THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 263 



towards the South Pole in 1772-75, as having been found at 

 Staten Land. Cook remarks very truly that the bird "is 

 about the size of a pigeon, and as white as milk," and men- 

 tions that it has a very disagreeable smell, a circumstance 

 also commented on by Mr. Darwin, but which I did not 

 notice in the two specimens which I had an opportunity of 

 examining. The legs are long, of a blackish-gray colour, and 

 bear a considerable resemblance to those of an oyster-catcher 

 {Hcematojms). They feed on molluscs and other marine 

 animals, and are often to be seen far out at sea to the south 

 of Cape Horn. In the Strait of Magellan, however, they do 

 not appear to be common, as I only noticed them on one or 

 two occasions. 



We anchored under Dungeness that evening, and I, in com- 

 mon with several of our number, entertained designs of land- 

 ing on the Spit early next morning, to engage in a campaign 

 against the sea-lions, but rain and wind set in immediately 

 before the time we intended to land, and we were thus frus- 

 trated in our project. We weighed between eight and nine 

 A.M. (18th), and moved on to Gregory Bay, where we remained 

 for the night ; and I obtained a Boltenia and several examples 

 of the large Cynthia I have mentioned as procured on the 

 previous season, in the dredge. We left our anchorage at 

 two A.M. on the 19th, and proceeded onwards to Sandy Point, 

 which we reached about six hours later. On landing after 

 breakfast, we found a large budget of letters and papers 

 awaiting us, but learned, much to our disappointment, that a 

 vessel, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's ship " Peru," 

 which we had expected to meet and despatch a mail by, had 

 made a shorter passage to the Strait than we had calculated 

 upon, and passed through two or three days before. It was 

 a lovely spring morning when we got on shore, and the 



