so BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
Torquay fishermen say that the month of May- 
is that in which Prions are most plentiful. In the 
Pacific sailors call them Ice-birds. They are found 
all over the Southern Ocean ; near the Chatham 
Islands I saw hundreds of thousands of them at the 
end of October, 191 3, flying to and fro like swallows. 
This species is perhaps the easiest to pick out from 
a number of Prions. It is shorter in the body and has 
a stumpier, more compressed bill ; indeed it has the 
most dove-like appearance of any of the group. 
It is said to breed on various islands in Bass Strait, 
notably Albatross Rock and North-east Island. It 
certainly does not breed on the mainland. 
THIN-BILLED PRION 
Heteroprion belcheri 
This species was not known until the examination by 
Mr. G. M. Matthews in England of the birds which 
I found as above mentioned on the beach at Torquay 
in 191 1. Two of these were deemed to be entirely 
new to science, and were named for the first time 
accordingly. The bill-characteristics of the species 
are relative length, narrowness at the base, and 
slenderness in the centre when viewed from the side. 
The bird's habits are probably similar to those of 
other Prions ; its breeding-place is yet to be ascer- 
tained. 
