Order PROCELLARIIFORMES.I 



[Family PUFFINIDvE. 



DAPTION CAPENSIS 



(PINTADO PETREL.) 



Daption capensis, Linn. ; Buller, Birds of New Zealand, yoI. ii., p. 215. 



Captain Hutton writes (under date December 1st, 1902 : " The Cape Pigeon probably breeds at 

 the Snares, Auckland Islands, and Antipodes, although the nest has not yet been found." 



The following paragraph appeared, some years ago, in one of the Wellington papers : " It is 

 not very often that Cape Pigeons are seen in our harbour, and the presence of these pretty sea-fowl 

 is always looked upon as the harbinger of bad weather. The passengers of the 'Duco,' on her 

 trip to the 'Eimutaka,' in the stream yesterday, saw one of these 'Pigeons' floating near the 

 liner, having probably followed her into port." 



HALOBMA CiERULEA. 



(BLUE PETREL.) 



Halobaena caerulea (G-melin), Buller, Birds of New Zealand, yoI. ii., p. 214. 



This species of Petrel, although plentiful in certain localities elsewhere, is very rarely found on 

 the New Zealand coast. Dr. Kidder writes that, "upon first landing on Kerguelen Island (Sept- 

 ember 13th), the hillsides, apparently quite deserted during the day, became at night perfectly 

 alive with these birds and a species of Pelecanoides (P. urinatrix, Gm.), flying irregularly about 

 the rocks and the hummocks of Azorella, and filling the air with their call. The note much 

 resembles the cooing of Pigeons, consisting of three short notes repeated in rapid succession and 

 followed by two long ones, thus : ' Kuk-kuk-kuk-coo-coo.' They seemed rarely to fly over the 

 water, but to confine themselves to the neighbourhood of their burrows, sometimes alighting and 

 again taking wing, very much as if there were legions of bats inhabiting the hill. I never 

 succeeded in satisfying myself as to the object of this constant flight during the night, although I 

 spent much time in watching them, since, so far as my observation extended, there were no 

 night-flying insects whatever upon the island, nor did the structure of the stomachs of these birds 

 seem fitted to an insect diet. The burrows are excavated beneath the mounds of an umbelliferous 

 plant which abounds on the Kerguelen hillside (Azorella selago, Hook.), growing in dense masses 

 of often several feet in diameter. The holes usually run straight inward for a foot or more, then 

 turn sharply to the right or left, parallel with the hillside, thence downward, often doubling once 

 or twice upon themselves, and communicating with other entrances. At the bottom is an 

 enlarged cavity, lined with pine-root fibres, twigs, ferns, or leaves of the ' Kerguelen tea ' (Accena 

 affinis, Hook.), and quite dry. Here the single egg is to be found, always quite covered with dry 



