246 
Museum for comparison, and am quite sure of its specific distinctness ” (Trans. N.-Z. Inst. vol. vii. 
p. 233). 
I have seen this Petrel as far south as the Bay of Plenty. It flies low and more swiftly than 
M. parkinsoni. 
Unlike the preceding species, which resorts to the summits of the hills, this Petrel, which is 
comparatively plentiful on the Little Barrier, generally seeks holes near the base of the cliffs. They 
breed in companies, sometimes four or five pairs having their nests within the same little cavern, 
each nest being placed at the end of a separate burrow, having a bend and varying in length, with an 
oval chamber at the further end. These burrows are generally about three feet in extent (one, how- 
ever, measured four), and the nest-chamber is decidedly smaller than that usually formed by klajd- 
Q 116 US pOiTkinsoni, The egg is deposited on a few dry leaves, there being very little care bestowed on 
the nest itself. 
Like the allied species it is diurnal at sea, and doubtless sleeps at night on the bosom of the 
deep, for it does not return to land after the responsibilities of the breeding-season are over ; but with 
the recurrence of spring, the reproductive instinct impels it again to navigate its way back to its 
“ island sanctuary ” to repair its burrow and refit its nest. 
Reischek found Gould’s Pertel all round the coast of the Little Barrier, and on some occasions 
came upon wild pigs intent on rooting out the eggs and young birds. This they would often accomplish 
if the conditions were favourable. In the case of CEstrelata cookii, however, the length and tortuous 
course of the burrow placed the nest beyond the reach of these merciless depredators. The above 
collector found broken egg-shells at the end of August, and the Maoris say that the breeding-season 
extends through September, which is no doubt the fact, as the young birds do not come to their full 
maturity till the end of December or beginning of .lanuary, when the food-parties repair to the island 
to dig them out. 
Curiously enough, here again Messrs. Hutton, Kirk, and Reischek are at issue, for the latter 
says : — “ Instead of being fierce like Procellaria 'parkinsoni, which rushes to the attack the moment 
the dog shows himself at the mouth of the hole, P. gouldi is a comparatively mild bird, retiring 
when molested to the furthest corner of its burrow, and only biting when taken hold of.” As this 
collector furnished me with specimens of both birds, there can be no doubt as to the identification of 
the species to which his notes refer. 
My explanation of this conflict of testimony among accurate observers is that it is impossible to 
lay down any general rule of character for either species, their conduct under circumstances entirely 
novel to them being determined partly by the disposition of the individual bird and partly by the 
conditions under which they are found, for theoretically a mother with hatched offspring would be 
fiercer than the occupant of a newly-made nest. 
There is a breeding-place of this Petrel, as I am informed, sixty miles inland from Opotiki, near 
the source of the Waioeka, a river which takes its rise in Maungatapere and Rangiwhakakapua, the 
range of mountains terminating at the East Cape. It is said to breed in large numbers on the Island 
of Karewa, in the Bay of Plenty. In March the Maoris visit the island and collect the young of this 
and other species. 
This Petrel breeds also on Whale Island and on the other small islands off the east coast, on 
several of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, and (according to Cheeseman) on. the coast-line north of 
the Manukau. 
An egg of this species, in the Auckland Museum, which was obtained on one of the small islands 
in the Gulf of Hauraki, is of a regular oval form, measuring 2-6 inches in length by I'75 in breadth, 
and is of a dirty white colour. Another specimen in my son’s collection is more ovoid, measuring 
2-75 inches in length by 1-95 in breadth, and is of a creamy-white colour. 
