Birds of Kerguelen Island. 11 
had the melancholies. Even when the young birds are as 
large as their parents they hide under rocks for protection, 
but soon become impatient and start for the water. So dark 
in colour are some, that one of our men took one for a young 
Skua ; but others show a lighter mottling. I think the birds 
hatched in December assume a dress similar to the adult 
about February to March, but not so much contrasted. On 
December 27th the young were scarcely noticeable amongst 
a flock. On January 17th they were plentiful on the wing. 
On February 15th I noted a flock of some fifty young marbled 
birds, and they were then more numerous, though not so 
conspicuous as the adults. I conclude that the young assume 
the plumage of the adult in one season, 
Previous expeditions have noted eggs as early as October 
14th, and I found them fresh as late as January 16th. This 
latter “ find 39 was on a small, low, flat island next to Sulim's 
Island. From it we gathered seventeen fresh eggs and 
observed thirty nests. Four of the nests had each one egg 
(not unusual), most had two eggs in them, and two had each 
three eggs. One clutch of two had one heavily and typically 
blotched, while the other was quaintly scrolled. On this 
islet of a few acres there were no Sheathbills, which would 
be a relief for Gulls, and there were no Petrel-holes, so it was 
quite a Gulls' paradise, although an occasional Skua visited it. 
The nests were in the seaweeds just above the high-water 
mark, with one exception which lay in the grass in the centre 
of the island. Usually I found the nests placed upon flat 
rocks sheltered partly by others. 
Sterna yirgata Cabanis; Saunders, Cat. B. xxv. p. 50. 
This little Tern does not go far out to sea, and it is a taker 
of crustaceans rather than of fishes, the latter being distinctly 
scarce. Upon observing the repeated dives of some of these 
Terns I asked a gunner to shoot three, and found upon dissec¬ 
tion that they contained small rectangular-shaped crustaceans 
in abundance; but along with other birds even the Terns 
came down to taste seal’s flesh and seemed to relish it. I 
generally observed them in flocks of about a dozen, but on 
January 26th I was interested to see forty birds in two 
