174 BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 



feathers first appearing on the head and in four or five parallel 

 series on the cheeks. The down is long, thick, and fluffy, especi- 

 ally on the under parts ; and the bill and feet are perf ecth 7 black ' ' 

 (W. Buller). 



Nest. "A hole or burrow, usually at the base of a cliff. In 

 companies, sometimes four or five pairs of birds having nests 

 within the same cavern, each nest being placed at the end of a 

 separate burrow, having a varying length, with an oval chahiber 

 at the farther end. These burrows are generally about 3 feet in 

 extent (one, however, measured 4 feet) and the nest or egg chamber 

 is decidedly smaller than that formed by the Black Petrel (M. 

 parkinsoni) and had a few dry leaves on the floor " (Buller). 



Eggs. Clutch one; roundish oval in shape; texture fairly 

 coarse; surface faintly glossy and minutely pitted; colour pure 

 white. Dimensions in mm. : 85 x 48. 



Breeding Season. September. 



Geographical Distribution. Seas of Tasmania, New South 

 Wales, Victoria, New Zealand, and ranging over the Southern 

 Ocean generally. 



Observations. During the non-breeding season the Great- 

 winged Petrel may frequently be observed in Tasmanian waters. 

 It may at once be identified by its great stretch of wing, reminding 

 one of a gigantic Swift. 



' ' These Petrels are common on the coast of New Zealand. I 

 saw them in large flocks out at sea, where they remain from March 

 to August ; in the latter month they come ashore to their old breed- 

 ing places, which they use annually as long as they are not 

 molested. These birds breed in colonies ; their burrows are some- 

 times very close to one another; on the Little Barrier Island (or 

 Hauturu Island) I measured a piece of ground thirty -six feet in 

 circumference in the centre of which were six burrows. Their 

 breeding resorts are always on the cliffs along the coast and some 

 were very difficult to approach dug out by these Petrels in hard 

 sandy formation or clay. . . . 



' ' After sunset thick clouds of these Petrels swarm round the 

 cliffs, uttering the melancholy sound ' Ohi ! ohi ! ' from which the 

 native name is ' Ohi.' Each one circles round its burrow several 

 times before it goes down to it ; and then they stop for a moment 

 before entering. These birds go to and from their burrows several 

 times a night. When the young is hatched, the female stops for 

 a few days with her chick in the burrow ; after that both parents 

 leave every morning before sunrise, and fly to their haunts on the 

 ocean. Eeturning after sunset, they circle round their burrows, 

 then swoop down to the entrance and call ; when answered by the 

 young bird they enter. If both birds come to the burrow together, 

 one stops outside until the other reappears. When feeding the 

 young they make a whimpering noise " (A. Eeisckek). 



