Bulletin - United States National Museum

^cpartwcnf of fhc inferior

U. S.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

-2

BULLETIN

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

ISTo. 3.

PUBLISHED UNDER THEDIRECTION OFTHESMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

18

7 5.

CONTEIBUTIONS

J^ATUEAL HISTOEY

KERGUELEN ISLAiND,

MADE

IN CONNECTION

WITH THE AMERICAN TRANSIT-OMEN

US EXPEDITION, J874-75.

J. H. KIDDER,

^]VI.

D.,

PASSED ASSISTANTSURGEON U.S. NAVr.

I.

ORNITHOLOGY.

Edited by De. ELLIOTT COUES,

U. S. A.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1875.

ADVEETISEMENT.

This

work

is thesecond of aseries ofpapers iutendedto illustratethe collections of Katural History and Ethnology belonging to the United Statesandconstitutingthe^National

Museum,

ofwhichthe Smithsonian Institution was placed in charge by the act ofCongressof

August

10, 1846.

Ithasbeen prepared attherequest of theInstitution,and printed

by

authority of thehonorable Secretary of the Interior.

JOSEPH HENRY,

Secretary SmithsonianInstitvMon.

Smithsonian

Institution,

Washington^ November^1875.

PREFACE.

The

writer of the following notes has no pretension to the title of

"naturalist",

and

deprecatescriticism of

any

technical errorsthat

may

be foundin hisdescriptions ofthe species.

He

wishes to acknowledge the kind courtesy of Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A.,

who

has undertaken to edit these notes,

and

has encouraged

him

to offer

them

for publication.

J. H. K.

Brooklyn,

N. Y.,July1, 1875.

INTRODUCTORY.

The

vario'isparties which

had

been organizedforobserving the tran- sit of

Venus

in the southern hemisphere, five in all, were dispatched from

Kew York

on the 8th of June, 1874, in the United States ship Swatara(3d rate).

After shortstoppagesat Bahia

and Cape Town, and

an unsuccessful attempttoland a party on oneofthe CrozetIslands,the partytowhich the writer

was

attached

was

landedattheupper(northern)endofEoyal Sound, a deep indentation in the southern partof Kerguelen Island, otherwise

known

as ^"Desolation Island."

The

landing

was begun

on September 10,

and

onthe 13th the Swatarasailed again on hereasterly course, having put

up

a sufficiently

commodious

livinghut beforeher departure.

The

party landed consisted of

Commander Eyan and

Lieut.

Com- mander

Train, astronomers,

and

Dr. Kidder, surgeon,all of the

Navy

_;

and

Messrs.Holmes,Dryer,and Stanley,photographers. Besidesthese, there were acook

and

carpenter belongingto theparty,andthree boys,

stowaways

from

Cape Town,

afterward turnedover to theBritish man- of-war.

The

preparation

and

registration of specimens

was

atfirstcarried on ina smalltent,to the greatdetriment both of thespecimens

and

ofthe health of the collector,

owing

to the extraordinary

dampness

of the climate.

Toward

theend of October, ahut about ten feetsquare

was

erected,

and

a small stoveset up, after which

no more

specimens were

lostthrough insufficientdrying.

Kergueleu's Island is ar^igionof almost constantprecipitation; only twenty-sevendaysout offour

months

being recorded as without

snow

or rain,

and

a still smaller

number

of nights.

The

thermometer ranged notfarfrom thefreezing-point; thedailyaverage being a littlebelow it in September

and

October,

and

alittle aboveitin

November and

De- cember.

Whalers

say thatin midwinterthere is no

marked

increase in the severity of the weather.

The

lowest thermometer recorded

was

18°F.,and the highest64°.

The

islandisalso deservedly notoriousfor the violenceof the gales, which almost constantly prevail,

and

which

VIII

INTRODUCTION.

often arise with asuddenness that

makes

^itvery dangerous togo about

«

in small boats.

These climaticconditions havetheirnatural effect upontheflora

and

faunaoftheisland; therebeingneither treenorshrub

—

noplant,indeed, taller than the Kerguelencabbage, while the very fewspecies of phse-

nogamous

plantswhich do survive aresuch onlyas canthrive exposed tosudden

and

violentalternations ofdryness

and

moisture

and

tofierce gales of wind.

As

a natural consequenceof these facts, there areno land-birds or

mammals,

strictly speaking, indigenous to Kerguelen's Island,

and

buta singleshore-bird {Chionis minor).

