450 BRITISH BIRDS. 



ship. We generally saw them in pairs ; now and then a solitary bird was 

 to be seen ; seldom more than three or four were together, but on a few oc- 

 casions we saw as many as twenty. In fine weather with a gentle breeze 

 they were much more abundant, and the greater number followed in the 

 wake of the ship. It was astonishing how suddenly the scattered birds 

 collected in a mass like a swarm of bees when garbage was thrown out of 

 the ship ; they were down upon it in a moment from all points of the 

 compass ; some alighted at once upon the surface, others hovered over the 

 tempting morsels with uplifted wings and extended feet. They can fly 

 with great rapidity, now skimming over the waves with extended wings, 

 now turning suddenly, or changing their course capriciously, with uncertain 

 bat-like or butterfly-like motion. We never saw them dive, nor did we 

 ever hear them utter a note. 



The only reliable notes on the breeding-habits of Wilson's Petrel are 

 those made by the Rev. A. E. Eaton, the naturalist attached to the recent 

 Transit-of- Venus Expedition (Phil. Trans, clxviii. p. 133). Its only known 

 breeding-place is on Kerguelen Island. About the third week in November 

 they began to frequent Observatory Bay in large numbers, making their 

 appearance during a strong breeze, which lasted several days. They were 

 seen but little in the daytime, but towards evening they flew over the 

 water like Swallows, some flying close to the ground far inland, following 

 the course of the valleys or hovering round the inland cliffs. At that 

 time they appeared to be making no preparations to breed, but only taking 

 short cuts over the land from one part of the sea to another. When 

 Thumb Point was visited the nesting colonies of Wilson's Petrel were 

 discovered. After watching the birds flying to and fro about the rocks, he 

 observed that they occasionally disappeared amongst the crevices in the 

 piles of stones, or crept under loose masses of rock. Aided by their notes 

 the exact position of several - of the birds was ascertained, and they were 

 easily caught when the stones were rolled aside. They were in pairs 

 making preparations for laying, but he did not then obtain any eggs. 

 They love to make their colonies on the slopes of shattered rocks, wherever 

 there are suitable chinks and crevices, or dry places under stones and large 

 boulders, either close to the sea, just above high-tide mark, or on the sides 

 and summits of high hills. He obtained the first egg on the 22nd of 

 January, and several others were taken in February from nests which had 

 been marked during the previous month. The single egg is laid on the 

 bare ground, either in a chance depression or in a shallow hollow made by 

 the parent bird. When the colonies were visited at night with a lantern, 

 some of the birds were observed on the wing, others were on their nests, 

 uttering their notes at intervals of from two to five minutes. Guided by 

 the notes the nests were easily found, but if the birds were alarmed they 

 became silent and gave no clue to the whereabouts of their treasure. In 



