PRION DESOLATUS. 



7th a great flock of these birds passed the ship in Lat. 40° 39' S., Long. 78° 51' W. 

 P. desolatus apparently predominated in the Indian Ocean, and P. banksi in the Pacific. 



In Australia it is said by Mr. A. J. Campbell to occur in the seas of South 

 Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South and West Australia, and Tasmania 

 (Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, II., p. 916). According to Buller, the species is 

 abundant off the coasts of New Zealand, and great numbers perish during tempestuous 

 weather, when they are driven ashore. Mr. Reischek found the birds breeding on 

 Little Barrier Island and the " Chickens " ; he procured fresh eggs on November 1st, 

 and found young birds in December. It has also been recorded as nesting on the 

 island of Kapiti, in Cook's Strait, by Mr. Percy Seymour. 



The late Captain Hutton said that P. desolatus breeds on Antipodes Island, and 

 Buller received nestlings from outlying rocks of the Chatham group. Mr. H. H. 

 Travers found the species on the last named islands in immense numbers, breeding 

 in holes in the ground. 



Buller relates that the birds are very active on the wing, rarely settling 

 on the water, but hovering over the rolling billows, and dancing in the trough 

 of the sea. Sometimes they poise their bodies like butterflies over a flower, at 

 other times cleaving the air with the swiftness of a meteor, but always intent on 

 the capture of the small marine animals on which they feed. He further states 

 that he has seen these birds on the wing in flocks of many hundreds, and they 

 suffer more than any other Petrel in stormy weather, at which time the coasts 

 are often strewn with the bodies of dead and dying birds. He mentions that 

 he has revived some of the birds by placing them in the pocket of his overcoat, and 

 has kept them alive for several days. On the approach of night they always became 

 more animated, seeking the darker corners of the room, and fluttering about in an 

 excited manner, with a rapid twittering note, from which Buller concluded that the 

 species was nocturnal in habits. During the daytime, the eyes were always half closed, 

 imparting a peculiar fretful expression to the face. On taking one in his hand and 

 inserting its bill in a glass of water, it would at once commence to move its feet, as if 

 in the act of swimming or treading the water. Before rising from a plane surface, the 

 birds always ran for a few feet with the wings outstretched, so as to give the body 

 an impetus, and they never seemed to tire of climbing over the armchairs or other 

 inclined surfaces in the room, using both wings and feet in this operation (Buller, Birds 

 New Zeal, p. 309, 1873). 



P. desolatus breeds on Kerguelen Island, where the Rev. A. E. Eaton found it in 

 scarcely conceivable numbers. The birds were silent during the day, unless disturbed, 

 when they commenced to coo, but their note, when in flight, he describes as 

 " u-u, u-u, u-u." On calm nights at the end of October and beginning of November 

 their mingled cries and the rustling of their wings as they flew, produced a low 

 continuous murmur like the sound of distant street traffic in a large town (Sharpe, 



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