104 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



as they drop suddenly beneath the surface of the water with their wings 

 spread to seize some scrap of foodj They unhesitatingly go completely under 

 apd reappear again with their wings still spread. We were visited by such a 

 flock on November 1, 1901, ip the Southern Indian Ocean. Having first seen 

 it on September 25, 1901, we had never had more than two or three with us 

 until this flock arrived. Many of them were evidently, molting, as several of 

 the «maller primaries were missing on either side. This exposed the paler part 

 of , the primaries .still present, and gave the appearance of a white patch and 

 a ijiece cut out from the center of the wing. They may be caught and landed 

 with stout thread entanglements, but: ordinary thread should not be used, as 

 it is apt to entangle the bird and break, leaving it disabled in tbe water. This 

 large flock remained with us for about a week, when it began to dv^indle, and 

 on November 12, on bur turning to go south, the birds left us altogether. 



' Nesting. — Capt. F. W. Hutton (1865) gives us the following brief 

 account of its breeding habits : 



It is Very common at sea from May to August ; but retires to Kerg^ielen's 

 Land and other places in September or October, to breed. Each pair burrows 

 horizontally into wet, peaty earth f roln i to 18 feet. At the end of the hole 

 they form a large chamber, a,nd construct in tbe center of it a nest similar, ex- 

 cept in size, to that of the albatross \D: exuians), in ithe hollowed top of which 

 the female lays one white egi;. They seldom leave their burrows in the 

 daytime, and when one happens to do so it is at once hunted by a "Nelly," 

 although no ?uch jealousy exists at sea. From this habit, of flying only by 

 night it is called "Nighthawk" by the sealei;s, ; | ■ , , , i . , 



Mr. Harris's party, when, wrecked on Kerguelen's Land, used to dig these 

 birds out of their burroVcs, and eat them; and ih order to save useless digging, 

 for their spades were only made from the staves of old casks, they would hold 

 one to the mouth of' a hole, and, make it cry out, when, if another was inside, 

 it would answer. 



If the black-tailed shearwater breeds regularly on Kerguelen 

 Island, it seems strange that it was not noted by Doctor Kidder (1875) 

 during his protracted visit on this, island in 1874 and 1875. 



Effgs. — Mr. A. J. Campbell (1901) describes the single egg as: 



Roundish or broad oval fn shape ; testure of shell close but somewhat coarse; 

 surface very ,sUghtly glossy ; color, pure white when first laid, but soon be- 

 ,comes soiled with brownish eajthy stains. ' \ , . 



The eggs above described were collected on Macquarle . Island the latter 

 part' ot November, 1896; by Mr. Joseph Burton, per favor of Mr. Joseph 

 Hatch; the lessee of the island. The eggs were accompanied by a skin of 

 the bird. Maequarie Island is an exceedingly rough and rugged place, almost 

 devoid of vegetation,: situated -860 miles southeast bj south from Hobart. 

 It, is about 20 miles long by about 7 miles broad,, i1;s greatest height being 1,300 

 feet above . sea level. 



During ah Interesting conversation wiih Mr. Burton, after his return from 

 Macquarie Island, where he remained 3i years; he informed me that brown 

 petrels generally appear in numbers after the middle or towards the end of 

 August Che noted one bird as early as the 12th of that month), and depart 

 about the end of May. Fresh eggs may be collected the end of November or 

 beginning of December, but, strange to say, in March and April (1900) some 

 fresh eggs were observed- in the burrows. 



