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GENUS OSSIFRAGA (Homb. et Jacq.) 



rj^HE single species of this genus is the largest and most powerful of all the Petrels. 



< ) SSI FRAG A ( IT G ANTE A. 



GIANT PETREL. Genus: Ossifraga. 



J IKE the Cape Petrel, this variety is found all over the temperate southern latitudes at .sea ; it also 

 frequents somewhat higher zones than the former, and have even been seen sometimes, though 

 rarely, in northern latitudes. 



Although their food consists chiefly of fish, the Giant Petrels are carnivorous They feed upon 

 the carcases of whales or birds at sea, and when they spy sealers engaged in cutting up a seal, they 

 hover round and devour ferociously what is left of the flesh. In their voracious manner of feeding, they 

 often snap the smaller bones of the carcase, hence their title of Ossifraga, or " Break-bones." 



They are often taken by sailors for Albatroses, but their flight is by no means so graceful or 

 sustained as that of the prince of flyers. They are shy by nature and rarely come close to a vessel 

 at sea. 



They breed on the precipitous sides of rocks and cliffs on such lonely islands as Kerguelen's 

 Land. When the nest is approached the young birds have the power of sending out a jet of most 

 foul-smelling oil upon the intruder, to a distance of six <>r eight feet. The nestlings are covered with 

 a long coating of grey down : their first feathers are dark brown blotched with white. 



Entire plumage very rich dark brown; irides, almost black; bill, pale horn - colour ; legs, 

 blackish-brown. 



Habitats: Australian seas generally: very abundant in D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, Tasmania; 

 Prince Edward's Islands and Kerguelen's Land appear to be the favourite breeding places. 



