky white, and look inviting. When the young 

 birds have grown to a large size in the burrow, the islanders of 

 Bass Strait obtain quantities of oil from them, by holding them by 

 the legs over a barrel, and by squeezing them ; all the surplus 

 oil is expressed through their beaks, while the carcass is cured by 

 either salting or smoking, and then forms their staple diet. From 

 the fact that these birds take the place of meat at the table of 

 these simple islanders, they have been christened " Mutton- 

 bird." 



^'^A few rat-like holes were observed on the outskirts of this 

 small patch of soil, and into one I inserted my arm for about 

 two feet, until I felt something wriggling at the end. My 

 first inclination was to pull my arm out, thinking that it 

 was a venomous reptile, but I was aware that no snakes were 

 to be found on these rocks, so, reassured, I seized hold 

 of the wriggling creature and carefully pulled it from its hole. 

 As it emerged it was seen that it was a Dove-like Prion, Prion 



* See plate 3, fig. i. 