The

islandis ofconsiderable size, about90mileslong

by

50in width, and is composed, as to its southern part at'least, wholly of volcanic rock, showing no signsof stratification.

The

northern portion contains stratifiedrocks,deposits of coaloflittle value,

and

very ancient remains ofsilicifiedwood, indicatingthe former existence of considerabletrees,

and

thesubmergence and subsequent upheavalof the land

upon

which they grew.

The

whalers say that a large glacierruns across the island, in a generally east

and

west direction, at aboutits center. In the in- terior,the landismountainous;peakswithsharp volcanicoutlinesalter- nating with table-topped hills.

Mount

Ross, the highest peak (about 5,000 feet), isalways snow-covered

and

quite inaccessible.

Near

the sea, in December, the snow-line

was

found on

Mount

Orozierat about 2,000 feet abovethe sea-le^el.

No

flyinginsectswere observedexceptingminutegnats,

and

a Tineid*

moth

(which

was

perhaps imported), nor were the remainsof

any

ever found in the stomachof any bird. Chionis

and

a teal were theonly partial vegetable-feeders observed; all the other birdsfeedingexclus- ivelyon flesh, fish,or marine invertebrates.

Toward

themiddleofOctober,an Englishparty, toobserve thetransit, establisheditselfaboutfourteen milestothesouthward

and

westwardof the

American

station,including a naturalist, the Eev. A. E. Eaton, already

known

to science by his botanical collections in Spitzbergen.

Accompanying

thisparty weretwomen-of-war,which remained

by them

duringtheir stay.

On

theother side,atabout the

same

distance tothe northwest,

was

a

German

party,landed from theN. G. frigate Gazelle,

and

to which Drs. Nauraaun

and Huesker

wereattached as naturalists.

The

Gazelle

was

engaged ina scientific cruisethroughout the southern

*Possiblythesameasdescribed by Eev.A.E. Eatonas EmhryonopsisHalticellasp.

nov.,Entomological Magazine, Aug.1875.

INTRODUCTION.

IX waters; beingfittedfor deep-seadredging

and

general natural history

•work.

A

large

room was

set apart, on the starboard sideof the gun- deck,forthe use of thenaturalists

—

^{a veryunusualconcessiontoscience}

on aman-of-war.

On

the 9th ofDecember,the

day

ofthetransit,

and

fullythree

months

beforethe Swataracould reasonably belookedfor back again, the

Mo-

nongahela arrived most unexpectedly,having been orderedto take the party off. Fortunately for the natural-history work, the astronomers detained the shipuntilJanuary 11; but^itisgreatly toberegrettedthat the original

programme was

not carried out,

and

that the

months

of January

and

February were lost in so interesting a locality.

Both

the English

and German

parties remained at their stations, intending not toleave until aboutthe middleof February.

The Monongahela

proceeded to

Cape Town,

arrivingFebruary5,

and

the collectionswere sentthence

by

sailing-bark to

New

York.

According to Dr. Coues' determinations, the collection contains twenty-one species of six families

—

Procellariidce eleven, Spheniscidce four,Laridcethree,Phalacrocoracidce, Anatidce, CMonididce, each, one.

BIRDS OF KERGUELEN ISLAND.

CHI0]^1S MINOR,

Sartl.

Lesser

Sheath-bill.

—

"

White Paddy"

of whalers.

Chionis minor,Hartlaub,Eev.Zool. 1842,pi. 2,^f.2.

Gray

&

Mitch., Gen.ofB.iii, 1849,^pi. 136.

SCHLEGEL, Handl.Dierk.pi.5j DeDier.fig.p.232.

Listofspecimens,wiih measurements.

a^~ o a

too a R n

O

3

a

(-1 s

6 a

di

o

l-H

Ilcm.arks.

68956 68957 68955

68958 27 31 32 33 67 127 146 203 204 205 206 232

1874.

Oct. 12 Oct. 16 Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Nov.14 Dec. 5 Dec.11 Dec.29 Deo.29 Dec.29 Dec.29 1875.

Jan. 4

?

d"

cf(?)- cf(?) cfC?)

?(?) cTCO

?(0

15.50 14.00 15.00

30.50 29.00 31.00

9.00 8.50 9.50

1.50 1.35 1.50

1.35 1.65 1.60

2.00 1.85 1.80

1.85 1.60 1.60

0..50

0.45 Skin.

Do.

