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107 



14th March. — At noon on this day we had got as far south as lat. 56° 52 ' without, however, having seen 

 any icebergs. The Grey Petrel {Priofinus cinereus) is, I should say, far and away the commonest species of 

 bird in these seas. It is evident that the same flock does not keep in constant attendance like the Albatros, 

 because I have noticed that, whereas one day the birds are shy and keep well astern of the ship, the next day 

 they will fly over and around her after-part with every appearance of confidence. We have not, so far, seen 

 any Diomedeamelanophrys, a form very common in the South Pacific, but inhabiting a somewhat lower lati- 

 tude. There is said to be a large breeding-place of this species on some outlying rocks near the Chatham 

 Islands, which are visited periodically by the Maoris for the sake of the young birds. 



15th March.— To-day was the last of the appearance of Priofinus cinereus, which followed us, but in 

 diminished numbers, till nightfall, when we were in lat. 56° 52' S., long. 82° 10' W. It is clearly a strictly 

 oceanic species, for we are still 150 miles from land. According to my observations on this voyage, the 

 meridian of 152° represents the limit of its range to the westward ; and it is significant that during the 

 whole of my experience in New Zealand I have never known of its occurrence more than once in our adjacent 

 seas. 



17th and 18th March.— As we passed up into the waters of the South Atlantic, the weather being thick, 

 bird-life for a time disappeared ; but on nearing the Falkland Islands a Black Shag, after hovering round us 

 on wearied wing for half an hour, took refuge on the ship. 



19th March.— Dense fog in the morning, and no birds. It cleared off in the afternoon, and after 

 passing the Falklands I saw a small Grey-and- White Petrel in the distance, and a solitary Ossifraga 

 gigantea. 



20th March. — Wet and foggy in the forenoon ; not a wing to be seen. At noon we were in lat. 47° 30' S. 

 and in long. 53° 41' W. I saw an Albatros in the distance (apparently!), melanophnjs), a pair of Black-and- 

 White Petrels of large size ; also a flock of what appeared to be Prion desolatus, or an allied species ; and at 

 intervals, scattered flocks of Oceanites oceanicus, their white rump showing very conspicuously as they 

 skimmed the surface of the water in their erratic flight. 



21st March.— A flock of Storm-Petrels, and a few other birds too remote from the ship for identification, 

 completed the day's list. 



22nd and 23rd March. — One is much impressed by the general absence of bird-life in the South Atlantic. 

 The waters are intensely blue to-day, with a light breeze blowing, causing crested wavelets as far as the eye 

 can reach, but there is no sign of anything except a solitary Storm-Petrel now and then, or a pair of some 

 larger species. Captain Kempson, who has made this journey by steamer two-and-twenty times, informs me 

 that, as a rule, no Albatroses are to be seen after passing the Falkland Islands, but that in the winter months, 

 and especially in August, he has known them to follow the ship some hundreds of miles further north. In the 

 Indian Ocean, on the other hand, he has met with Albatroses two days north of the Cape of Good Hope, or 

 quite near to the equator. 



28th March to 1st April— During the last five days, although the light south-east trades were blowing, 

 and the tropics comparatively cool, there was not a bird to be seen. Twice only I saw in the distance a small 

 flock of Petrels flying low. The only sign of animation was furnished by the shoals of tiny flying-fish, quitting 

 for a moment their natural element, and performing a direct, rapid flight, as if endeavouring to elude the 

 pursuit of some enemy under the surface. 



2nd to 4th April.— Gentle north-east trades blowing. No birds seen when we were crossing the Line, 

 except an occasional Storm-Petrel performing its erratic flight over the surface of the water after the manner 

 of a bat hawking for flies. 



In my diary for 1894, recording my observations on the return voyage, there are further 

 references to this species :— 



24th February. — The swell has subsided, and the wind is sufficiently favourable to enable us to have all 

 our sails set. But there is a slight mist on the ocean, and not a bird of any kind to be seen. If the sea-birds 

 are guided to the ship by their vision, the explanation is sufficiently obvious. A haze over the ocean renders 

 the ship invisible at a little distance, although there may be, to all appearance, as seen from the deck, a clear 

 space around it. The birds follow the ship on the same principle that Terns and Seagulls follow the plough 

 on a newly-turned field. As the latter glean the grubs and worms, these feed on the small marine animals 

 that are brought to the surface by the disturbance of the water in the ship's course, as well as on the garbage 

 thrown overboard from time to time. We are now about 250 miles from Kerguelen's Land. In the after- 

 noon the mist lifted, and we were at once visited by a few Albatroses and Storm-Petrels and by about 

 half a dozen of the Grey Petrel {Priofinus cinereus), whose customary range we appear now to have reached. 



