THE MUTTON PETBEL. 175 



I cannot say that ever I saw a true whimbrel out 

 here. 



The Pelican was not rare on the mud flats of either of 

 these bays, but I never saw them on the sandy beach. 

 It is the largest sea-bird on these coasts ; the body colour 

 pure white, the pinion feathers deep black ; the beak long 

 and broad, and the pouch large enough to hold a man's 

 head. They are easily crept up to when sitting half 

 asleep on a sea-bank, but they are of little value to the 

 gunner, and it is therefore a pity to shoot them ; for they 

 give an interesting wildness to the scenery on these 

 coasts, whether when passing at evening with motionless 

 and expansive flight over the mud flats to their feeding- 

 grounds, or when far out at sea they float buoyantly on 

 the surface of the water, rising and falling with every 

 billow. 



"We had a small species of penguin in our bays, which, 

 although rarely to be seen on the water, was often washed 

 up dead on the beach ; it was not more than half the 

 size of the king penguin, so common on the coast of 

 Africa, which it exactly resembled in shape and texture 

 of plumage ; but the body colour was shiny blue above, 

 white underneath. 



The Petrels close my list ; and of this bird we had, as 

 far as I could see, three varieties. The Mutton-bird, 

 which was the largest of all, nearly the size of a pigeon, 

 of an uniform dark dun colour ; a smaller variety as to 

 blue and white ; and the common little storm petrel, 

 smallest of all. Strange to say, I never myself killed a 



