Vol. IX. 

 1910 



1 Littler, A Trip to Ninth Island, Bass Strait. ^45 



ing that the number must have run into some thousands. Not 

 all the birds left at dawn, for in several instances a pair was 

 found in the burrow during the day. Pacific Gulls are not the 

 only enemies they have to contend against at Ninth Island, for 

 a couple of domestic cats run wild, in high condition, were seen. 

 Scores of dead Storm-Petrels in various stages of disruption were 

 scattered about the rookeries, and in several places among the 

 rocks on the hill-sides were heaps of bones and feathers. 

 Penguins, also, account for a num.ber, for they peck them as 

 they search for their burrows, and one peck means death to the 

 delicate Petrels. 



Naturally a sharp look-out was kept for Mutton-Birds 

 (^Piiffinus tenuirostris), but it was not until the 29th that the 

 first bird put in an appearance, and that at 6.50 p.m., or simul- 

 taneously with the Storm-Petrels. There is but one rookery 

 of this species on the island, and that on a portion of the 

 southern side, on a gentle slope. The burrows, which are 

 moderately shallow, are driven into the soft soil without any 

 protecting shelter in the way of tussock-grass, &c. It was 

 observed that the birds did not at once enter their burrows on 

 alighting, but rested on the ground outside for some time as 

 though utterly worn out. The mouths and throats of a couple 

 of individuals secured for taxidermical purposes were full of a 

 pasty substance of the appearance and smell of semi-masticated 

 tinned salmon. The rookery was but a small one, numbering 

 between 500 and 1,000 birds. On the morning of the 2nd of 

 October an immense flight of Mutton-Birds was witnessed. A 

 continuous stream passed by the island for some three hours. 

 The birds were flying west to east ; after passing the island they 

 bunched into great flocks, flying low over the water, every now 

 and then settling for a few minutes. They gave one the 

 impression of gigantic swarms of bees ; they eventually dis- 

 appeared to the north. 



Little Penguins {Eiidypttila minor) came in for close and 

 prolonged study, with interesting results. They were extremely 

 plentiful all over the island, but from evidences not as plentiful 

 as a few years ago. When two Little Penguins are in a burrow 

 it is always a matter of ease to separate the sexes, the male 

 being much stouter in build. When the pair are teased, the 

 female remains silent at the extreme back of the burrow, while 

 the male boldly attacks the stick, or whatever is thrust in, hissing 

 loudly the while. Another point of difference exists in the bills. 

 That of the male is a stout, formidable weapon, while that of the 

 female is much slimmer and weaker in appearance. We found 

 the above differences constant in the great hordes of Penguins that 

 came under our notice. A distinct variation in colouration was 

 discernible among the members of any flock examined, but this 

 variation cannot be taken as being in any way specific. On arriv- 



