DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLANDS 157 



species were seen in thousands perched on ledges on the steep chff sides, and we think 

 it certain that they nest on the islands. 



Another species common at many if not all the islands is a tern, doubtless a form of 

 Sterna vittata : small flocks were frequently seen sitting head to wind on an iceberg in 

 company with Antarctic penguins. The Giant petrel {Macronectes giganteiis) was some- 

 times numerous, but the Shoemaker {Majoqueus aequinoctialis), a skua which appeared 

 to be identical with that at South Georgia [Catharacta loiuibergi clarkei) and the 

 Dominican gull {Lams dominicamis) were less common. Wilson's petrel {Ocea?ntes 

 oceanicus), a most abundant bird at South Georgia, was here very scarce, and Whale 

 birds {Prion sp.) were seen only on a few occasions. A Shag {Phalacrocorax atriceps) 

 was observed at the Candlemas Group, and a large flock of them was constantly around 

 us while at anchor at Bristol Island. A single Mollymauk {Diomedea melanophrys) was 

 seen at Saunders. Other Albatross {Diomedea exidans and Phoebetria), the Snow petrel 

 {Pagodroma nivea), the Diving petrel {Pelecanoides urinatrix) and the Sheath-bill 

 {Chionis alba) were not seen at all. In the nesting season other birds are doubtless to be 

 found at the islands : Larsen reports that in November he saw thousands of Pagodroma 

 nivea nesting with Daption on Leskov. 



Fish. At most of the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands fish may be caught very 

 readily with hand-lines or in traps : on some occasions near King Edward Point in South 

 Georgia several hundred have been taken in the course of an hour or two. At the South 

 Sandwich Islands we were very unsuccessful in obtaining fish. Frequently nothing 

 whatever could be caught, and the only anchorage where even moderate numbers were 

 taken was off Shrove Point, Candlemas I. The fish were all Notothenia rossi, the com- 

 mon species at South Georgia, or an extremely closely allied form. The few trawls which 

 were taken yielded only a small number of fish ; the commonest was Parachaenichthys 

 georgianus, but at Bristol a small species, Notothenia angiistifrons , was obtained in some 

 quantity. At most of the places where trial was made the ground was thickly covered 

 with large simple Ascidians {Ascopera and other genera) ; of these jiany hundredweight 

 were brought on board and among them numerous interesting zoological specimens 

 were obtained. 



Vegetation. Tussac grass {Poa flabellata), which grows so luxuriantly at South 

 Georgia, does not occur any^vhere in the South Sandwich Islands. On almost all of 

 them, however, patches of green vegetation may be found, occurring rarely and nearly 

 always on a penguin rookery, where the ground is well manured. Cook mentions two 

 hills, seen beyond the north point of Saunders Island, which were without snow and 

 "seemed to be covered with a green turf". The hills must be those at the southern end 

 of Cordelia Bay, which are bare and formed of volcanic ash or mud, but at the time of 

 our visit there was no vegetation on them — nor was there any extensive rookery of 

 penguins. It was on Zavodovski, on steeply sloping ground on the northern side, in- 

 habited by vast numbers of penguins, that the most abundant vegetation was to be seen, 

 and here it certainly resembled green turf. The only specimens we have are some col- 

 lected on Thule by Mr T. J. Hart, and these have kindly been identified for us by Mr 