Skin-withsternum.

Disemboweled and infilcohol.

Skin.

Alcohol.

Do.

Alcohol and car- bolic acid.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Sternumof2To. 32.

15.75 15.00 14.50 16.50 15.25 15.50 15.75

32.00 30.00 29.00 30.50 29.15 29.85 28.85

9.35 9.00 8.50 9.00 8.85 8.85 8.50

i'es"

1.50 1.45

1.75 1.75 1.65 1.75 1.85 1.75 1.75 1.75

1.60 1.55 1.50 1.75 1.65 1.55 1.65

0.40 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.45 0.50 4.85

4.50 4.75 4.75

1.50 1.35 1.35 1.35

1.65 1.65 1.75

Bill black

and

conical.

On

^its upper surface a hood-shaped horny sheath, turned

upward

atits extremity,

and

not atall "erectile" sofar as

my

observation extends (see Cuvier,

An.

King., CJiionis necropJiaga).

This sheath measuresfrom. 0.45 to 0.85 in different individuals, being rather largerin themale thanin thefemale.

The

nostrils are separate

and

oflarge aperture.

Eyelidspale-pink,

whence

the CMonisisoften called

by

thesealersthe

"sore-eyed pigeon^".

A

black caruncleextends from the base of the sheath

upward

to thefrontofthe eye,bothin males

and

females5

more

prominentinthe former,

and

especially afterthe birdshave paired.

Iris purplish-black.

Body

entirelypure white.

A

scaly, black, blunt spine projectsfrom the carpal_{joint of} the

wing

(in the male) 0.35 to0.40. Inthe female, thisspur is represented only

by

a small knob, which is flesh-colored.

1

2 BIRDS OF KERGUELEN

ISLAND.

The plumage

is verysoft

and

light. Unclerlying thewhite

plumage

isa dense coat ofslaty-bluedown,similartothat usuallyfound on sea-birds.

Tarsus andfoot^dull white,with aflesh-tint; scalyand stout. Toes4;

not palmate; fourthtoeplacedabove

and

on the innersideofthetarsus.

Tail, spreading widely inflight, nearly square.

Testes slate-colored,

and

of small sizeso late as

November

14.

Intestinescontainedfragments ^{of sea-weed}

and

beaksof cephalopods.

The

small intestineof No. 67 (original number) measured29 inchesand thelarge 19

=

48 in all. Thereisa distinctcrop

and

muscular gizzard

;

-also, a

marked

dilatation of the small intestine beyond thepylorus, as ifthe latterdivided thestomachintotwoportions,onemuscular

and

the other membranous. Gizzard internally rugose.

Uggspointed,aboutaslarge asthose of aguinea-fowl,

and marked

with torown streaks. Three were foundin theonl}^nest ofwhich Ihavereli- .able information,

and

these were

marked

in differentshades (auct. Rev.

Mr. Eaton,naturalist toEnglishtransit-party).

The

Chionis

was

oneof the first birdsobserved afterlanding atKer- guelen Ishind.

On

the

way up

from the Swatara'sfirst anchorageto thefinal station selected,oneofthese birdsalighted ontheboat hoisted at the stern of the ship,

and

remained there for a considerabletime,

showing

no fearofthe persons standing

upon

the poop,

and

seemingly

much

interested in theirmovements.

One

of the firstspecimens taken

was

captured

by

hand,

by

Mr. Russell, of the

New

Zealand party; he havingenticedthe birdnear to

him by means

^ofadead one, killed with

a

^stone.

They

werequite

common

in particular parts of the island, near the

American

station, especially in theneighborhood of the "rookeries" of the cormorant {Graculuscarunculatus)

and

ofthe rock-hopperpenguins (Eudyptes chrysolopha),

and upon

rocks at

and

nearhigh-water mark.

In theselocalities,I haveoftenobserved

them

forhoursata time; their remarkablefearlessness

and

curiosityrenderingiteasytoget near them.

On

the 15th of October,forexample, seeing a considerable

number

on the rocks at

some

distance away, I walked

and

climbed slowlytoward them.

They

would scarcelyget out of

my

way, seeming greatlyinter- ested in

my

movements;

and when

I sat on a.stone,keepingperfectly' still, thewhole party,twelve in all,

came up

^{to examine the intruder.}

They

walkedall around me,

coming

almost within reach; othersflying up from

more

distant rocksto join them,

and

finally stopped, almostin a semicircle,fora good stare. I watched

them

atthese close quarters

CHIONIS

MINOK.

