Order PKOCELLAKIIFORMES.] 



[Family PUFFINIDJE. 



PUFFINUS TENUIROSTKIS. 



(BONAPAETE'S SHEARWATEE.) 



Puffinus tenuirostris (Temm.), Buller, Birds of New Zealand, vol. ii., p. 230. 



Mr. David Lyall, writing to me from Stephen's Island, in September, says : " There is one 

 Petrel here that I cannot find anything about in your ' Manual.' It is not so large as the 

 Mutton-bird, and lays a pure-white egg, of the size of a common fowl's. The colour of the bird is 

 deep-black, and white on the under-side. It has a call almost the same as that of the Laughing 

 Jackass, of Australia. I will send you a pair of them." He kindly did so, and it proved to be the 

 above species. A specimen in the Canterbury Museum gives the length of wing from flexure 

 as 10'75 in., exactly the same as in my type-specimen (vol. ii., p. 230.) 



Young. — Uniform slaty-black, darker on the upper surface, and inclining to grey on the throat. 



There is a locally killed specimen of this Petrel in Mr. Townson's collection at Westpost. It 

 is an adult bird, in black and white plumage. 



Captain Hutton writes, on a specimen from the Kermadec Islands : — 



Length 15 inches, wing 10 - 75, tail 4*25, bill T2, tarsus 1*9, mid-toe 2*1. In addition to the slender bill 

 and short tail this species can be readily distinguished by the under wing-coverts, which are greyish- brown, 

 and considerably lighter than the upper wing-coverts ; while in P. chlororhynchus the upper and lower wing- 

 coverts are of the same tint, and in P. griseus the under wing-coverts are rather paler grey. In P. tenui- 

 rostris the lower mandible is said to be paler in colour than the upper, but this does not show in the dried skin. 

 This species is not uncommon in the North Island of New Zealand, but I have never seen a specimen from 

 the South Island. P. griseus, on the contrary, is extremely abundant at Stewart Island, Foveaux Strait, and 

 gets rare further north. 



The following is from ' The Story of the Bell Family, or Twelve Years on the Kermadec 

 Islands' : — 



The Petrels— there are nine kinds, and we have names of our own for them— the Black Burrower, the 

 Mutton-bird, the White Burrower, the Short-billed Titi, the Long-billed Titi, the Little Storm-Petrel, and three 

 others that we had no names for— abound on the island. The Mutton-birds and Burrowers come to the 

 island in millions in the breeding season, and the nesting place of the Burrowers is very like a rabbit warren; 

 while the Mutton-bird is content with a few twigs to do duty for a nest. The other birds peculiar to the 

 island are the Tropic-bird, a beautiful salmon-pink in colour, the Terns, of which there are several kinds, and 

 the Tui and the Kingfisher from New Zealand. 



Mr. Elsdon Best writes, in his ' Sketches from Tuhoeland ' : — 



The Titi, or Mutton-bird, was formerly taken in numbers at Lake Waikaremoana, though now never 

 seen in this locality. These birds were caught as they flew against an extended net, a fire being kindled in 

 order to attract the birds. A net some 30 feet in length was set up on the edge of a cliff, the net being- 

 supported and stretched by means of poles or stakes stuck into the ground. A fire was kindled before the net, 

 and on the extreme edge of the cliff. Between the fire and the net the fowlers seated themselves, each armed 

 with a stick. Attracted by the fire, the birds flew against the nets, when they were struck down with the 

 sticks. A foggy night was usually selected for this important function. In striking the birds, the fowlers 

 were careful not to draw blood from the same. Should they do so, it was a ' puhore,' or token of bad luck— 

 and few birds would be taken ; they would cease to come to that fire. Also, should the first bird taken chance 

 to fly against the ' tama-tane ' (upper rope of net), or the ' mata-tauira ' (the X of poles, where lashed together), 

 that was a 'puhore.' But should that first bird strike the ' tama-wahine ' (lower rope of net) or near it, that 

 was a ' marie,' or sign of good luck— many birds would be taken. The nets were made of dressed flax. The old 

 people generally employed themselves in making such nets, as well as snares and many other articles necessary 

 to the old-time Maori. Mutton-birds were cooked at the ' ahi matiti '—of which more anon— the bones taken 

 out, after which they were packed in calabashes by the inland tribes, and in ' poha ' (vessels formed of a kind 

 of seaweed) by the coast people. The fat collected from them was then poured over them and the vessels 

 closed up. 



