HUTTOX ON THE BIRDS OP THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. 23,3 



strong- smelling oil — not as a means of offence or defence, but simply 

 from fright. Mr. Gould states that when irritated it ejects an oily fluid 

 from its nostrils, but this I have never observed. They cannot rise 

 from the deck, but run along with outstretched wings. Their cry is like 

 the sound made by drawing a piece of iron across a large-toothed comb — 

 cac, cac, cac-cac, cac, the third being pronounced the quickest. It is 

 called " Cape Pigeon" by sailors. Curiously enough, although this bird 

 is by far the commonest of all the Petrels, and is so distinct in plumage 

 that no one can mistake it, yet its breeding place is, I believe, not 

 known with certainty. In Gould's account of the bird I find — " It is 

 said to breed in Tristan d'Acunha," but Captain Carmichael does not 

 mention it. Darwin (" Zoology of the Voyage of the ' Beagle' ") was in- 

 formed that the sealers know of no other place where it resorts to breed 

 but the island of South Georgia, and it certainly is not found on the 

 Prince Edward Islands nor Kerguelen's Land. Sir J. Boss, however, 

 mentions having seen flocks of young birds in January, 1841, in lat. 

 71° 50' south, near South Victoria; and it seems, therefore, probable 

 that they breed on islands in the Antarctic Ocean, far south of the 

 homes of the Albatross. 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 re- 

 main near their breeding places until thej 7 have attained the plumage of 

 the adult. According to my experience their northern limit is lat. 27° 

 south, but they sometimes follow a ship as far as 24° south, and one 

 once followed the ship I was in as far as 1 7° south. On that day I saw 

 Tropic Birds, Flying Fish, and a Cape Pigeon all together — 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 w r ith a hook. The modus operandi 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 (Cuv.) — 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. 

 According 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 few ducks were found on 

 Kerguelen's Land, and that Penguins were common upon all the islands. 

 A night or two after their ship was wrecked, they lit a fire upon the 

 rocks, when, to their astonishment, a large quantity of Stormy Petrels 



