I 



bi 





410 



THE TUBE-]^OSED SWIMMERS — TUBIXARES. 



guided to the nest by its strong odor; otherwise it woidd liave been impossible 

 tu distinguish which among the many liollows between the roots of the trees were 

 thus made, use of. Here, as the birds coidd not make any excavations, we found the 

 nests very shallow, not more than fifteen inches in depth; there was, in fact, no 

 proper nest, and the egg was lying on the bare soil. 



The following summer I visited the Green Islands and other small islands lower 

 down the Hay. All of these were bare of trees, and were covered with grass, and the 

 surface consisted of soft black mould, easily penetrated. Here the whole surface of 

 till! islands, where this favorable soil was found, was honeycombed with the burrows 

 of this Petrel. These were winding, and turned in various directions. Several after 

 winding a few inches below the grass-roots, to the extent longitudinally of thirty 

 inches, would again descend about four inches more, and then turn directly back 

 toward the opening, nuiking the excavation directly under the lirst, and the terminus 

 or nest-place would be about ten inches below, and directly under, the entrance. In 

 all there would be fully sixty inches of devious passage to reach the nest. In eviuy 

 instance we found the male bird alone, sitting ui)on the solitary egg. Tlu' fenuile was 

 not to be seen. The inference seems to be, that after the deposition of the egg the 

 duties of incubation — certainly during the daytime — are performed by tlie male. 

 Whether the female supi)lies him with food or takes liis place at night-time, 1 am 

 not able to state. Mr. 11. li. W. Milner, as quoted by ilr. Dresser, mentions being 

 drawn to the nest of this bird by its twittering notes, wliich are said to resemble 

 those of the European Swallow. In no instance that I can recall did these birds utter 

 a sound, not even when taken in the hand. 



When their retreat was uncovered, they made no effort to escape ; and the only 

 indication of being annoyed which they gave was the ejecting, sometimes with csonsid- 

 erable force, through their nostrils of a strong, pungent, musky oil, of a reddish-yellow 

 color, the odor of which was very disagreeal)le, scenting woollen cloth for several days 

 when thrown upon it. In one instance this oil was squirted directly iuto both tlie 

 eyes of one of my conqjanions, producing tenqwrary blindness and sharp i)ains. A 

 thorough ablution in sea-water, however, soon gave 'omplete relief. 



The tenacity of life possessed by tliis species is renmrkable. One of my specimens, 

 supposed to be dead, was closely wrapped in ])aper, stowed away in my trunk, and 

 not taken out for nearly a week. It proved to have remained alive, and on being 

 released and thrown up into the air, it Hew away. 



On the ground this bird is ni'arly helpless, and can rise on the wing onl}' with the 

 greatest difficulty. At iirst it appears to be unable to stand, but rests on the ground, 

 its feet bent under its body. If undisturbed it partially raises itself, appears to run 

 forward, partly on its toes, and partly by aid of its wings, and rises very grad- 

 ually, not Hying with any degree of speed luitil it has attained a height of several 

 feet above the ground. This bird is nocturnal in its habits, ke(q)ing close during tlu' 

 day, except in very cloudy weather. At night it could be heard in all directions, 

 both over the water and over tlie land. Arriving late one night at the wliarf of Duck 

 Island, the effect produced by these birds Hying ba(!kward and forward, and all 

 uttering their sad twittering notes, was almost startling, and strongly suggestive ol 

 unearthly sights and sounds. 



The young when first hatched are covered with long loose down, neither wings nci- 

 bill being visible, and they resemble some iu)ndesoript quadru[)ed rather than a bird 

 in the down. 



The egg — and there is never more than one — is oval in shape, but slightly more 

 pointed at one end tluin at the other; the color is a dull or creamy white. Around 



