94 ZOOLOGICAL LOG OF OMOND HOUSE 



Jan. 3rd. Three species of penguins, skuas, gulls, nellies (three white ones out of 

 about ten altogether), terns, shags, Wilson's and snowy petrels. 



Jan. kth. ^Birds : all twelve species except paddies. Cape pigeons have no young 

 hatched as yet. A Wilson's petrel caught in an old nest with two eggs of previous 

 year in it, both of which had never hatched. 



Several Weddell seals on the North Beach. Killed two females, one of which had an 

 embryo only about 1 in. long. In its stomach were remains of abundant fish, some 

 lamellibranchs, cuttle-fish beaks, 1 and a crustacean of a new species in fairly good 

 condition. Plenty of nematodes in the stomach and tape-worms in the intestine. A 

 bladder worm, a stage of a tape-worm, got in areolar tissue below the blubber. Other 

 females had embryo 4 ins. to 5 ins. long. Stomach empty save of worms. 



Jan. 5th. All twelve species of birds, except paddies. Skuas very abundant, nearly 

 100, I should think, at seals' crans on the North Beach. Shot a white nelly, an 

 immature gull, a tern (of which a painting was made) and a shag in apparently mature 

 plumage, but the colouring of the eye, the wattle and the feet not well marked for 

 painting. 



Jan. 6th. All twelve species of birds seen about. 



Jan. 7th. Whales reported blowing to westward of Saddle Island. Down at big 

 penguin rookery. Got two fairly good phonograph records of ringed penguins. Ringed 

 penguins hatched. Young seen, about two days old at most, but the nests we visited 

 were not at the place where the first laid eggs were found. Young are lighter coloured 

 than the two other species at the same age. Caught a new penguin for this locality, a 

 yellow-crested one, probably a " macaroni." ; It was well up on the rookery amongst a 

 crowd of adelias. Paddies' eggs chipped but not actually hatched ; incubation therefore 

 about 28 days. Skuas not yet hatched. Gull on small rocky islet visited ; egg noted 

 as chipped on 28th December thrown out of nest and youngster in it dead, only about 

 half developed. Other egg addled. Other usual birds of the locality noted. 



Numerous Weddell seals along west side of Scotia Bay. On the North Beach got 

 two sea-leopards, both females. (1.) 11 ft. 6 ins. long. Uterus empty. Stomach con- 

 tained much sand, many penguin feathers and a few nematodes. (2.) 11 ft. 4 ins. long. 

 Gut 92 feet long. Uterus empty. Stomach contained large quantity of shrimp- 

 like crustaceans too far digested to recognise, and one set of penguin tail-feathers. 

 Numerous worms in intestine. Both seals seemed to be in process of changing coats. 

 The first had not proceeded far and was very indistinctly marked. The second had 

 nearly changed and its coat was almost of a uniform length, with only a few patches 

 of longer hair, mostly dorsal and about the head. The upper part was of darker 

 steely-grey colour, almost black with light grey spots about 3. ins. in diameter. 



Young captive gull is always alive and healthy, and is growing immensely ; his 



1 From the frequent occurrence of cuttle-fish beaks in the stomachs of Weddell and other seals, there 

 was the strongest evidence for the existence of a large species of cuttle-fish. However, none were sighted 

 until Senor Valette captured one, over six feet long, in March 1904, in Scotia lay. 



1 Caiarrhactes chrysdophus. 



