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The stomachs of several which were examined contained blnbber-like matter and the sharp- 
pointed beak of some cephalopod. 
My son Walter obtained at Manawatu, in the month of September, an adult bird which had 
been captured by the Maoris far inland ; and at this season it was so fat that he had the utmost 
difficulty in detaching the skin. 
It breeds in communities, often resorting for that purpose to the tops of low mountains far 
removed from the sea. The Maoris soon discover these breeding-places, and not only collect the 
young, but capture large numbers of the old birds by lighting fires on calm nights and thus decoying 
them to their destruction. 
In the Bay of Plenty, about four miles north of Matata, there is a high sea-cliff of soft sand- 
stone called Te Tuhi-o-mahuika. The softer parts of the rock have been eroded by the weather, 
leaving the harder contorted strata intact and projecting from the face of the cliff in all sorts of 
eccentric shapes ; and here it was, according to Maori tradition, that their famous ancestor, Mahuika*, 
obtained most of his patterns in the art of ornamental “ tattooing.” That is doubtless a myth, but 
after allowing the eye to rest for some time on these curious natural devices in the face of the rock, 
I found I could trace a resemblance to many of the typical forms in the highly artistic moJco of the 
present day. In the deeper cavities caused by this singular erosion of nature the Black Petrel forms 
her nest and hatches her brood in perfect security, no one ever attempting to scale these perpendicular 
cliffs. 
Mr. Cheeseman writes to me from Auckland : — “ This species breeds on the coast-ranges north 
of the Manukau, and on the Cape Colville peninsula, also on many of the small islets off the eastern 
shore. A friend fishing a short time ago in Rangitoto channel, caught a small shark, w'hich he cut 
up for bait, throwing portions overboard. He was soon surrounded by large numbers of 21. pat'Jcinsoni, 
and by continuing to throw over small pieces of the shark, he induced them to come so near the boat 
as to enable him to kill several with the blade of his oar, some of which he brought to the Museum.” 
Mikaera, a Wainuiomata native, brought to the Colonial Museum, on the 1st February, an egg 
of this species which he had taken from a burrow in the hills on the north side of Wellington harbour ; 
and I have received eggs from the Little Barrier in the beginning of December. 
Mr. Reischek found it nesting under the root of a tree, near the top of the Waikomiti hill, fully 
twelve miles from the sea. He likewise met with it on the Little Barrier, principally on the tops of 
the hills and about the centre of the island. He generally found it in natural cavities, dug round 
and adapted to the wants of the bird. When not breeding two were often found associated in the 
same hole ; but when the nest contained an egg, only the female remained in charge. In the month 
of November he has seen the old birds assisting each other in the labour of cleaning out and adapting 
the hole they have selected, and afterwards in collecting dry leaves and pieces of moss wherewith to 
make it comfortable and form a nest, which is usually placed in a depression at the further end of the 
cavity. These breeding-holes are generally from one to two feet deep : then comes the nest-chamber, 
measuring often tvvo feet in extent and about half that in width. One nest was found in the hollow 
of an old puriri stump. At the end of November a single egg is produced and, according to the 
natives, the young bird is hatched out at the end of December or beginning of January. In April or 
May the canoes visit the island to collect the young Petrels, which by this time have grown to the 
full size and are excessively fat. Except at the breeding-season, when they are to be seen about 
the island in the early morning and again in the evening, these birds are only to be met with far out 
* Malwika -was the Maori “ TJlysaos.” It was he who discovered the art of making fire by the friction of two dry 
sticks. He had dominion over the animal creation and was exacting in his demands. On one occasion, according to mythical 
tradition, being thirsty he appealed to the Kiwi to bring him water. The bird refused, whereupon he kicked it and broke its 
back, which accounts for the crouching attitude of the Kiwi as compared with other birds. 
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