228 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF DUBLIN. 



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. J. Gould in his 

 " Birds of Australia." I have therefore confined myself to mentioning 

 only those peculiarities of plumage and habits which are either new or 

 still disputed points. 



Before commencing, however, I wish to thank Dr. Sclater, Dr. G. 

 Gray, Dr. E. Perceval Wright, and more especially Dr. A. Carte, and Mr. 

 Gould, for the kind way in which they have answered my numerous 

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



Chionis minor (Hartlaub) — Lesser Sheathbill. — This bird is com- 

 mon 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 catarrhactes (L.) — 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 recognised. 

 It is rare at sea north of lat. 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 fierce, flying round the head of an in- 

 truder, dashing every now and then at him, and making at the same 

 time a curious croaking noise in their throats. Mr. Harris has never 

 seen one chasing another bird. 



Diomedea exulans (L.) — Wandering Albatross, — Average breadth 

 across the wings, 10 feet — the smallest measured being 9 feet, and the 

 largest 1 2 feet ; length from tip of beak to end of tail, 4 feet. Some 

 have a rose-coloured streak on each side of the neck, as mentioned by 

 Dr. Bennett in his " Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia." I have 

 never seen this on either the young or very old birds ; and the only one 

 I ever captured with it was a male. I have also only seen these marks 

 between June and August, and I am therefore disposed to believe that 

 they distinguish the middle-aged male bird previous to the breeding 

 season ; but I am not sure of this. According to the experience of my- 

 self and Dr. Bennett, the food of the Albatross consists entirely of the 

 oceanic mollusca, small crustaceans, medusas, and the refuse thrown 



