Bh'ds inhabiting the Southern Ocean. 277 



frequent them during the breeding-season, which he kindly 

 communicated to me, and which, although made so long ago, 

 will not, I trust, be found without interest. Most of these birds 

 have been admirably figured and described by Mr. Gould in his 

 ' Birds of Australia.^ I have therefore confined myself to men- 

 tioning only those peculiarities of plumage and habits which are 

 either new, or still disputed points. Before commencing, how- 

 ever, I wish to thank Dr. Sclater, Mr. G. R. Gray, Dr. Perceval 

 Wright, and, more especially. Dr. A. Carte and Mr. Gould, for 

 the kind way in which they have answered my numerous ques- 

 tions on many of the points touched upon in this paper. 



Chionis minor, Hartlaub. Lesser Sheath-bill. 



This bird is common on both the Prince Edward Islands 

 and Kerguelen^s Land, and is called " Wide-awake^' by the 

 sealers. When Mr. Harris first landed, the birds were so tame 

 that he frequently had to kick them out of his way ; and when 

 he hid himself behind the rocks they would come and peep over 

 at him, chattering, and seeming quite pleased at having found 

 him. They are always found near the sea, but do not fly much, 

 only from one rock to another, and never leave the land. Mr. 

 Harris never saw the nest or eggs of this bird, and therefore 

 supposes that they breed in some place out of sight, either under 

 the rocks along the shore, or in the high moss and grass, like 

 the Skua-Gull. 



Lestris CATABRHACTEs (L.) ; Stercorurius antarcticus, Lesson. 

 Gould, B. Austral, vii. pi. 21. Skua-Gull. 



This bird is the "Cape-hen^' of sealers, and the "Port-Egmont- 

 hen" of Captain Cook. It does not skim over the water like the 

 Petrels, but flies low with a heavy slow flapping of its roundish- 

 looking wings, and is therefore easily recognized. It is rare at 

 sea north of latitude 45° S., one individual only having come 

 under my personal observation. It is, however, very numerous 

 on the Prince Edward Islands and Kerguelen's Land, where it 

 breeds on the low flats among moss and grass two or three feet 

 high, making no nest, but laying three brown, dark-spotted 

 eggs on the ground. The young birds are dark brown, mottled 

 with white. During the breeding-season the old birds are very 



