﻿502 
  

  

  Rev. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Eaton 
  on 
  the 
  [June 
  17, 
  

  

  Crustacea, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  possible 
  to 
  ascertain 
  the 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  animal 
  ; 
  

   but 
  Lieut. 
  Goodridge, 
  R.N., 
  very 
  kindly 
  photographed 
  the 
  carcass 
  before 
  

   it 
  was 
  flensed, 
  and 
  its 
  dimensions 
  were 
  carefully 
  taken 
  by 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  boat's 
  

   crew, 
  and 
  therefore 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  easily 
  identified. 
  

  

  Young 
  Sea-Elephants 
  were 
  frequently 
  found 
  by 
  us 
  in 
  Swain's 
  Bay. 
  

   Some 
  examples 
  are 
  uniformly 
  reddish 
  brown, 
  others 
  are 
  pale, 
  blotched 
  

   and 
  spotted 
  with 
  darker 
  grey. 
  They 
  usually 
  lie 
  just 
  above 
  the 
  beach, 
  

   separately, 
  in 
  hollows 
  among 
  the 
  Accena 
  and 
  Azorella, 
  where 
  they 
  are 
  

   sheltered 
  from 
  the 
  wind. 
  On 
  being 
  approached 
  they 
  make 
  no 
  attempt 
  

   to 
  move 
  away 
  (possibly 
  because 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  land 
  animals 
  indigenous 
  to 
  

   the 
  country 
  capable 
  of 
  molesting 
  them 
  to 
  cause 
  them 
  to 
  acquire 
  a 
  habit 
  

   of 
  flight), 
  but 
  raise 
  up 
  the 
  fore 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  body, 
  open 
  the 
  mouth 
  wide, 
  

   and 
  utter 
  a 
  peculiar 
  slobbering 
  cry. 
  My 
  mammalian 
  specimens, 
  unfor- 
  

   tunately, 
  are 
  not 
  so 
  complete 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  when 
  first 
  procured, 
  owing 
  

   to 
  the 
  impossibility 
  of 
  preventing 
  " 
  liberty 
  men 
  " 
  and 
  others 
  taking 
  an 
  

   interest 
  in 
  such 
  " 
  great 
  curiosities 
  " 
  whilst 
  the 
  process 
  of 
  cleaning 
  them 
  

   was 
  in 
  progress. 
  The 
  removal 
  of 
  stones, 
  purposely 
  laid 
  upon 
  some 
  of 
  

   the 
  bones, 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  fore 
  limbs 
  of 
  seals, 
  &c, 
  which 
  were 
  blown 
  

   away 
  by 
  the 
  wind. 
  

  

  All 
  of 
  the 
  birds, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  two 
  species 
  (a 
  Procellaria 
  and 
  a 
  

   Thalassidroma), 
  are 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  Cape-Town 
  Museum. 
  

  

  Thalassidroma 
  Wilsoni 
  (Dr. 
  Wyville 
  Thomson, 
  however, 
  seems 
  to 
  

   consider 
  the 
  Kerguelen- 
  Island 
  bird 
  to 
  be 
  another 
  species) 
  arrived 
  in 
  the 
  

   Sound 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  before 
  the 
  " 
  Transit." 
  Towards 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  January 
  they 
  commenced 
  laying 
  their 
  eggs 
  generally. 
  By 
  the 
  

   second 
  and 
  third 
  weeks 
  of 
  February 
  the 
  incubation 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  was 
  

   usually 
  far 
  advanced 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two 
  before 
  we 
  left 
  the 
  island, 
  Capt. 
  

   Fairfax 
  sent 
  me 
  a 
  young 
  bird 
  recently 
  hatched. 
  The 
  tarso-metatarsal 
  

   joint 
  is 
  not 
  elongated 
  in 
  the 
  chick. 
  I 
  failed 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  Thalassi- 
  

   droma 
  melanog 
  aster 
  ; 
  the 
  birds 
  occurred 
  to 
  me 
  only 
  in 
  pairs. 
  

  

  It 
  may 
  be 
  well 
  to 
  explain 
  that 
  Petrels 
  sit 
  in 
  their 
  holes 
  in 
  pairs 
  until 
  

   the 
  egg 
  is 
  laid. 
  Then 
  usually 
  only 
  one 
  bird 
  is 
  found 
  at 
  a 
  time 
  upon 
  the 
  

   nest 
  until 
  the 
  young 
  are 
  hatched 
  ; 
  and 
  soon 
  after 
  they 
  have 
  issued 
  from 
  

   the 
  egg 
  the 
  young 
  are 
  found 
  alone 
  during 
  the 
  day. 
  Eor 
  whilst 
  incuba- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  in 
  progress, 
  the 
  bird 
  not 
  upon 
  the 
  nest 
  is 
  either 
  asleep 
  in 
  a 
  siding 
  

   or 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  burrow 
  or 
  (more 
  commonly) 
  is 
  spending 
  the 
  day 
  at 
  sea 
  ; 
  

   and 
  when 
  the 
  young 
  are 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two 
  old, 
  both 
  of 
  the 
  parents 
  absent 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  during 
  the 
  day, 
  and 
  only 
  return 
  at 
  night 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  feeding 
  

   them. 
  

  

  Along 
  the 
  coast, 
  outside 
  Swain's 
  Bay, 
  a 
  few 
  examples 
  of 
  Diomedea 
  

   wielanophrys, 
  a 
  species 
  not 
  observed 
  in 
  Royal 
  Sound, 
  were 
  noticed. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  less 
  frequented 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  were 
  

   unusually 
  fearless 
  and 
  tame. 
  Shags 
  would 
  submit 
  to 
  be 
  stroked 
  along 
  

   the 
  back 
  without 
  getting 
  off 
  their 
  nests 
  or 
  attempting 
  to 
  peck 
  the 
  

   hand. 
  More 
  than 
  once 
  Sheathbills, 
  and 
  on 
  one 
  occusion 
  a 
  Skua, 
  fed 
  out 
  

  

  