THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



135 



The use of ropes enables the climber to descend vertical faces 

 •of rock to positions otherwise inaccessible. 



Photo — A . R . M-ceulloch . 



its large bill iar down her throat, ami 

 then regurgitated the food she had swal- 

 lowed into its hungry maw, a proceeding 

 which seemed to entail much energy and 

 discomfort for them both. So soon as it 

 had obtained all she had to give it, the 

 large chicken, which is pictured with its 

 mother in an accompanying figure, pro- 

 ceeded to peck at its parent in a most 

 unfilial manner, and drove it out to sea 

 again to search for further dainties to 

 appease its apparently insatiable appetite. 

 Boatswain Birds wander far and wide 

 over all temperate and tropical parts of 

 the Indian and Pacific Oceans, flying with 

 incredible ease in all weathers. They are 

 apparently assisted by one or two long 

 slender feathers which project from th(^ 

 tail, and are known as "steers." These 

 swing from side to side like the rudder of 

 a ship as the bird turns in the wind, and 

 it is said that individuals which have lost 

 them fly less effectively than those in 

 which they are present. Just how far 



this is correct is doubt- 

 ful, but certain it is 

 that the flight of even 

 the steerless Boatswain 

 Bird is a thing to be 

 marvelled at. 



We watched tliem 

 wheeling and circling, 

 either singly or in 

 groups of two to four, 

 and so perfectly at 

 ease in mid air that 

 they could stretch a leg- 

 forward to scratch be- 

 hind the ear or bend 

 the head backward to 

 peck at some irritating 

 parasite among their 

 feathers. Every now 

 and again one would 

 pause in its flight and 

 remain fluttering its 

 wings before its fellows 

 as though showing off 

 its skill. Sometimes 

 we sa-w one attempt to 

 aliglit-M ,4feme crevice 

 in'^ne lace of a cliff, 

 fluttering near the 



rocks with every 

 feather in the wmgs 



Troughton examines a well-secluded nest, 

 while the photographer clings to one of the 

 killmoak bushes shown in the upper picture. 

 Photo — A. B. McCulloch. 