6

foran houror more,

and saw

nosign of

any power

oferecting thehorny- sheath, attributed to

them by

Cuvier.

They

run with great rapidity

upon

therocks, avoiding the little poolsleft

by

thetide,

and seem

dis- inclined to flight.

When

flying, they

have

a peculiar note, strongly suggestive of the"chat"of the

common

blackbird.

The

call at rest is

a shortrattling croak. Icould not see that theyate or soughtfor

any

other food than a soft green sea-weed,

which

they stripped

up

with theirbills, shaking thewateroutwith arapidflirtingmotion. I have, however, found ^{in their} stomachs the beaks of cephalopods, together with vegetablematterj

and some

that

we

afterward partially domesti- catedategreedily ^of fresh meat.

One

that

was

kept for

some

time

on

the

Monongahela showed

a strongpenchant foreggs,breakingtheshells withits

beak

as if the operation were no novelty to it.

On

no occa- sion, however, didI observe

any

sign of the carrion-feeding propensity which has given a

name

totheAustralianspecies{C.necrophaga,Vieill.).

On

theevening of

December

]4, after skinning a sea-elephant, I

went down

at

dusk

to

watch some

other birdsfeeding on itscarcass, already beginning to putrefy.

A

CMonisflewby, alighted near athand, and, after a short time,

moved

on without going

up

tothecarcass, although thelatter w8iS nearlycovered ^with sea-birds.

On

the occasionfirstmentioned,afterwatchingthe birds for atime, I shot four specimens, not withoutcompunction on account ofkillingsuch trustfulacquaintances.

When

I walked off to get a sufficient distance

away

for ashot,thewholetroop started to follow me,

making

littleruns

and

stopping, as iffilledwith curiosity. I shot allfourwithout

moving

fromthespot, reloading for each,the birds not allflyingout of range evenafter the

gun had

been fired.

On

subsequent occasions, various

members

of theparty captured specimens

by hand

; allthat

was

neces- saryto attract

them

within reachbeingto remain perfectlystill. After one

had

been caught, itserved as a lure for others.

When

^taken

home

alive,theystill

showed

nofear,but,

when

letloose inthe house,tookfood readily, and, oddly enough, fought fiercely

among

themselves, using onlytheir bills, however,

and

not the wing-spurs.

None

ofus ever

saw them

fighting in theopenair.

When

confinedin a coop,they cluck

and

peck at the

wood-work

solike domesticfowls that I oncearose in the nightto shut the kitchen-door, supposingthatthe chickens, ofwhich

we had

several,

had come

into the house.

Although

seemingly absolutely without fear,the specimens that

we

tried to domesticate bore confine-

ment

veryilly,constantlyboating themselves,duringthe day, against the

4 BIRDS OF KERGUELEN

ISLAND.

bars of tbeir cage.

When

letloose,theywouldoftenstay for severaldays nearthe house, feedingaspeaceably

among

thechickensas

tame

pigeons.

One,

whose wing had

been clipped, remained aboutthehousefor

some

weeks, but finally

wandered

off, and

was

probably killed

by

a LestriSy sinceIfounditscarcass, partly devoured, about a milefromthe house.

Opinions^differedasto their ediblenessj the

Germans

considering

them

the bestbird ontheisland, while the whalerssaid that theywould ^"do verywell

when

xerj short of freshmeat".

We

didnotexperiment

upon them

atall, theflesh beingdark

and

apparently tough.

The

^{Chionis is}one ofthelatest, ifnot the very^latest,of theKergue- lenbirdsinpairing

and

nesting.

They

were observed tohave

begun

to pair

December

11j but noegg

was

found until January 10, the

day

of our departure,

when

the Rev.Mr.

Eaton

found several nests.

To

his courtesy I

am

indebtedfor

my

only specimen, unfortunately not accom- pa,nied

by

any description of the nest, except a message that ^it

was

found near the sea.

From

Captain ^Fuller, of the whaling-schooner Eoswell King, however,Ilearnthat theSheath-billisfamousfor itsskill in concealing its nest, never going near its eggs while any one is in sight.

