170 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



arrange with a resident there about a boat, but found he was 

 away, and would not be back till Sunday. Fortunately for us 

 however, Mr. William Holt, of Cape Barren Island, sailed round 

 to us with the Syren, a fine double-ended cutter-rigged boat of 

 about 9 tons, and fitted with fore and aft cabins. We soon 

 arranged with him to take us about to the different islands. We 

 were fortunate in gaining Mr. Holt's services, for we found him a 

 most capable and obliging man, and we were indebted to him for 

 much valuable as!r.istance and information — for instance, that of 

 the nidification of the Mutton Bird being of exceptional value, aS 

 his notes were based not only upon what he had observed, but by 

 the dissection of the birds, male and female, at different periods. 



lyxH November found us impatiently waiting for the wind 

 to moderate, but as it continued to blow half a gale, and showed no 

 signs of ceasing for the day, a party was formed to visit Big 

 River, six miles away, down the Sound. The embouchure of the 

 stream forms a characteristic scene of the island. On the shore is 

 a snug V-shaped corner backed up by scrub, while in the rear are 

 some wild peaks of Flinders, cloud-capped. Mr. Ashworth and 

 myself remained in camp, cooking and fishing. The latter was 

 very delightful and profitable sport. We were most successful, 

 however, in the evenings, when with the aid of a small seine net 

 we landed fine specimens of Flounder, Garfish, Flathead, and 

 Mullet. One haul of Mullet alone numbered eighteen dozen. 



i8th November. — Weather abated at last. We started for the 

 Sound about 6 a.m., when Mr. Holt soon landed us upon Isabella 

 Islet, which he rents from the Tasmanian Government. We were 

 soon gratified in finding the beautiful little White-faced Stormy 

 Petrels ( Frocellaria fregata ) in their burrows. We noticed that 

 some of their eggs were slightly spotted at the larger end. W^e 

 next visited Woody Island, then a rock between Woody and Little 

 Woody Islands where we found several nests of the Sooty Oyster- 

 catcher, Pacific Gull, and one of the Caspian Tern, which we 

 photographed, putting the eggs, of course, into our basket. We 

 continued down the Sound, which is fifteen miles long, and 

 studded with romantic islets, with wild yet beautiful forms of 

 mountains on either hand. Towards the end of the Sound we 

 visited a reef off Samphire River finding several nests of the 

 Pacific and a pretty rookery of Silver Gulls. Of the latter we 

 took two pictures. The Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) showed 

 excellent taste in the choice of locality for their nests, Mesem- 

 bryanthemum in full bloom being very abundant in the immediate 

 vicinity giving the nesting ground a very pretty and rich appear- 

 ance. The birds did not appreciate our visit, however, hovering 

 over our heads and at the same time making a most discordant 

 noise, evidently at the scarecrows raised by our cameras. As we 

 had to make the most of the tide, we reluctantly left this interest- 



