BIRDS OF THE AUSTRALASIAN SOUTH POLAR QUADRANT. 
Fkom Dr. E. A. Wilson I take the following :— 
This beautiful Petrel is more strictly confined to the limits of the ice than 
any other. We first met with it in our short visit to the pack-ice in S. lat. 
61° to 62° and E. long. 140° [Adelie Land] or) November 16th and 17th, 1901. 
But it was not till January 2nd, 1902, that we saw the bird in numbers, and 
then during the summer, cruising along the coast of South Victoria Land 
and the Barrier to King Edward’s VII.’s Land, it rarely failed to keep us 
company. Nothing could be more beautiful and less apparently fitting for 
the regions of a storm-ridden climate, such as the Antarctic, than this little 
dove-like bird. It is the most constant companion of the ice and we never 
saw it away from its vicinity. It was abundant always in the pack-ice. 
On January 9th, 1902, we saw many of these birds flitting about the 
summit of the most inaccessable cliffs of Cape Adare. Further down in 
Robertson’s Bay its eggs had been taken by members of the “ Southern 
Cross ” Expedition in 1898 and 1899 and McCormick obtained the eggs on Cock- 
burn Island in 1840. The bird is a great wanderer and was seen by several 
of our sledge parties on the Great Ice Barrier, some 70 miles to the south 
of open water. 
After leaving Cape Adare we passed down the coast of South Victoria 
Land and when in sight of the Possession Islands were visited, on the 11th 
of January, by large flocks of Snow Petrels, which flew about the ship, 
mounting to very great heights above the mast-head, flying here and there 
independently in a mazy fashion, glittering against the blue sky like so 
many white moths or shining snow flakes. 
When flying in the wake of the ship in this irregular manner it was possible 
to catch and haul them on board by flying lengths of strong thread from the 
halyards, the birds becoming so completely entangled by their wings that 
they were easily drawn in. Under these circumstances they gave vent to 
a guttural croaking sound, which seemed a most unsuitable note for such a 
dainty bird ; this was followed by the regurgitation of a mucoid reddish-orange 
fluid, consisting of a mess of little shrimps, which was shot with some energy 
from the mouth and nostrils. 
The food of the Snow Petrel consists almost entirely of Euphausict, a 
red shrimp-like crustacean, which abounds in the Southern waters. It fives 
there in countless numbers, and is thrown up by the breaking surf upon the 
edges of the icefloes, where the Snow Petrels hover with outspread wings 
to pick them up before the next wave comes to wash them off. Occasionally 
this diet is varied by a few small silvery fishes of the size of sprats, but the 
crustaceans form their staple diet. 
The bird has few enemies. McCormick’s Skua may be seen occasionally 
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