PEGASUS—THE GIANT PETREL 99 
of blood oozed from the base of every nestling’s 
bill. Even so small-seeming a fact as the habits 
and peculiarities of the sand-fly may affect the 
larger inhabitants of the woods. ‘These tormenting 
insects cease to feed about dusk; they do not 
rise any great height above the ground. Without 
venturing to affirm that the habits of Kiwi and 
Kakapo, which during the hours of light dwell 
in dark holes and cavities, may have thus origi- 
nated, these factors may well have helped to 
accelerate change. It is easy to believe that as 
the disuse of their wings became accentuated, 
the craving for other escape increased. Be that 
as it may, that the Nellie chicks were able to 
look after themselves, though not perhaps very 
comfortably, seemed to be the opinion of the old 
birds. Except occasionally and perfunctorily to 
scan the neighbourhood, they evinced no par- 
ticular interest in our proceedings. They believed 
their chickens thus temporarily deserted could fend 
for themselves. They knew, furthermore, it was 
out of their power to drive us from the beach. 
The site of this small rookery, if it can be so 
far dignified, was a chain or two inland from an 
expanse of granite slab, by winter storms washed 
bare of peat and sand. The nests were at irregular 
distances: sometimes a few feet, sometimes a 
few yards from one another. They were shaded 
by the thick top leafage of gnarled bare-boughed 
