THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



^1i 



fresh. I suppose the bird did not discover 

 she had selected such an open place to nest 

 in until after she had laid the egg and day- 

 light came, when no doubt she left for more 

 secluded quarters. 



Mr. Osgood discovered a Petrel of de- 

 cided tastes, as regards nesting, for on the 

 brink of a cliff, beneath several loose boul- 

 ders, she had constructed a nest, of coarse 

 Faralloii weed, perhaps four inches in diam- 

 eter. It was naturally rough, but was un- 

 doubtedly constructed by the bird, as it 

 was in such a 

 position that a 

 larger bird could 

 of not have gain- 

 ed access to it. 

 The nest and 

 eggs were pho- 

 tographed, and 

 are shown in the 

 illustration. It 

 must be under- 

 stood that the 

 nest and egg 

 were entirely 

 concealed b y 

 numerous rocks, 

 which had to be 

 removed to per- 

 mit of the photo- 

 graph being 

 taken. The egg 

 was badly incu- 

 bated. 



In one instance I found an egz l^id on an 

 accumulation of pebbles, and again quite a 

 collection of small granite chips were used. 

 As in the former case, everything points to 

 the bird gathering them. 



The male incubates the egg as well as the 

 female, as two males were found perform- 

 ing this duty. The mates of the birds in- 

 cubating were never observed. I believe 

 that when an egg is taken that the Petrel 

 does not lay a second egg the same season. 



Several of the birds that had had the 

 rocks removed from about them sat on their 



NESTING OF THE ASHY PETREL 



eggs fully exposed to the heat and glare of 

 the sun, but probably they would soon have 

 sought cooler quarters. Often when tear- 

 ing down the stone piles, and considerable 

 noise is made, the bird will desert the egg 

 and work its way further into the rocks out 

 the way. When captured and taken in 

 hand the Petrel remains quiet a moment, 

 but finding itself a captive it disgorges an 

 oil of a bright vermillion color, which pos- 

 sesses a highly disagreeable odor. The oil 

 is often ejected in large quantities, and con- 

 tinues to ooze 

 n out after death, 

 and unless care 

 is taken it soils 

 the feathers of 

 the neck. I sup- 

 pose the musky 

 odor of the Petrel 

 is due to this oil, 

 and to me the 

 odor, of the bird 

 is not unpleasant 

 but the oil itself 

 seems to be con- 

 centrated in 

 strength and is 

 quite disagree- 

 able. 



Late one even- 

 ing, while re- 

 t u r n i n g from 

 near the shore, I 

 was groping my 

 way along in the semi-darkness — there 

 being no moon — and upon passing a stone 

 wall I heard a peculiar noise from within. 

 Locating it I knelt down, and while listen- 

 ing at a fissure in the rocks I caught the 

 odor of a Petrel. It was uttering its note, 

 which I remember but indistinctly. It was 

 a squeaky note uttered rapidly and in a low 

 chuckling tone, and was prolonged for 

 several seconds. I marked the spot with 

 some stones, and found the bird and a fresh 

 egg two days later. 



Santa Clara, Cal. C. Bari^ow, 



