84 Hull, Hie Montague Island Gullery. [i.st^"oct 



leucocephaliis), the dimensions being — (i) 1.78 x 1.31, (2) 1.78 x 

 1.34, (3) 1.70 X 1.36 inches. vSeveral nests contained a malformed 

 egg, the dimensions of one clutch being— (i) 2.18 x 1.51, (2) 2.17 x 

 1. 51, (3) 1.26 X 1.09, while one nest contained two "runts" of 

 varying sizes. 



On the 19th I found a nest containing two eggs, one a heavily 

 blotched but normal coloured egg — size 2.17 x 1.55 inches — while 

 the other was a beautiful pale blue, almost the shade of the egg of 

 Zoslerops coerulescens, and absolutely devoid of markings — size, 2.23 

 X 1. 51 inches. Both eggs were about 6 days incubated. This 

 latter mutation was new to Mr. Bailey, who, however, had seen 

 specimens with a blue ground, but with markings. 



On the following day my son found a pair of eggs, one normal 

 coloured and the other with deep blue ground fairly well covered 

 with sepia spots and small blotches. On the way homewards I 

 discovered still another mutation, this time a single egg in a nest 

 in the middle of a large cluster containing twos, threes, or fours of 

 normal eggs. The stranger was of a glossy white ground, sparsely 

 streaked and spotted with pale red and purplish red suffused 

 markings, and a few dull red spots distributed over the whole 

 shell ; size, 2.09 x 1.51 inches. 



The following day was to be our last on the island, and during 

 another visit to the Gullery my son found a nest containing three 

 eggs — two normal, and one with the pale blue ground, but lightly 

 freckled, chiefly on the larger end, with pale red markings ;^ size, 

 2.06 x 1.46 inches. 



In the evening we went down to the jetty and boarded the boat 

 to intercept the steamer Eden, which was coming up the coast. 

 However, the steamer kept away towards the mainland, and 

 serenely disregarding our white boat and the signal flag on the 

 lighthouse staff, she passed on to Sydney, leaving us to return to 

 the island. As we landed arid wandered u]) the track, the full 

 moon rose above the eastern horizon through a haze, ruddy and 

 round and large, while the sun, apparently a twin orb both in size 

 and colour, at the same moment touched the western horizon, 

 sinking through the dun haze behind the purple hills of the coastal 

 range. 



As duty demanded my presence in Sydney on the Monday, Mr. 

 Bailey arranged to send us over to Narooma on the Sunday, where 

 we might catch another steamer. In the morning we took 

 advantage of our enforced stay to revisit the Gullery, and my son 

 discovered a pair of the red mutation, one with creamy white 

 ground — size, 2.09 x 1.51 inches — and the other with a warm pink 

 ground colour, very richly marked with deep red streaks, spots, and 

 blotches — size, 2.09 x 1.49 inches. This discovery caused him 

 much delight, and convinced the lighthouse party that my first 

 find of the red and white egg was not a carefully planned joke on 

 my part.* 



* This egg and the blue mutation were exhibited by me at a meeting of the 

 Linnean Society of New South Wales {vn/e Proc. Linn, hoc, part ii., 1908, p. 286.) 



