86 EDWARD A. WILSON. 



single individual farther south than lat. 68 ; except on one solitary occasion it was not 

 seen in Ross Sea south of the encircling belt of pack ice ; but on the 27th of February, 

 1904, when we were on our way northward from Cape Adare, endeavouring to make 

 the Balleny Islands by working along the coast by Cape North, a very heavy and 

 extensive pack of ice forced us to stand out, and Priocella glacialoides became suddenly 

 abundant. The following day we passed through the middle of the Balleny group of 

 Islands and Priocella was more abundant than we had ever seen it elsewhere. It never 

 flew in a flock. On the 3rd, 4th and 5th it was still abundant, but on the following day 

 we crossed the Antarctic Circle and lost it as suddenly as we had found it. 



All that has so far been said, however, gives a one-sided idea of its distribution. 

 We reached New Zealand on the 1st of April and left on the 8th of June, to cross the 

 South Pacific Ocean at a higher latitude than is generally taken, and to round Cape Horn. 

 We were not so much surprised, therefore, when, on the 19th of June, we picked up 

 Priocella glacialoides once again and two days later Thalassoeca antarctica as well. 

 The latter we kept with us till within four days of Cape Horn, but Priocella much 

 longer, for it not only accompanied us in very considerable numbers through the 

 Straits of Magellan, but remained with us till July 12th, when we made Port Stanley in 

 the Falkland Islands. It was not until July 22nd in S. lat. 49 and W. long. 52 that 

 we eventually saw the last of it. Although we had both it and Thalassoeca antarctica 

 with us almost throughout our voyage from New Zealand to Cape Horn, we saw no ice. 

 The Snow Petrel alone of the southern birds, Penguins of course excepted, is an 

 infallible indication of the close proximity of ice. Nowhere did we see any sign of 

 Priocella s nesting place, though its sudden appearance in such large numbers in the 

 neighbourhood of the Balleny Islands was suggestive. It was then, however, so late in 

 the season that one would have expected to see young birds upon the wing, but in 

 no case did we meet with a bird in any plumage but that of the apparently adult. It 

 may be that the basaltic rocks of Scott Island, discovered in Ross Sea by the relief 

 ship ' Morning,' are a breeding place for this petrel, and for the Antarctic Petrel too. 

 From its position this is quite likely, and from the large number of birds seen in the 

 neighbourhood in January one might well be led to think that the eggs and the young 

 of these two birds may at some future date be found there. 



MAJAQUEUS .EQUINOCTIALIS. 

 The Cape Hen. 



Procellaria c&quinoctialis, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. (1766), p. 213. 



Majaqwus wquinoctialis, Coues, Pro. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1864, pp. 118, 142; Sharpe, Eep. ' South. Cross ' 

 Coll. (1902), p. 146, ibiqm citata. 



Majaqueus sequinoctialis , commonly known as the Cape Hen, first appeared on our 

 outward voyage on September 27th, 1901 (38 S., 1 E.). It is easily recognisable 



