198 Transactions. — Zoology. 



five to twenty in number. Its food consists of fish, frogs, 

 newts, &c." 



Dysporus serrator, Gray. (Gannet.) 



Through the kind attention of Mr. Hill, the Inspector of 

 Schools at Napier, I had recently an opportunity of visiting a 

 famous breeding-ground of the Gannet at Cape Kidnappers. 

 The following short account of my visit may be interesting to 

 members of the Society. 



In the afternoon of the 30th December we started in a 

 buggy from Napier and drove some fourteen miles to Clifton, 

 the picturesque and well-ordered homestead of the Messrs. 

 Gordon, where we remained a short time for refreshment. 

 Mr. G. F. Gordon gave us some interesting particulars about 

 the Gannet " rookery" on his property that we were about to 

 visit, and lent us horses for the trip along the coast. It was 

 intensely hot, the thermometer registering 130° in the sun and 

 93° in the shade — undoubtedly the hottest day of the season. 

 We rode about five miles along the beach, then left our horses 

 and scaled the side of the cliff and crossed the slope beyond 

 (a distance of about a mile altogether), and then we found 

 ourselves right above the great Gannet nursery, to which we 

 at once descended by a very narrow and slippery path along 

 the face of the cliff. We were amply repaid for our trouble, 

 for we happened to arrive at a fortunate time (just after sun- 

 set), when all the old birds iiad come in from their fishing, so 

 that we were able to view the proceedings on the breeding- 

 ground under the most favourable conditions. 



Standing boldly out of the sea beyond the Cape are two 

 conical "sugar-loaves" of Lower Miocene formation, and the 

 cape itself presents a rounded headland with an arched 

 passage right through it, which is distinctly visible from the 

 decks of steamers following their usual track along the coast. 

 From this headland the land rises in three little peaks, each 

 successively higher, all of the same clay-maid formation, and 

 then we come to a small plateau, about an acre in extent and 

 about 200ft. above the sea, the whole of which is occupied by 

 the Gannets. On each side of this little plateau the land 

 slopes upwards. The actual breeding-ground is in the centre, 

 which is perfectly level, and the birds occupy the higher 

 ground for resting on, the whole surface being worn bare by 

 the constant traffic over it. At the time of our visit there 

 ■were probably over a thousand birds nesting there. Some 

 of the nests contained sitting birds, there being only one egg 

 in each nest; but by far the larger proportion contained young 

 birds (never more than one) in all stages of growth, from the 

 newly-hatched naked chick of a uniform black colour to the 

 half-fledged nestling. But most of the occupants of the nesting- 



