352 FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE FALKLAJSTDS. 



birds. It is well known that both, tbese species of mollusks 

 require some little ingenuity to remove them intact from tlieir 

 respective places on tlie sea-shore ; and the qiiestion I failed 

 satisfactorily to explain was, " How do these birds manage to 

 to dislodge them ?" 



About a mile distant from this Gull " rookery " was another 

 large nesting place of a beautiful species of Tern, probably 

 Sterna hirundinacea. Numbers of the adult birds were frequently 

 seen in the harbour. The note uttered by this species resembled 

 exactly that produced by our common English S. fluviatilis. 



Almost two miles due north-west of the nesting place of these 

 Terns was a very large "rookery" of a species of Penguin, 

 locally called the " Jentoo" {Pygosceles taeniata) whence a large 

 supply of eggs are obtained every year. I shall never forget 

 my visit to this spot during the height of the breeding season ; 

 the strong ammoniacal smell, dirt, and din, being simply 

 intolerable. 



A very beautiful bird is the Kelp goose {Bernicla .antartica) 

 usually seen in pairs along the shores fringing the ocean. The 

 male is pure white, while the female is dark and variously 

 speckled and barred. I saw several pairs of these handsome 

 birds during December, each being accompanied by a single 

 nestling. 



Once, while collecting along the shores of Stanley harbour, 

 I managed to approach close to a bird new to me, but which I 

 afterwards identified as the night-heron {Nycticorax olscur^is.) 

 This species has often been recorded from the Falklands, and 

 also from various localties in the Straits of Magellan. This bird 

 possessed the usual greyish-brown plumage, and when first seen 

 was instantly recognized as belonging to the family Areidce, owing 

 to the well-known meditative attitude the members of this group 

 assume when feeding along the shore. When disturbed, it flew 

 away with the usual heavy flight, uttering at the same time a 

 series of harsh croaks, which sounded most weird. 



Mammalia. 

 No indigenous mammals are to be found on these islands. 

 The large ' wolf -like fox ' ( Canis Antarcticus), mentioned by 

 Darwin, f^) is quite extinct. 



