Birds of the South Orkney Islands. 171 



summer bird, but was by far the most numerous of the few 

 species which remained for the entire winter at the South 

 Orkneys. 



In summer it frequented the high precipitous sea-cliffs 

 which formed its breeding-haunts, and where, during the 

 nesting-season, some 20,000 birds were estimated to be 

 present on Laurie I. alone. It was never seen on the hills 

 at the head of the ice-sheets. 



It was also found at Saddle I. and was nesting there. 

 The single eggs were laid under rocks, in caves, and in holes 

 and crevices on the steep cliffs facing the sea, at heights 

 ranging from a few to several hundred feet above the water. 

 The nests were rough primitive structures and consisted of 

 a few stones or a little earth. They were less accessible 

 than those of the Cape Petrel, and mostly isolated ; but in 

 one cave under Mount Ramsay a dozen or more eggs were 

 taken. This bird does not fly off when its nest is approached, 

 but retreats a little, and ejects an oily fluid at the intruder, 

 uttering all the while shrill cries. (See Plate XI. fig. 1.) 



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 are 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 



