BIRDS OF THE OCEAN AND SEASHORE 
28S 
Egg. — Pale greenish or bluish-white, with a coating of lime; gener- 
ally nest-stained and scratched by the feet and toes of the sitting bird. 
Breeding-season: May and July to September. 
20. Australian Gannet Sula serrator Gray 
ser-ra-tor — L., serrator , sawyer. 
Distribution. — Coast of Australia (south of Fremantle, Western 
Australia, and Brisbane, Queensland), Tasmania, and New Zealand. 
Notes. — Also called Takupu. A fairly common species off the coasts. 
Similar in habits and economy to the other species of Gannets. Breeds in 
colonies on islands in Bass Strait, off Tasmania, on Lawrence Rock (off 
Portland, Victoria), and on the North Island of New Zealand. 
Nest. — Usually a well-built structure, composed of kelp, twigs, grass, 
and other plants, placed on a flat cone-shaped mound of earth and guano. 
Eggs. — One or two, pale bluish-white, thickly coated with lime; gen- 
erally nest-stained and scratched by the feet and toes of the sitting bird 
Breeding-season: July to January. 
21. Masked Gannet Sula dactylatra Lesson 
dac-ty-la-tra — Gk, dactylon, linger ; L., atra, black. 
Distribution. — Seas of north-western, northern, and north-eastern 
Australia; occurs generally in the tropical seas. 
Notes. — Also called Masked Booby and Blue-faced Booby. It is 
similar in habits and economy to the other species of Gannets. Breeds in 
colonies on Bedout, Adele, and Raine Islands off the Australian coasts, 
on Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, and also on isolated islands in the 
tropical oceans. 
Nest. — A depression in the sand or earth, around which twigs, grass, 
or weeds are strewn, and added to as incubation proceeds. 
Eggs. — Usually two, pale bluish-white, more or less covered with 
lime. Although two eggs are laid, usually only one young one is reared. 
Breeding-season: July to December, or later according to the season and 
the locality. 
22. Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus Gmelin 
Puff -in-us — N.L., puffinus, puffin: pacificus — of the Pacific Ocean. 
Distribution . — The western and eastern coasts of Australia; occurs 
generally throughout the tropical and semi-tropical Indian and Pacific 
Oceans. 
Notes. — Also called Wedge-tailed Petrel and Wedge-tailed Mutton- 
bird. Arrives in immense flocks along the coasts during September and 
November, and establishes itself in rookeries on islands lying off the 
mainland, especially along the Great Barrier Reef. Both sexes take part 
in incubation, one remaining silently in the burrow all day, while its mate 
ranges the ocean for food, which consists of small fish and squids, crusta- 
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