ON THE BIRDS OF THE SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS. 237 



The first eggs were obtained on December 2nd, but were not quite fresh. By the 4th 

 all the birds seemed to have laid, and eighteen eggs were found, most of them in a cave 

 from twenty to twenty -five feet above sea-level. The cave was thickly carpeted with 

 the dung, and the nests, unlike the rough examples outside, were'all well formed in the 

 dung and had a few feathers in them. Some were placed as much as forty feet from 

 the entrance, where it was almost dark. In 1904 the first eggs were observed on 

 November 25th (Mossman). 



Young birds were found on January 28th, 1904, but the parents were not present 

 with their chicks not an unusual circumstance during the daytime with certain birds 

 of this order. When discovered, these chicks uttered the same harsh notes as arc 

 characteristic of the old birds. Their stomachs were found to be crammed with 

 crustaceans. 



The young bird does not seem to have been described. One about one-third grown, 

 and captured on January 28th, 1904, is clad in long fluffy down which almost conceals 

 the feathers appearing on the wings and tail. The down is of a lavender-grey tint on 

 the back and chest, darker on the head, and dull ivory-white on the abdomen. 



Ossifraga gigantea (Gm.). 

 Ossifraga gigantea Cat. B. xxv. p. 422. 



The Giant Petrel was present at the Station all the year round, but was very much 

 less numerous during the winter months. There was a decided falling off in May, but 

 the lowest ebb was reached in June and continued until September, when the summer 

 birds of this species commenced to arrive. During the nesting-season it was estimated 

 that about 5000 were on Laurie Island alone, and when one remembers the savage 

 nature and almost insatiable appetite of these giants, it is easy to realise what a terrible 

 scourge they must have been to the penguins, upon which and their eggs and young 

 it was their one aim to gorge themselves to repletion. 



They were to be seen everywhere in the summer-time, but their rookeries were 

 confined to the north and east coasts. Three of these rookeries were visited, two of 

 which, namely those on the Watson Peninsula, contained two hundred nests each, 

 while the third at Cape Geddes comprised only about one hundred. One of the larger 

 colonies was situated on bare rocky ground from 300 to 400 feet above sea-level, and 

 the other on a moraine at an elevation of from 250 to 300 feet. The nests consisted 

 of great piles of small angular stones, and were about two feet in diameter. The third 

 and smaller rookery was on a low strip of ground between a cliff and the shore, and 

 was close to the sea ; the nests were similar to the others. Although these contained 

 no eggs on November 3rd, yet the birds allowed a close approach, one of the parents 

 sitting on the nest, the other usually standing close alongside. 



The first eggs were laid on November 4, but four only were found on that date. 

 On the 19th, however, eighty were obtained, all single specimens, except in two 



