^°8g^^] Maii.i.iakd, AV.'i/'/V/i,'- (j/Z/zt' Fork-tailed Petrel. 2 ? I 



it. As we were following a narrow Indian trail near the top a faint 

 but distinct squeakiiig was heard directly beneath our feet. It was 

 a fogg}^ rainy night, and as the light was commencing to fail we 

 had not noticed the small holes which on closer inspection showed 

 themselves under every bush and tuft of grass. Upon falling on 

 our knees to investigate this unusual sound we discovered these 

 holes and at once commenced digging in the soft peat with our 

 fingers. A moment's work unearthed a Petrel, and almost simul- 

 taneously my two assistants sang out " I 've got a bird." My own 

 catch was a Fork-tailed Petrel {Oceanodromaftircata), but one of 

 the men captured a Leach's {O. leucorhod). Being naturally some- 

 what excited at finding the eggs of the Fork-tailed Petrel we went 

 to work rather wildly and frightened some of the birds from their 

 eggs. As the two species were breeding in the same burro\vs the 

 result was a feeling of despair about identification. However, we 

 took a few eggs from under the parents, and as by this time it was 

 growing too dark to see very distinctly we returned to the sloop 

 and turned in for two or three hours. My two companions, 

 stretched on the bottom of the boat, were soon sleeping audibly, 

 fatigue having been a stronger factor than their intention to keep 

 watch and watch in case our light rope cable should be cut by the 

 rocky bottom. The uneasy jerking of the little craft and the 

 danger of going ashore if the cable parted prevented me from 

 sleeping. 



About twelve o'clock my attention was attracted by the notes of 

 the Petrels on the shore, some hundred and fifty yards distant. It 

 It was too dark to see clearly, but there were so many of these 

 birds moving about that it was possible to discern a sort of com- 

 motion along the rocks, and I arrived at the conclusion that the 

 birds from the nests were meeting those coming in from the sea to 

 exchange places with them. The twittering noise made on this 

 meeting ground was something prodigious. It does not seem 

 probable that the incubating birds left their nests until their part- 

 ners came to replace them, but presumably the first ones to leave 

 met and conversed with the later incoming ones. The noise we 

 first heard under our feet w^as either made by birds getting ready 

 to leave, or, more likely still, due to disagreement between the 

 two species in the burrows. 



