THE BLACK PETEEL 253 



The White-chinned Petrel. 

 Majaqueus aequinoctialis. 



Sooty black, the chin white. Sometimes an irregular white stripe 

 under the eye, and another across the forehead. Bill yellowish horn, 

 varied with black; legs and feet black. Length of the wing, 1.5 in.; of 

 the tarsus, 2.6 in. Egg — About .3 in. in length. Southern Ocean, south 

 of Lat. 30° South. 



This bird breeds in holes at the Auckland Islands. By the 

 sealers it is called stink-pot, or stinker. 



The Black Petrel. — Taonui or Taiko. 



Majaqueus parkinsoni. 



Sooty black. Bill with the middle parts bluish white. Legs, and feet 

 black. Length of the wing, 13.2 in.; of the tarsus, 2.2 in. Egg — 2.85 in. 

 in length. New Zealand seas. 



My first acquaintance with the black jDetrel was on the Little 

 Barrier Island, in February, 1907. During the first night I 

 spent on the sanctuary, I heard this bird's call, which is a 

 strange and unearthly sound. When darkness falls upon the 

 island and all the children of the forest have retired for the 

 night, the black petrel hurries on its flights, returning home 

 across the seas to its subterranean nest on the mountain top, or 

 setting out upon some mysterious voyage through the night. It 

 is as dark as night itself, and is quite invisible, but its cry can be 

 heard far above, and by that means its course through the air 

 can be traced until it reaches the mist-covered mountain-tops. 

 The cry is quite unlike that of any other bird. As the sound 

 comes down through the darkness from a great height, it seems 

 to belong to some ominous, inauspicious creature, whose presence 

 bodes nobody any good. It strikes the ear as the combination of 

 a soft whistle and a deep "whir," coming from the bottom of a 

 husky throat. It is repeated at frequent intervals, and is loud and 

 rasping, and utterly unmusical. I heard this call night after 

 night before I saw the parkinsoni itself. On one occasion, one of 

 these birds fluttered near me as I was going to my tent at night, 

 and I was startled with the noise of its long-sweeping wings, 

 which seemed to come suddenly out of the darkness and rush past 

 with incredible swiftness. Several days afterwards I had an 



