GIANT PETEEL. 45 



at the base, and showing a median keel, and narrowing to a small circular aperture, 

 apparently single, the septum being far within. A specimen measured gave breadth 

 at base 28.5 mm., at aperture 14 mm., diameter of aperture 9 mm. The interramal 

 space is feathered. 



In the wing the first primary is longest, and the general shape is rounded. 

 The tail is also rounded, and the rectrices number sixteen, a feature shared with 

 no other member of this family, and is about one-third the length of the wing. The 

 legs are very strong and the tarsus is nearly as long as the culmen ; the toes very 

 long and fully -webbed and a distinct hind -toe present, of only one phalanx. 



Coloration uniform brown to uniform white. 



35. Macronectes giganteus. GIANT PETREL. 



\Procellaria gigantea Gmelin, Syst. Nat., Vol. I., pt. n., p. 563, April 20th, 1789 : Staten 

 Island, off Tierra del Fuego. Extra-liraital.] 



Gould, Vol. VII., pi. 45 (pt. xxxvi.), Dec. 1st, 1848. Mathews, Vol. II., pt. 2, pi. 89, July 

 31st, 1912. 



Macronectes giganteus dovei Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. III., pt. 3, p. 54, April 7th, 

 1916 : Sydney, New South Wales. 



DISTRIBUTION. East Australian Seas. Occurrence in West Australian Seas recorded, but 

 no specimens seen. 



Adult : dark phase. Sooty-black above and below ; wing 513 mm., culmen 

 101, tail 177, tarsus 88 ; bill, pale yellowish horn ; feet and legs grey. 



Adult : white phase. Entire upper- and under-surface white, with a few dark- 

 tipped feathers sparsely scattered over the whole plumage. The dark feathers vary 

 in pattern ; some are entirely dark grey, while others are only tipped, or the grey 

 restricted to the outer web ; there are also some with black shafts, the black increas- 

 ing in width at the tips. Total length 865 mm. ; culmen 104, wing 483, tail 165, 

 tarsus 94. 



Immature. Darker, and almost pure black in the Sub-antarctic forms, but 

 brownish in the Antarctic races, and, of course, showing smaller measurements, 

 and generally paler bills and feet. 



Nestling. Covered with grey down. 



Nest. A depression in the ground. 



Eggs. Clutch, one ; white ; 100 mm. by 63. 



Breeding -season . November . 



Distribution and forms. Round the Antarctic and Sub-antarctic Circles. Six 

 subspecies have been proposed : M . g. giganteus (Gmelin) may breed on Graham's 

 Land and the South Orkneys ; M . g. solanderi Mathews, for the Falkland Islands 

 bird, of uniform dark coloration, small size and pale yellow bill ; M. g. halli Mathews, 

 from Kerguelen Island, uniform dark brown with a white face, long and massive 

 bill, but less than the Antarctic forms ; M . g. albiis Potts, an albino, the New Zealand 

 race is uniformly dark coloured, darker than the preceding, with a much smaller 

 bill and shorter tarsus (M . g. dovei Mathews was named from Sydney, as being 

 smaller) ; M . g. wilsoni Mathews, from the Ross Sea, Antarctica, of very large 

 size and notably paler coloration, a majority being almost white, and to which has 

 been attached the Macquarie Island birds ; and M . g. forsteri Mathews, from the 

 west coast of South America the smallest and darkest subspecies with small bill, 

 wings, and feet. It may be observed that the Antarctic breeding birds are larger 

 and paler than the Sub-antarctic breeding series. 



FAMILY PELECANOIDIMG. 



At present only two genera are recognised in this family and, as the differential 

 characters are only seen in the bill formation, the features of the family may be 



