288 Capt. F. W. Hutton on some of the 



Land. Sir J. Koss^ however, raentious having seen flocks of 

 young birds in January 1841, in lat. 71° 50' S., near South 

 Victoria; and it seems, therefore, probable that they breed 

 on islands in the Antarctic Ocean, far south of the homes of the 

 Albatros. 



Latham says that they vary much in colour, but I have always 

 been surprised at their great constancy; and as I could detect 

 no difference in them, I suppose that the young birds remain 

 near their breeding-places until they have attained the plumage 

 of the adult. According to my experience their northern limit 

 is lat. 27° S.; but they sometimes follow a ship as far as 24° S., 

 and one once followed the ship I was in as far as 17° S. On 

 that day I saw Tropic-birds, flying-fish, and a Cape-Pigeon, all to- 

 gether — a most unusual occurrence; the thermometer, however, 

 was only 70° F. in the shade. These and other small birds are 

 much more easily caught with a thread than with a hook. The 

 modus ojyerandi is as follows : — A small piece of wood about an 

 inch and a half long is tied by its middle to a line of white 

 thread or silk ; this is put over the stern and allowed to float out 

 some thirty or forty yards. The birds, flying under the ship's 

 stern, strike against the thread and entangle their wings in it ; 

 they are then hauled gently on board. If the ship is going fast 

 the thread will not be strong enough to hold them, for if it is 

 too thick they will see and avoid it. 



Prion vittatus (Gmel.) ; Gould, B. Austral, vii. pi. 55. 

 Broad-billed Prion. 



Across the wings two feet, length ten inches. They generally 

 fly in flocks, with a sharp motion of the wings like a Snipe. I 

 can confirm the remark of Captain (now Sir George) Grey, the 

 present Governor of New Zealand, that it is never seen to sit on 

 the water. It is called "Whale-bird" by sailors. Accoi'ding 

 to Captain Carmichael, this bird breeds on Tristan d'Acunha. It 

 is not found on the Prince Edward Islands nor Kerguelen's Land. 



Besides these birds, Mr. Harris says that a ie^ Ducks were 

 found on Kerguelen's Land, and that Penguins were common 

 upon all the islands. A night or two after their ship was 



