Expedition to the Eastern Canary Islands. 79 



was therefore unable to verify my supposition that the bird 

 was nesting there. There seems to be no reason Avliy 

 isolated pairs o£ T. pelagica shoukl not breed on such 

 deserted islets. 



11. Puffinus assimilis baroli. — The Little Dusky Shear- 

 water, concerning which so much discussion has recently 

 taken place, was found breeding on Montana Clara. I had 

 certainly not expected to meet with this usually very early 

 breeder in any of the islands so late as June the 7th. The 

 fact that we actually took eggs as well as the young in 

 all stages, shows that there is great variation in the time of 

 breeding of this species in the different islands of the grouj). 

 It will be recollected that if the fishermen are to be believed, 

 and I have often proved their statements to be correct, 

 P. a. baroli had already bred and left the island of Graciosa 

 by the 27th of May. Mr. Meade-Waldo took the young 

 of this species in Tenerife on April the 26th, and au 

 adult on March the IGth with the bare hatching spot on 

 its breast. 



Shortly before our arrival a party from Haria had 

 specially made the journey to Montana Clara to collect 

 "■ Tahoces,^^ as P. a. baroli are locally called. Whether these 

 individuals had succeeded in making a good haul I did 

 not learn, but the only breeding-station which existed 

 contained a very small number of birds. To reach this 

 colony it was necessary first to ascend the mountain and 

 having crossed the plateau, which lies at the summit, to 

 descend the almost perpendicular inner Avail of the crater to 

 the floor beneath. In this basin, one side of which lies open 

 to the sea, the Little Dusky Shearwaters Avere breeding 

 under the huge rocks which had fallen from above. It 

 being impossible to reach this spot after dark, I was unable 

 to obtain, as I had hoped, a series of adult birds, although 

 several had practically attained mature plumage and could 

 only be distinguished by one or two downy filaments still 

 adhering to the fea1 hers on the flanks. Only two eggs were 

 obtained and a few nestlings in down. 



