THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



145 



View from Cabbage Tree Island. Yacaaba Head (Port 

 Stephens) in the distance. 



Plioto — A. 1^". liasset Hull 



this species. Above, and closely ap 

 ])roaehing the Peuguins' zone, were nuin- 

 erous burrows of the Wedge-tailed Shear- 

 water, some inhabited by birds, although 

 ii was still too early in the season to ex- 

 jiect eggs. Ascending further and enter- 

 ing a steep gully, evidently forming a 

 watercourse in wet weather, and with 

 numlters of great palms growing amidst 

 li ose boulders, I stumbled over the ac- 

 cumulations of dead fronds. Under my 

 feet a shrill cry sounded, and a small 

 bluish-grey bird fluttered from under the 

 fionds, and partly waddling, partly fly- 

 ing, it tried to make its wav down the 



gully towards the shore. The 

 vines retanlied ,its progress 

 and 1 soon captured it, and 

 realised that I held Gould's 

 White-winged Petrel. Fur- 

 ther search re\ealed several 

 more birds, all of which ut- 

 tered their shrill cry on be- 

 ing uncovei-ed where they 

 had hidden themselves in cre- 

 vices of the rocks under the 

 dead fronds. There were no 

 signs of eggs, their laying 

 date being evidently a fu- 

 ture one. Ascending the 

 gully to the top I had a mag- 

 * nificent view of Yacaaba 

 -'•♦ffcJ Head, the northern head- 

 -^.. land of Port Stephens, and 

 amongst the boulders dis- 

 covered another lot of the 

 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. 



On 30th October, I again 

 visited the Island, but the 

 Petrels had not laid. Again 

 on the 4th December I made 

 another attempt to obtain 

 the egg of this bird, and this 

 time was successful. Im- 

 mediately upon entering the 

 shade of the palm gully I 

 found a White-winged Pe- 

 trel sitting in full view 

 amongst some vines trailing* 

 over the ground, and, on re- 

 moving her, discovered her 

 egg reposing on a bed of 

 dead cabbage palm fronds, broken 

 into short pieces and piled for a few 

 inches in depth in a hollow amongst the 

 stones. The egg was pure white, chalky 

 in texture, and elongated oval in shape. 

 The gully was evidently the favourite 

 spot, for many more nests were found, 

 each containing a single egg, individual 

 eggs showing considerable variation in 

 shape and size. The average dimensions 

 of a number measured were 1.96 x 1.46 

 inch . 



On this last occasion the Wedge-tailed 

 Shearwaters were all sitting on eggs. 

 This species, like its Tasmanian cousin, has 



