BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 181 



shoulders, and wing coverts greyish-blue; tail feathers broadly 

 tipped with white; outer webs of primaries black, inner hoary- 

 white; inner primaries and secondaries greyish-blue; whole of 

 under surface pure white; sides of chest greyish-blue. " Bill dull 

 blackish-brown, with a stripe of blue-grey along the lower part of 

 the lower mandible; tarsus and toes delicate blue; interdigital 

 membrane fleshy- white, traversed with red veins" (Gould). 

 Dimensions in mm. : — -Length, about 280; bill, 27; wing, 212; tail, 

 92; tarsus, 32. 



Female. — Similar to male. 



Nest. — According to the testimony of the Eev. A. E. Eaton 

 and Dr. Kidder, of the British and American Expeditions respect- 

 ively, the burrows on Kerguelen Island were excavated beneath 

 clumps of Aeorella. The winding burrows terminated in large, dry 

 chambers lined with fine roots, fibres, twigs, ferns, and leaves of 

 the Kerguelen "tea." 



Eggs. — Clutch one; roundish oval in shape; texture fairly fine; 

 surface without gloss ; colour white. Dimensions in mm. : — 48 x 36. 



Breeding Season. — October and November. 



Geographical Distribution. — Seas of Tasmania, Australia, New 

 Zealand, and Southern Ocean to 70 deg. south lat. 



Observations. — Gould on his first voyage to Australia observed 

 the Blue Petrel in large numbers off the coast of Tasmania. 

 Some authorities place this species among the Prions, which bird 

 it closely resembles, but may be readily distinguished by its square 

 tail and white tips to its tail feathers. 



" The resemblance between this Petrel and the Prion desolatus 

 extends even to their ' coo.' Their calls underground are so much 

 alike that on hearing one it is difficult to state to which of the two 

 species the bird cooing should be referred without digging it up for 

 inspection, and their tone is very similar in sound to the cooing of 

 some foreign doves. But their calls during flight are very different 

 from one another" (A. E. Eaton). 



*BEOAD-BILLED DOVE-PETREL (Pbion) 

 {Prion vittatus, Gmelin). 



Male. — Crown of the head blue-grey, the grey being somewhat 

 pronounced; back blue-grey; patch of black in centre of rump. 

 " Sides of the rump, upper tail coverts, and tail feathers blue-grey, 

 the centre ones with a broad black bar, disappearing towards the 

 outermost feathers, which have black ends and black shafts" 

 (Godman). Wing coverts like the back; primaries blackish; 

 secondaries greyish; cheeks and under surface white; sides of the 

 chest blue-grey ; under tail coverts light blue-grey. Dimensions in 

 mm. .-—Length, 290; bill, 32; wing, 215; tail, 100; tarsus, 34. 



Female. — Similar in plumage to male, but, according to Dr. 

 Godman, slightly smaller in size. 



