Chapman. — On the Islands sontli of Neiu Zealand. 517 



billing ^vllile we stood close by them. They were as numerous 

 as geese in a farmyard, and less active, for geese would either 

 have run away from or after us. On the flanks of the moun- 

 tain there were more albatroses, young and old, but very few 

 old enough to be nearly white. The season was decidedly 

 backward as compared with the other islands ; we only got 

 three eggs, and altogether only about twenty were found. 

 With such a number of nests I am sure that a month later a 

 thousand could be gathered in the same time, as at Adam's 

 Island some four hundred were obtained. Sir W. Buller 

 mentions parties of Maoris getting a thousand young alba- 

 troses from some smalT islets near the Chatham Islands. 

 Captain Fail child thinks that albatroses have become less 

 numerous since his first visits to Antipodes Island, though at 

 this season he disturbs them very little, and at other seasons 

 still less ; but this is probably due to the fact that his former 

 visits were later in the year. Thinking they might be shifting 

 their breeding-ground, I inquired if he knew of any nesting on 

 the mainland of New Zealand. He replied that he had seen 

 them flying over the high-level land at Dusky Sound, and 

 during the last few years he had iioticed immense numbers of 

 birds off the coast of New Zealand, where he had never seen 

 them numerous before. On this island we found young alba- 

 troses standing about the old nests quite low down on the 

 plain, but they were far more numerous on the hill. On our 

 way down the mountain we crossed some very wet gi'ound at 

 the source of the stream. Here we found all the leaves of the 

 Stilbocarpa covered with dirt newly thrown out of burrows. 

 We could not satisfy ourselves what birds were making these' 

 bur)-nws. We could hear birds squeaking in some of them, 

 and out of one got a young but grown sea-hawk, wdiether a 

 denizen or a robber we could not tell. In another we got an 

 egg which contained a fully matured nelly {Ossifraga gigantea) 

 chick. On the mountain-side were numerous holes under 

 tussocks which I took to be those of the Prion, or night-bird, 

 or of some petrel. We did not obtain many plants worth 

 cultivating, but everywhere we saw small but beautiful gen- 

 tians in flower. Mr. Kirk obtained several interesting plants. 

 Besides the birds mentioned we saw ground-larks paler in 

 colour than those of New Zealand, and very tame. Snipe, 

 too, were obtained, but I did not see any. They are said to 

 be different from those of the other islands. There are, in fact, 

 two species of snipe in the outlying islands, that of the Chat- 

 ham Islands, G. imsilla, being distinct. All the laud-birds are 

 very tame, and are poor fliers. If they were better fliers they 

 would more easily get blown to sea. At some seasons the 

 parrakeets become very shy. This island was discovered by 

 -f Japtain Pendleton in 1800, but I know nothing of his voyage. 



