THE CRUDEST NEST FORMS 77 



always marked by a- remarkably luxuriant growth of 

 a plant with long feathery fronds, belonging to the 

 order Compositce. The tracks followed the course of 

 a small stream in this instance, and ascended pretty 

 sharp acclivities, steep enough to try one's wind in 

 following them up, until a level plateau was reached 

 on top of the hill. The eggs (which were here never 

 more than one to a nest) were laid either in hollows 

 between the mounds of Azorella, which covered the 

 plateau, or in little bare spots scratched on their 

 tops." The nest of another species, the Rock-hopper 

 Penguin {Etidyptes clirysocome), is described as being 

 made of collected shingle, sometimes plastered in a 

 rough way, and about seven inches in diameter. 



Perhaps I might here include another small 

 order of birds amongst the crude nest-builders, the 

 Petrels, Procellariiformes ; but all things considered, 

 it seems better to reserve a description of their 

 nesting arrangements for a later chapter, inasmuch 

 as many of the species form more or less elaborate 

 burrows {conf. chap. vi.). One or two, however, 

 must be noticed here. The nest of the Giant Petrel 

 (Ossifraga gigantea), for instance, a bird breeding on 

 Kerguelen Island, is described as a mere hollow 

 some three feet in diameter, either amongst the 

 broken stems of Azorella (where the eggs are to 

 some extent sheltered) or in the sand. Then, again, 

 the Cape Petrel {Daption capense) is a very crude 

 architect. This bird breeds on the same island as 