He

states that they build in the crevicesformed by rocks that

have

fjillen

upon

or against one another,

and

that the nests are con- structed of dried grass. There werethree eggs in the nestfrom which

my

specimen came,

marked

in different shades of color. I

am

quite positivethat, up to January 5, none of the Chionis living nearoursta- tion

had begun

to lay, since I kept

them

under the closest possible observation, beingparticularlyanxiousto gettheireggs.

The

eggsare of unusuallylarge size in proportionto thatofthebird.

QUERQUEDULA EATONI,

-S/tay^Je.

Eaton's Teal.

Querquedulaeatoni,Sharpe,Ibis,July,1875,p.328 (quotedfrom advancesheets).

Iwasentirely ata^lossfor anameforthis teal; but, just asthesesheetswere going to press, I received,through the courtesy of Mr. Salvin,advance proof-sheetsofthe

"Ibis",inwhichitIsdescribedasnew. Mr. Sharpe's descriptionisreproducedinthe accompanyingfoot-note.*

**'(?. suprtibrunneus,plumisplurimisgriseomarginatis,rufescenti-fulvo raq,culati3 aut fasciatis: scapularibus nigricantioribus^: pileo paullo rufescentiore plurals nigro medialiterstriatis; facie laterali etgutture albicantibus,minutfenigrostriolatis,mento fulvescenti-albo:corporareliquosubthsalbicante,brunneo marmorato, plumisplerisque pectoralibus versus basin griseo-brunneis aut medialiterbrunneostriatis:hypochondriis hrunueis, albido terminatiset rufescenti-fulvotransfasciatis: subcaudalibusrufescenti- fulvis,nigro adumbratis, longioribus nigricautibus fulvo terminatis; tectricibusalarum

QUERQUEDULA

EATONI.

5 A

rather smallcluck,the sexesofwhichdifferbut little(chieflyiu the vividness of thealarspeculum). Headand neck minutelyspeckledwith blackish-brown andlight-

brownorbrownish-white—the topoftheheaddarkest,thesidesofthe head, theneck, andespeciallythroat lightest. Upperparts brownish-black; allthe feathers broadly skirtedwith rusty-brownand pale-gray. Underpartsdullwhitish, mottledthrough- out with brown,moreuniformandofarichershadeonthebreast,inl^S-gerpatternon.

thesidesand crissum. Axillars white,with dark-brown cross-bars; liningof wings dark-brown,withpaler orwhiteedgings of thefeathers. Wing-covertsplain grayish- brown,or,in the $^,with narrow rusty-brown edgings; the greater rowof coverta tippedwithorange-brown, paler or whitishinthe 2. Speculum^{iridescentgreen,with} purplishandviolet reflections,immediately bordered with^{bl.ick,thisinturn}margined with white on theendsofthe secondaryquills. Inthe $^,the greenspeculumisdull,

andtingedwith brown. Primaries fuscous-brown; tail-feathers the same,withpale edges,and irregular obliquerusty-brownmarkings,like broken V-shapedbars. The

tail-feathersarealllanceolate-acuminate,andthetailasawholeisacute.

—

^C.

Listof^{specimens,ivith}measurements.

«^. i^

a^<£

aS a ⁴⁾ ^

"3

a n p O

Kemarka.

So ^ce ^ w m o

s-U n

IS CD a

_• S

a

fS

O P ^hi H^M ^ s K ^(-5o a

1874.

68974 34 Oct. 18 9 ^{15.60 •zrGO 8.50 4.50 1.35 1.85 1.35 1.50 0.25} Skin; stomacTi con- tained isopods.

C8973 68 ISTov.15 d ^{17.25 29.50 9.10 5.50 1.50 2.00 1.50 1.60 0.25 Skin; stomachcon-}

tained graveland isopods.

68975 207 Dec.29 d ^{19.05 29.75 9.10 5.25 1.50 1.85 1.35 1.50 0.35 Skin; stomachcon-}

tained gravel only.

Billlamellate, greenish-gray atsides, blackattip

and

above,covered

with, skin,

and

finely toothed within.

Tongue

fleshy, toothed on pos- teriorhalf of dorsalsurface.

iN'ostrils oval.

Irispurplish-black.

Mead and

neckbrown, finely mottled with white, lighter over throat.

In

some

males, the mottlingvaries, being finer

and

lighter, withgreen reflections atsidesof head.

Plumage

generallydark-brown or black, tippedwith white

and

mot- tled with paler shadesof brown. Secondaries

and

tertiariesofwings edged with a narrow white band.

