THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 179 



go forth on their wandering existence across the desert ocean. These 

 Petrels are met with all along the southern coast of Australia, in 

 Bass's Straits, and even in Hobson's Bay ; and altogether on the 

 coast of Australia some twenty-four species of Petrels are found, the 

 most interesting of which is perhaps the short-tailed Petrel or 

 Mutton-bird, Nectris (or Pujjinus) brevicaudus. These birds come 

 in vast numbers in the month of I^ovember to Phillip Island, 

 Western Port Bay, to breed, but in the earlier years of this colony 

 they were much more numerous, and numbers of colonists used to 

 congregate there at the egg season and forward large quantities of 

 their eggs to the Melbourne market, where they were sold and eaten 

 for ducks' eggs, which they much resemble in size and shape; and I 

 have been informed by an eye witness that many ludicrous scenes 

 were witnessed some twenty years ago in the scrambles of the people 

 there, to be first to get the eggs, and many a good tumble they got. 

 When rushing for one egg hole they put their foot in another, and 

 turning a complete " somerset" looked very foolish, especially as the 

 second man ran past and got the egg. 



In the month of December two years ago, I was going down to 

 Dromana in a steamboat, and on that occasion Hobson's Bay was 

 pierfectly alive with Short-tailed Petrels, all steering slowly down 

 towards the " Heads," and one of the men belonging to the steam- 

 boat told me that the steamer left Queenscliff at 5 a.m. that morning, 

 and that the " Mutton Birds" were then just coming through the 

 heads " en masse,^' and now they were returning in " open order," 

 but I suppose before they reached the " rip" or Head's Passage, they 

 would form " close column." 



The fat of these birds has been found to be a splendid preservative 

 for leather, and is much used when obtainable by saddlers and owners 

 of harness for that purpose, and to make it pliable, and soft; and I 

 suppose therefore that it contains somewhat of the properties of fish 

 oil and mutton fat, the combination of which is so much used for 

 leather. 



Barren Island, in Bass's Straits, is another great rendezvous of 

 the short-tailed Petrels in the spring, and a neighbour of mine who 

 traded there regularly with his own vessel, used to bring up their 

 eggs, and make presents of them as ducks' eggs. He told me the 

 island was inhabited mostly by half-castes, and at the Petrel egg 

 season infested by snakes; also that it was no uncommon thing for 

 persons after eggs to pull out their hand with a snake sticking to 

 it; but he never heard of any harm from the bites, as the snakes 

 were so surfeited with young petrel, &c., that they were harmless. 



We are informed by those who have visited Chicken Islands off 

 the coast of I^ew Zealand, that a curious lizard known by the name 

 of Tuatara, and certain species of Petrels, were found living in 

 harmony in the same burrows, which burrows were almost always 



