5S4 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



Chloephaga leucoptera, Gmel. 

 Upland Goose 

 This bird is not a native of the island but has been introduced from the Falkland 

 Islands. A few pairs live in the valleys of West and East Cumberland Bays, chiefly in 

 the former. They must necessarily be confined to the beach during the winter. A goose 

 and seven goslings were seen swimming on a fresh water pool at West Cumberland 

 Bay in January and February, 1926. 



Phalacrocorax georgianus, Lonnberg 

 South Georgia Shag 

 (Plate XLVII, figs. 5-7) 



This Shag, subspecifically different from Ph. atriceps, is a common resident at South 

 Georgia. It feeds on fish, which it catches by diving, round the coast and in the 

 fjords. It breeds in small colonies of ten to twenty pairs, building the nests on tussac- 

 covered ledges of the cliffs over the sea. The birds are often to be seen sitting about on 

 the rocks and boulders near the sea, drying the wings in typical cormorant fashion. 

 They have a peculiar habit when approached by the whale ships at sea: they fly up 

 towards the vessel and, keeping the same speed as it, fly alongside the crow's-nest at 

 the foremast head. This is often the cause of their destruction, as they can then easily be 

 knocked down so that they fall on deck, and they are much sought after as a table 

 delicacy in South Georgia. 



The nests are built of mud, tussac and dried kelp. The eggs, usually three in number, 

 are pale blue-green with a coating of chalky substance. They are laid early in December 

 and hatch in the first half of January. The young when hatched are quite naked, but 

 soon get a covering of dark grey down with a few tufts of white interspersed among it. 

 The down is shed in February, and in the next month they leave the nest. The colouring 

 of the first plumage is similar to that of the adults, but there is a dull brown tinge in 

 the dorsal and wing feathers, which have a metallic blue and green sheen respectively 

 in the adult. The bill is light greyish brown, darker dorsally and lighter at the tip. 

 The caruncles are not developed but are represented by a dark purplish brown area 

 covered with small papillae. The same colour extends round the eye but is lighter 

 below it. The iris is light brown (Plate XLVII, fig. 5). The feet and legs (Plate XLVII, 

 fig. 6) are pink, with the edges of the webs and the ends and joints of the toes grey, 

 the claws black. The adult (Plate XLVII, fig. 7) has the bill dark brown, the nasal 

 caruncles orange yellow, the bare area of the face purplish brown, the eyelids ultra- 

 marine and the feet pink. 



Chionis alba, Gmel. 



Sheathbill 

 (Plate XLVII, figs. 8, 9) 

 The Sheathbill, known to the whalers as " Rype ", is a fairly common resident species 

 in South Georgia, being found in flocks of six to thirty or more, except in the nesting 