Above

this, in the male,isa

band

superioribus cinerascenti-brunneis, majoribus pallidebadioterminatis,fasciamalarem formantibus; remigibus cinerascenti-brunneis, secundariis exttis purpureo bronzinis albidoterminatis,speculum alarem bronzinum vix subcert&luceolivascentenitentemex- hibentibus^:secundarioproximonigricante velaspectu extern©viride nitente,medialiter cinerascentestrigato,albo apicato: secundariisinterioribusnigricantibusextiis pallid^

brunnescentibus albo limbatis: rectricibusmediis nigricantibus,reliqnisbrunneis albo marginatis,nonnuUisrufescenti-fulvo notatis: tectricibussubalaribus brunneis,^inferi- oribus intimiset axillaribus albisbrunneoraaculatis,tectricibusmajoribuscinerascenti-

6

BIRDS OF KERGUELEN

ISLAND.

oneinchwideoflustrouschangeablegreen,then a

band

oforange-brown one-fourth inch wide.

Tarsus

and

foot ocher-yellowto dirty pale-green.

Claws blaqji; posterior nail veryshort

and much

elevated; the other three covered by skin beneath to their extremities.

Tail pointed.

Stomachis muscular

and

generally contains gravel.

These birds, which

became

theprincipal dependenceofour partyia the

way

of fresh provisions, are very

abundant

on the island, but gen- erally shy and difficult of approach.

They

were to be found inland, whereI have seen

them

as high as 2,500 feetabove the sea-level,

and

on thesea-shore

when

the tide

was

falling.

They

feed

upon

the roots of the Azorellaselago,grass-seeds,earth-worms,

and

larvae,

and

thesmall crustaceanswhich

swarm

along thesea-shore.

They

arestronginflighty rising readilyfrom both land

and

water,

and

run

upon

the land like grouseorquails, with littleof theclumsiness orwaddling gait ofother ducks.

It is probable that they begin to pair about

November

10, since I observed pairs already formed,

and

thebirdschasingone another inthe

air, etc., on

November

14.

They

frequent thebanksof brooks

and

the higherland duringthe breeding-season,

and

begin tolayabout

Novem-

ber_15, building a ratherdeep neston the ground, generally near the water, under a tussock,

and

well concealed

by

grass, deep, hemispher-

ical,

and

lined with feathers from the breast of the female. Thereare four or fivepale olive-green eggs,aboutthree-fourthsthesizeofa hen's egg.

Upon

leaving the nest,thefemale covershereggswith feathers, disposing the neighboring grass with considerableart so as to conceal busalseiuferioriconcoloribus;rostroplumbeo, culminenigro: pedibus einerascentibus, membranisinterdigitalibusnigris. LDng.tot. 15.5, alse 8.5,caudae4.8,tarsi1.2.

"5^. marisimilissedspeculoalariabsente, secundariisalboterminatis: caudS,brun-

ne^, rufescenti-fulvofasciatimmarmorata. /

"Hab.ininsula Kerguelensi.

"This plain-coloured Teal is allied to Q. gibherifrons and Q. creccoides. From tlie

formerit isatoncetobedistinguished by thefawn-coloured baronthe-wingandthe bronzyspeculum, thewing-barbeing broadly white,andthespeculumblackin Q.^gib- ierifrons.

"_Q.creccoidesresemblesQ. eatoni inhavingthefawn-coloured wing-bar;but thenthe speculumisblack,andthe greater partofthebillisyellow.

" Q. eatoni alsohas theaxillarieswhitishbarred with brown, whereas theyarequite white intheallied species,and,moreover,ithasremainsof rufous-buff barson mostof thefeathersofthe uppersurface,theback being uniform inthe otherspecies. Alto- gether thespeciesseems verywell pronounced. Besides the threeexamples brought byMr. Eaton,Ihave foundin the[British]MuseumthreeKerguelenIslandskins,col- lectedduring thevoyageof the^'Erebus^'and^'Terror.'

"

GEACULUS CARUNCULATUS.

₇ them,

and

if caught in the act of sitting, or near her nest, will often counterfeit lameness until the intruder has beenenticedto a safe dis- tance. If the drake beshot during thepairing-season, the femalewill remainnear the

body

;

when

thefemalefalls,on the contrary, thedrakes generally flies merrilyaway.

