46 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



The burrowa of the Mutton Birds riddle the sandy soil beneath a forest of palms and 

 banyans so dense that it has been named the Valley of the Shadow of Death. 



Photo^A. R. McCulloch. 



We paid a visit to one of tlie Mutton- 

 bird grounds one evening- to watch the 

 birds come in from the sea to feed 

 their young. Arriving al)out an hmir 

 after sunset, we o])served them wheel- 

 ing and circling in hundi'eds over the 

 palm forest. They were i)erliap-< iiU^ii- 

 tifying the locations ol' their pai'timlar 

 burrows, as we observed one to swooj) 

 downwards every few moments and dis- 

 api)ear among tlie maze of })ranches. 

 Thougli tliere was but little light, the 

 hiids could ])e clearly seen against the 

 moonlit sky. Tliey uttered no sound a^ 

 tliey tlew, but tlie swish ol' their motion- 

 less wings through the air when they 

 .-.wooped close over our heads, recalled 

 the whir of aeroplanes. "We had sta- 

 tioned ourselves at an open area where 

 l)urrows were i^lentiful. and we ol)- 



served that the birds often approached 

 as tliough to alight, and then sneered 

 otf again as they observed us. As the 

 light waned, however, they became less 

 timid, and soon dropped down into the 

 gia-s nearby. Upon tirst coming to 

 earth, they Svquatted down as though 

 their legs were too weak to support 

 them, but soon turned in the direction 

 of their l)urrows and floundered clum- 

 sily oft' tov.ards them, fluttering their 

 wings and waddling with their short 

 legs. Through the dense sword-grass or 

 along well beaten tracks they were in- 

 tent only upon reaching their nests. 

 We chanced to be in the way of several 

 which waddled and fluttered up to us, 

 s(iuatting every few yards as thougli un- 

 certain about such unusual obstacles in 

 their path. We remained still, how- 



