﻿1875.] 
  Natural 
  History 
  of 
  Kerguelen's 
  Island. 
  

  

  503 
  

  

  of 
  my 
  hand. 
  A 
  Sheathbill, 
  after 
  pecking 
  at 
  my 
  boots, 
  ate 
  in 
  succes- 
  

   sion 
  six 
  eggs 
  held 
  out 
  to 
  it. 
  But 
  the 
  Skua 
  behaved 
  in 
  a 
  still 
  more 
  

   extraordinary 
  manner. 
  On 
  approaching 
  within 
  three 
  hundred 
  yards 
  

   of 
  the 
  nest 
  it 
  was 
  evident, 
  from 
  the 
  excitement 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  birds, 
  that 
  the 
  

   young 
  were 
  hatched 
  ; 
  and 
  on 
  searching 
  for 
  the 
  nestlings, 
  the 
  old 
  birds 
  

   commenced 
  their 
  usual 
  onslaught 
  when 
  within 
  two 
  hundred 
  yards 
  of 
  the 
  

   nest. 
  Disregarding 
  their 
  outcries 
  and 
  fierce 
  swooping 
  down, 
  I 
  soon 
  

   found 
  the 
  young 
  ones 
  crouching 
  amongst 
  the 
  herbage 
  some 
  distance 
  

   apart 
  from 
  one 
  another 
  and 
  the 
  nest 
  (which 
  they 
  leave 
  at 
  an 
  early 
  age), 
  

   and 
  sat 
  beside 
  the 
  nearest. 
  The 
  hen 
  Skua 
  immediately 
  alighted 
  within 
  a 
  

   yard 
  of 
  me 
  and 
  continued 
  her 
  vociferations, 
  whilst 
  the 
  cock 
  withdrew 
  to 
  

   the 
  other 
  nestling. 
  On 
  stroking 
  her 
  chick 
  the 
  hen 
  became 
  more 
  

   excited 
  than 
  ever 
  and 
  advanced 
  a 
  little 
  nearer. 
  Taking 
  a 
  Prion's 
  egg 
  

   from 
  my 
  pocket 
  and 
  holding 
  it 
  out, 
  her 
  cries 
  ceased 
  whilst 
  she 
  eyed 
  

   the 
  egg, 
  but 
  recommenced 
  when 
  she 
  again 
  looked 
  at 
  me. 
  She 
  once 
  

   more 
  looked 
  at 
  the 
  egg, 
  became 
  silent, 
  waddled 
  cautiously 
  up 
  and 
  pecked 
  

   gently 
  at 
  my 
  finger, 
  then, 
  reassured, 
  pecked 
  the 
  egg, 
  which 
  she 
  very 
  soon 
  

   made 
  an 
  end 
  of. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  she 
  ate 
  a 
  young 
  Prion 
  killed 
  for 
  the 
  

   purpose, 
  and 
  afterwards 
  flew 
  to 
  the 
  hole 
  from 
  whence 
  the 
  bird 
  had 
  been 
  

   taken 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  it 
  contained 
  another 
  ; 
  and 
  upon 
  my 
  digging 
  at 
  some 
  

   other 
  holes, 
  she 
  came 
  near 
  and 
  stood 
  by 
  in 
  eager 
  expectancy 
  of 
  further 
  

   gratuities. 
  "With 
  regard 
  to 
  her 
  pecking 
  first 
  at 
  the 
  finger 
  before 
  the 
  

   egg, 
  I 
  would 
  observe 
  that 
  wild 
  birds 
  usually 
  do 
  this 
  previous 
  to 
  feeding 
  

   out 
  of 
  the 
  hand. 
  The 
  Sheathbills 
  did 
  the 
  same, 
  and 
  so 
  do 
  English 
  

   birds 
  which 
  have 
  never 
  been 
  in 
  confinement. 
  It 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  their 
  way 
  

   of 
  testing 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  any 
  strange-looking 
  object. 
  

  

  The 
  Sheathbill 
  was 
  plentiful 
  in 
  Swain's 
  Bay, 
  and 
  a 
  fair 
  number 
  of 
  their 
  

   eggs 
  were 
  procured. 
  As 
  Dr. 
  Kidder, 
  the 
  American 
  Naturalist, 
  had 
  not 
  

   succeeded 
  in 
  finding 
  any, 
  I 
  was 
  anxious 
  that 
  he 
  should 
  have 
  some 
  ; 
  but 
  

   did 
  not 
  consider 
  myself 
  at 
  liberty 
  to 
  give 
  him 
  more 
  than 
  one, 
  and 
  that 
  

   a 
  damaged 
  specimen 
  almost 
  in 
  halves. 
  The 
  Royal 
  Society 
  will 
  now 
  be 
  

   able 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  liberal. 
  

  

  A 
  fine 
  male 
  example 
  of 
  a 
  Rata, 
  differing 
  from 
  the 
  species 
  previously 
  

   found 
  in 
  Royal 
  Sound, 
  was 
  shot 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Budds, 
  the 
  chaplain 
  of 
  H.M.S. 
  

   ' 
  Yolage,' 
  two 
  days 
  before 
  w 
  T 
  e 
  sailed. 
  

  

  The 
  Agrostis 
  mentioned 
  when 
  I 
  last 
  wrote 
  came 
  into 
  flower 
  about 
  the 
  

   third 
  week 
  in 
  January. 
  It 
  can 
  scarcely 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  sward, 
  or 
  pas- 
  

   turage 
  even, 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhoods 
  visited 
  by 
  me. 
  The 
  Limosella 
  was 
  

   found 
  in 
  February 
  in 
  fruit 
  and 
  flower, 
  very 
  sparingly, 
  in 
  only 
  one 
  shallow 
  

   lake 
  between 
  the 
  Observatory 
  and 
  Mount 
  Crozier. 
  

  

  I 
  omitted 
  to 
  inform 
  you 
  that 
  the 
  Kerguelen-Island 
  Oallitriche, 
  given 
  

   in 
  the 
  ' 
  Flora 
  Antarctica 
  ' 
  as 
  C. 
  verna 
  var. 
  terrestris, 
  should 
  (I 
  think) 
  be 
  

   regarded 
  as 
  a 
  form 
  of 
  0. 
  pedunculata 
  rather 
  than 
  of 
  0. 
  verna. 
  It 
  has 
  

   no 
  bracts, 
  and 
  seems 
  to 
  exhibit 
  other 
  peculiarities 
  of 
  C. 
  pedunculata. 
  

   Prof. 
  Wyville 
  Thomson 
  alludes 
  to 
  it 
  as 
  C. 
  verna 
  ; 
  but 
  probably 
  he 
  

  

  