The Ooean Hir-ds of q^he Perth I^eachEs. 219 
l().-~TIIK OCKAK I^lliDS OF TIIF PFHTII PLEACHES. 
By L. (jlauekt.* 
Hoad lOth Juno, 1941; Puhlishod lltli August, 1942. 
Tlio study ol' tin* (u-oan biivls oast away on out* looal boat-lies may be said 
lo have oommonood in the wintor of 19.15, whon \V. B. Alexander, M.A., 
then on the stall' of the. ALusoiuu, eollootod a numboi* of Prions and g Petrel at 
Pottosloe Beaoh. Two years later, the late F. L. ^slronaeh, a retired civil 
s(‘rvant living* at North Cotlesloe, htwame interesttal, and during the next 
lew years was partly restionsible for tlu^ rapid growth of the Miiseunds 
collection of Procellariiformes, his bag on one occasion consisting of no less 
lha.n 29 specimens, rein'esenting six species, and ranging from a. yellow-nosed 
Albatross or Mollymawk lo the white-faced Storm Petrel. 
On my I’eturn trom active servict* in 1920 I look u]) residence near the 
coast and IVom then onwards regularly patrolled the ha-al beaches in the 
winter time, now and again securing siiecimens ttf unnsual interest. To mv 
lasting regret I failed lo riadise the ini]K)rtance of a tlock of o\'ei* 20 Prions 
which had come to grief against the wall of a dressing shed at North Pottesloe 
in 1921. 
My successes induced J)r. A. L. Servimly to become interested, and he 
in turn influenced the veteran collector, H. Lawson Whitlock, then living in 
Perth, to i)artici})ate in the search for “Ocean Derelicts.” Unfortunately 
iittl(‘ ot the material Ihese expert collectors secured found its way into the 
Museum, although details inihlished in the “Lniu” iiave made ]>ossil)le the 
incorporation of tlu*ir ri‘sults in this pa]>er. 
1 he material obtained ditlenMi from year to year, no doubt owing to 
the direction, intensity and duration ol the gales. In this connection it 'may 
he noted that I^rioiis, which were v(‘ry pleiititul 20 years ago, have been 
scarce during the last year oi* two, whilst the (kipe Pigeon or Pintado Petrel, 
liist recordi'd in P120 and snl)se(|uently a gi'eat rarity for several years, was 
undouhtedly the (ammionesl, victim of re<'ent winter storms, if \vc except the 
much larger (Jiant Petrel or Nelly, whii-h appears in numhers every year. 
The area covei'cd by this paper ranges from Safety Bay, soulii of Pt, 
Peron to North Biaich, a distance of about JO miles. 
Birds haunting coastal waters or tin* shore are not included. 
A key lias been appended to assist in the identification of the species 
dealt with in tliis iiaper. It has a purely local value and so would he of little 
use on our south (-oast or in the Kastern States where a dilTej*ent avifauna 
occurs, although some forms are found })oth lu*re and there. 
Pygoscelis adelige (Hond)r. A Jac(j.). Adelie Ibmguin. 
1 he Museum possesses a s]>e(4men, A4819, caught neai* Pity Beach on 
Kaster Monday, 19J7. As sonic Japanese whal<‘rs had called at Fremantle 
a short time before it is most proliahlc that I he Iiird was an escaped pet. 
Eudyptes crestatus moseleyi {Math. A Iredale). Hock Hopper. 
A specimen captured alive on Hotlnest Island in 1909 is the only local 
I'ecord, although hardly a year passes without one or more living birds 
coming ashore somewhere in the lower South-West. 
*CoinimiincHt<*(l by ])ernnssi<in of the Tjustoos. 
; o u / 1 *) 
