SULA. 341 



on a taiiiy c.ilin day, and these are few and far between, as the sliLjiitest bree/e fnjni olf the sea 

 sends the breakers thnndering over the rocUy base of the islands; this we found to be the case 

 on approaching tliem, and we had perforce to abandon all hope of landing, and content ourselves 

 with a longing glance at the Gannets {Siila sirrator) circling round the top oi the rock, and the 

 Cormorants ( Plialacmcoyax /citco'^astcr ) perched on the lower part of the islet. Three weeks later 

 we essayed the task again, and were successful in landing on the southern side of the rocks, on 

 a kind of platform, from which several of the party nut interested in birds made a good haul of 

 fish. To reach the Gannets we had to climb over the eastern end of the further and larger island, 

 on which alone many birds breed, descend again to the water's edge, on to a flat mass of rock, 

 usually covered at high tide, and then climb up on to the middle of the main rock, which is 

 hollow and rises to either end, the one nearest the land being covered with a mass of loose guano 

 se\eral feet in thickness, on which grows masses of iVIesemhryanthemum, affording an excellent 

 nesting ground for Pj'/c;/ (;;•/<■/, Nfc/r/i hrcvicaudns and liudvptnhi iiilnnr: the first named bird's 

 liurrows were in hundreds, each something like a rat hole, but oval in shape, and went in on 

 the slant for about a foot or eighteen inches, containing one egg laid on the bare guano in a 

 rather spacious oval chamber at the end, about twelve inches from side to side and eight inches 

 high ; the burrows were mostly started under over-hanging Mesembryanthemum, but many were 

 in bare exposed soil. The eggs were all in the same advanced stage of incubation at the time 

 of our visit, and three or four birds which we took from the nests were all males. The Mutton 

 Bird burrows were not numerous, and as every egg was perfectly fresh we concluded that we 

 were early for them. 



" There were also a few Penguin nests in the guan(j, hut more were found under the 

 boulders, down near high tide mark ; these nests contained either eggs in an advanced stage of 

 incubation, or else young birds, the latter being in the majority, and some being almost fully 

 feathered ; most of their nests were made of dry " pigface," and contained almost invariably two 

 young birds or a pair of eggs. To reach the Gannets we had to climb to the highest part of the 

 rock, at the far end of the island, at a height of about two hundred and fifty feet abo\^e the sea, 

 and about one hundred and fifty feet higher than the nesting ground of Prions and Mutton birds. 

 On Hearing the top of the rock we could see many sitting birds and others continually flying off 

 and on, several being busy feeding their young ; most of them kept to their nests till we were 

 within five or six yards when they all flew olf uttering indignant protests at the intrusion. 

 There were about two hundred nests, covering an area of about thirty or forty yards, on the 

 highest and most exposed part. The nests were about a foot or eighteen inches apart, and were 

 all built of kelp, fairly well put together, and with a good cavity in the centre for the egg. 

 Several nests were in course of construction ; there were many fresh eggs, but the majority, 

 two-thirds I should say, contained eggs fully incubated, and a few newly hatched young and 

 one or two large ones. Most of the nests contained one egg, but in several were two. After 

 taking specimens and photographs, which unfortunately did not turn out well, we descended to 

 rejoin our companions. The only land bird noted was a Pipit ( Anthiis lUistralis) and a few 

 Welcome Swallows. Some birds seemed to be nesting on the face of the clifT, but not having a 

 glass we were unable to identify them. They were thought to be Gulls {Lanis uoiKT-hoUandur )." 



From X'ictoria Mr. G. A. Keartland wrote me : — "One of the prettiest sights to be seen in 

 Hobson Hay, near Melbourne, is to watch the Gannets f .S'/(/,i senator) when a shoal of Pilchards 

 or other small fish is near the pier. The Gannets dive into the shoal with such force that the 

 spray rises to a height of about twenty feet, but when the bird rises to the surface it generally 

 has the fish, which it swallows, and then prepares for another dive." I noted this species myself 

 in the same locality, between St. Kilda and Port Melbourne, in November, lyii. 



While resident at Circular Head, on the North-west Coast of Tasmania, Dr. Lonsdale 

 llolden wrote me as follows: — " On the 20th August, 1887, I watched a large fiock of Gannets 