The

note of the female is a plaintive whistle; that of the drakea sonorous " quack", usually repeated threa times.

Thesebirds do notmigrateatallfrom KerguelenIsland,noris there any other

member

of the familyAnatidwthere represented.

They

are very palatable,and, since

we

nevershot

more

atatimethan were actu- allyneeded,served us forthetableduring thewhole timeofourstay.

GEACULUS CAEUNCULATUS

^(Gm.).

Caruncled Cormorant. —

^{^'}_Shag."

Felecanuscarunculatus, Gmelix,Syst.Nat.i,1788, p.576,No. 25 (based on tlie Carun- culateclShag,Lath., Syn.iii,2, p.603,No.19).

Fdecanuscirrhatus,Gmelin,Syst. Nat.i,1788,p.576,No. 23 (basedontheTufted Shag, Lath., Syn.iii,2,p. 606,No.22).

Ihave nohesitation inidentifyingthisspecies as above,although thesingleadult specimen collected does not show the white transalar fascia sijoken ofby authors, Schlegel, moreover, quotesitfromthe presentlocality. Thecaruncles,whicharecon- spicuous features of the adult breedingbird,constitutetwo prominentyellow masses, symmetrically disposedon the naked foreheadat each sideofthe base of theupper mandible. Theheadand neck are lustrous,deepsteel-blue,with purplishandviolet reflections,contrasting notablywith the richdark-green back, the colorof whichis uniform,the feathers having no differently-colored edges. The entire under parts, fromthebill,onalinealongeachsideofthe neck,arepurewhiter

—

C.

Listofspecimens,withmeasurements.

u

s

:l

o

-2

P ^Hi§

a si

a 'S

(S

i w

i

H

oo

so o

Remarks.

68976 20 118 191 192 193

1874.

Sept.25 Dec. 4 Deo. 24 Dec. 24 Dec. 24

9 ^23..50 5.00

40.00 4.00

10.00 5.50 1,75 3.50 2.00 3.35 0.35 Skin.

Young;alcoliol.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Billblack; upper mandiblesharplyhooked; lowerstraight. Nostrils 2,extending nearly to point of ^bill. Caruncles atbaseof bill brilliant yellow. Eyelidcobalt-blue.

-8

BIRDS OF KERGUELEN

ISLAND.

Irisyellow.

Sead

andhodybrilliant changeable steel-blue, with,violettints along

back

of

head

and neck.

Back and

upper surfaces of wings

and

tail lustrous dark-green. Throat from, the bill

and

all under parts, pure white.

During

the breeding-season, the bird carries an erectile crest of abouta dozen smallplumes

upon

thetop of the head.

Tarsus

and

_footyellow.

The

foregoingdescriptionistaken fromafemale inbreeding-plumage.

Eggs

two

orthreein number,pale^green.

Youngperfectly

naked

for

some

timeafterhatching,black,

and

showing

no

sign of plumage. Billblack. Feet clumsy

and

misshapen5 bones

still cartilaginous, pale,

and

transparent.

Abdomen

veryprotuberant.

December

24, a

young

bird

had begun

to

show

a hairy sortof

plumage

along themargins ofthewings

and

about therump.

Only

asingleadult skinof thiscormorant

was

preserved

and

brought home, a female innuptial plumage. There is no better reason, I

am

afraid, for this omission than thefact that the birdswere exceedingly plentiful

and

the preparation ofthe skins a verytedious job, sothatit

was

put^offfromdayto

day

forrarerspecimens,until,inthehurryofan unexpectedlyearlydeparture,it

was

omittedaltogether.

From memory,

I canonly say that the

young

birds were of

much more

sober i^lumage thanthefemales, destitute of the crest

and

brilliant blue eyelid,

and

generally rathersmaller. All

had

whitebreasts

and

bellies; but there were

many

minorvariations in plumage, which I suppose to indicate differences in age.

They

donot differ materially in habits from other species of cormo- rant, diving

and swimming

well,feedingentirelyonfish,

and

often con- gregatingforhours

upon

aprojectingrock or headland, where,inpairing- time, they enact various absurd performances, billing

and

curveting aboutone another in a veryridiculous manner.

The

noteis a hoarse croak, which nevervaries,so faras Ihave observed.

They

seem tobe on particularly good terms with the CMo7iis,

and

are often joined

by

gulls

when

sunningthemselves.

