CLIFF-DWELLERS 21 



them, but by sitting near them, at a distance of six 

 inches, between them and the opening of the bur- 

 row. The petrels turn their heads toward the 

 eggs, and coo at them day and night, and so "hatch 

 them with their song." This, which sounds like a 

 fable of the East Atlantic islands, has reaUy a basis 

 in fact. Mr. Davenport Graham says that the ac- 

 count is "very correct; though I never heard the 

 cooing noise by day, I often did in the evening. It 

 is rather a purring noise. When its nest is opened 

 up, the bird is usually found cowering a few inches 

 away from its egg. This hot and stuffy atmosphere 

 may aid the hatching of the eggs; but there is no 

 doubt that it brings into being other and very unde- 

 sirable forms of life." 



The great auk, now extinct, laid her single egg, 

 about the size of that of a swan, in a deep burrow. 

 This egg was so peculiarly streaked that it looked as 

 if it were covered with strange Chinese characters 

 — of a whitish yellow, marked with black dots and 

 manifold small lines. If for any reason this egg 

 chanced to be stolen, the bird would lay no more 

 during the season. Perhaps this partially accounts 

 for the quick extinction of this rare bird. 



The strangest of all the ground-dwellers is the 

 owl-parrot (kakapo) of New Zealand. This curi- 

 ous bird combines all the special characteristics of 



