THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 129 



birds and plants. Mr. Campbell went to Freestone Cove and 

 took some photographs of the "Valley of Dry Bones," where we 

 had collected our specimens. He also shot an Olivaceous Thick- 

 head that had a curious malformed bill, the upper and lower 

 mandibles crossing. The bird must have found it difficult to 

 obtain its food. A specimen of the Tasmanian Ground Thrush 

 was shot not far from the camp during the day. In the early 

 morning and evening we always heard these birds whistling 

 cheerily in the scrub. 



During the evening some of our members again went eel-fishing, 

 and were fairly successful. A Tope Shark about 3 ft. 6 in. long 

 was also caught with a light line thrown in from the sandy beach. 



Next day being Sunday no work was done, and we rose at 7 

 a.m. instead of 5 a.m., which was much appreciated by some of 

 our members. We all went to the lighthouse during the morning, 

 arid then to lunch at Mr. Brown's, and seven of us made a good 

 addition to his family party. During the afternoon a return visit 

 was made to our camp, and we dispensed afternoon tea with the 

 kw luxuries that we had, such as cake, Swiss roll, preserved 

 ginger, biscuits, figs, dates, preserved fruit, &c, &c, to our 

 visitors. We were supplied with abundance of fresh milk by the : 

 lighthouse-keeper. Arrangements were made for visiting N.E. 

 or Mutton Bird Island on the following day should the weather 

 permit. 



On Monday morning, the weather being beautifully fine, we Jf.E. or 

 started for the East Cove, where we found Mr. Brown and his Mutton 

 sons and Mr. Hutchen, one of the assistant lighthouse-keepers, Bird 

 ready to start. We were soon all aboard the large whaleboat with Island,. 

 our baskets and crooks, and after a good two hours' pull reached 

 the island. The sea being very smooth we managed to land with- 

 out much difficulty, but if it were at all rough landing would be 

 impossible, there being no sheltered cove, but only rocky sides 

 straight down to the water's edge, except at one place, where it 1 

 was not quite so steep, and there we managed to land and climb 

 up. The first nests found were those of the Pacific Gull, each 

 with three eggs, and built on the white-flowering pig-face weed on 

 the cliffs. We quickly found the Dove-like Blue Petrel or Whale 

 Bird sitting on their single egg in hollows under the rocks or in 

 small burrows under the thick grass and pig-face plants. They 

 have to be well sheltered, as they and their eggs seem to be at 

 present the principal food of the gulls and falcons. These birds 

 made short work of any eggs left exposed during the temporary 

 absence of its owner. Ascending higher up the cliffs we found 

 some young of the Diving Petrel, but no eggs, they laying early 

 in August. Arriving on the top, which was 346 feet high, we 

 found it covered with long thick tussocky grass and the Goodenia 

 plant. Walking was a matter of difficulty, as one kept breaking 



