358 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



tion is entirely wanting ; and to the north of the harbour at its entrance are other similar 

 rookeries. Towards the upper part of the harbour, the rookeries are those of the Smaller 

 Crested Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) called " Rockhopper " by the sealers, the same 

 as that at Marion Island, but nesting scattered amongst these is another kind of Penguin 

 (Eudyptes chrysolophus), the "Macaroni " of sealers. This bird has a most beautiful golden 

 crest, showing conspicuously on the middle of the upper part of the head, commencing 

 just behind the beak, and with a plume on each side as in the bicrested species. The 

 bird is larger than the Rockhopper, and is further distinguished from it by the 

 presence of a naked, somewhat tumid space, at the base of the beak, which is of a 

 light pink colour, in other colouring it resembles the Rockhopper. This Penguin 

 occurs at the Falkland Islands, where it nests as at Kerguelen Island, in small numbers 

 amongst the Rockhoppers. These birds, however, only thus nest amongst the other 

 Penguins where they are few in number, towards the head of the harbour, and under 

 the natural arch they have enormous rookeries of their own, where singularly enough 

 a few of the Rockhoppers nest as guests amongst them ; they have extensive rookeries 

 also in Heard Island, where their eggs are gathered in large quantities by the sealers for 

 eating. No breeding places of King Penguins were met with at Kerguelen Island. 



On several occasions during the stay at Kerguelen Island, excursions were made for 

 the purpose of digging up birds and eggs for the natural history collections. Parties of 

 stokers were always ready to volunteer for this work, which they thoroughly enjoyed and 

 performed admirably, and by the help which they gave very many of the birds of 

 Kerguelen were most readily procured. The beaten ground beneath the Azorella is per- 

 forated everywhere with holes of various Petrels ; those of the Prion (Prion desolatus) 

 are most numerous. They are about big enough to admit the hand, but the nest and egg 

 are nearly always far out of reach, the holes going in sometimes a yard and a half. 

 This Prion is a small grey bird, a Petrel from the form of the nostrils, but with a broad 

 boat-shaped bill, with extremely fine horny lamellae, projecting on either margin of the 

 bill inside. The bird flies like a swallow, and was nearly always to be seen in flocks about 

 the ship, or cruising over the sea, or attendant on a whale to pick up the droppings from its 

 mouth, hence it is termed by sealers the " Whale Bird." It lays a single white egg. 



Besides the Prion there is the "Mutton Bird" of the whalers ((Estrelata lessoni), a 

 large Procellarid as big as a Pigeon, white, brown and grey in colour. It makes a 

 much larger hole than the Prion, six inches in diameter, and long in proportion. At the 

 end is a round chamber with a slight elevation in the centre, where is the nest, somewhat 

 raised, with a deeper passage all round. The old bird is very savage when pulled out, 

 makes a shrill cry and bites hard, the sharp decurved tip of the upper mandible being 

 driven right through a man's finger if he be not careful in handling it. The egg is white, 

 and about the size of a hen's. 



Another Petrel (Majaqveus cequinoctialis), which also was often to be seen cruising 



