78 E. LÖNNBERG, CONTRIBTTTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF SOUTH GEORGIA. 



shallow water 1 — V/ 2 m. They did not swallow what they had picked up before they 

 had come up to the snrface again. They remained near the establishment the whole 

 winter and could be counted in thousands there, in consequence of the ample supply 

 of food. 



The most northern locality on which Daption was observed, on the way back 

 and forth, was at the latitude of Rio Grande do Sul. 



Mr. Sörling did not observe any breeding specimens on South Georgia nor 

 any »that looked like young birds.» To judge from von den Steinen's (12) obser- 

 vations it is, however, probable that the Cape Pigeon really does breed there, although 

 perhaps in less number than on Kerguelen Island. The Scottish Expedition was 

 luck% 7 enough to find it breeding in rather great number on the South Orkney Is- 

 lands, and for the first time secured the eggs of this well known bird. W. Eagle 

 Clarke (21) has also described its breeding habits from the experiences of the ex- 

 pedition just mentioned, and he emphasizes that the nests were found on open led- 

 ges of cliffs, in contrary to the observations made on Kerguelen Island where nests 

 of the Cape Pigeon »were obtained in burrows and grottoes. » Hall (13) found the 

 nests on Kerguelen Island »in the cavities of a rough cliff», and says that »these 

 cavities or grottoes» were »approximately 6x3x3 feet. » But the »Gazelle» Expe- 

 dition (15) found an egg of this species »einfach in eine Spalte zwischen Klippen 

 gelegt», and it is remarked in consequence of this that this bird does not seem to 

 breed in hollows. The habit with respect to the selecting of nesting places is thus 

 variable even on Kerguelen Island. 



Ossifraga 1 gigantea (Gmelin) 1788. 



Syn.: Procellaria gigantea Gmelin 1788. 

 Fulmanis gigantens Stephens 1826. 

 Procellaria ossifraga Först. 1844. 

 Ossifraga gigantea Jaq. Puch 1853. 



1 egg collected at the eastern side of the Moraine Fjord, Cnmberlaud Bay the 2 It of Nov. 1904. 



2 eggs the same locality, the 24th of Nov. 1904. 



Two eggs from dark birds measured resp. 104 and 104,5 mm. in length and 

 64 and 64,5 mm. in width. An egg from a white bird was a little shorter and thic- 

 ker resp. 101,5 mm. x 67 mm. 



The nest lay quite open and unprotected. It Avas built of straws of grass and 

 rather flat but always situated on the top of some small convexity of the ground. 



The Giant Petrels were very greedy on the carcasses of whales, but nevertheless 

 rather shy so that they, as a rule, did not allow anybody to come within gunshot, 



at least not in the harbour. 



• 



1 Riciimond: has recently proposed the new name Macronedes for this genus as Ossifraga Hombr & 

 Jaqu. 1844 should be preoccnpied by Wood 1835. I liave not been able to form any independent opinion 

 in this qnestion as vet. 