They

build

upon

shelves, for the most part in the precipitousfiices

of cliffs overlooking the water; the base of the nest beingraised some- times as

much

as

two

feet,

and composed

of mingled

mud and

excre- ment.

Upon

thispedestal is constructed a rather artisticnest of long blades of grass. Apparently, they continue to use the old nestsyear after year, addinga

new

layer each season,

and

thus building the nest

BUPPIAGUS SKUA ANTARCTICUS.

9 up.

The

firsteggs were found

November

₅; therebeing sometimestwo

and

sometimesthree in anest.

They

were procured at first

by

thekind assistance of Mr. Stanley,

and

a length of ropewhich tiedus together, one

end

being knotted around the waist of ea.ch.

One would

then remain above

and

holdon, while the otherclambered alittle

way down

theface of thecliff

and

secured theeggs. After a time, however, I discovered a lot of nests, near a rookery ^of "rock-hopper" penguins, accessible from below, where, on

December

4. the

young

birds were

first observed.

Eggs

green, withwhite chalkyincrustation.

The young

aremostridiculous-looking objects,beingpot-bellied,naked,

and

perfectly black,

and seem

to be less advanced in development at the time of hatching than

most

birds, the bones of the tarsus

and

foot being not yet ^ossified. Small fish were generally lying

by

the nests.

The

old birdswere verysolicitousabouttheiryoung,hissing

and

stretch- ing outtheirnecks,

and

refusing to leave their nests until

pushed

off.

Yet,

when

I took one of the

young away

from the nest

and

placed it close

by

on the rock, the mother

seemed

neither to recognizeitscon- stant chirping norto be awarethat one^ofherbrood

was

missing. Cer- tainlyshepaidno attention toit.

The

odorintheneighborhoodof the nesting-places

was

mostoffensive.

The young

birds areinfestedwith atickof prodigious size,specimens ofwhichhave beenpreserved.

BUPHAGUS SKUA

A:N^T

ARCTIC

US, [Less.) Coues.

Southern Skua. —

_"

Sea-Hen."

Lesiriscatarractes,QuOY

&

Gaimard, Voy.Uran.Ois.pi.38.

Stercorarius catarractes,p.,Schlegel, Mus.Pays-Bas,fasc. iv,1863, Lari,j).45.

Lestris antarcticus,Lesson,Traite d'Ornith.1831,p.616.

^

Gould, B.Anst.vii, pi. 21.

SCLATER,Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860,p.390.

Abbott,Ibis,1861,p. 165.

ScLAiER

&

Salvin,Ibis,1869, 284.

SCLATER

&

Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, 579.

Philippi

&

Landbeck,Cat.Av.Chili,p. 47.

HuTTON,Birds

New

Zeal. 1871, p. 39.

Slercorurius antarcticus,Bonaparte,Consp. Av.ii,1856,p. 207.

Pelzeln,Orn.NovaraRaise,p.150. n

BiipJiagusantarcticus,Coues,Proc.Acad. Nat. Sci.Phila. 1863,p.127.

Buphagusslcuab.antarcticus,Coues,Birds Northwest, 1874,p.605.

10 BIRDS OF KEEGUELEN

ISLAND.

Listofspecimens, withmeasurements.

II

a-5

53

1=1

g

O p

><

.d

"So

a 3

H W w

CO

3

i-I

Hemai'ka.

68960 68959 68961

26

139 188 262

1874.

Oct. 4 Oct. 27 Dec. 10 Dec.24 Dec.19

? 24.00 25.50 23.75

54.00 54.00 58.50 54.00

IP.00 17.25 15.50

7.25 7.35 6.35

2.50 2.25 2.35 2.35

4.00 3.15 3.25 3.15

3.00 3.00 2.65 2.85

Skin (from

M

r.

Stanley).

Skin.

AIcohol.with eggs.

Skin witheggs.

Specimeninjected with carbolic acid.

2.85 3.00 2.65

0.65 0.75 0.75

Bill black.

Irisvery dark steelblue.

Body

generally dark-brown, mottled with black; basal parts of pri- mariesshowing as a broad white

band

beneath thewings duringflight.

Back

sparinglymottled with dirty white.

A

^singlewhite feather often foundnear

and below

carpaljoint of wing,

among

the coverts. Second primarylongest. Considerabledifferencesingeneraltintwereobserved, even inthe

same

pair,

some

being very

much

palerthan others. Stom- ach muscular; contents notidentified, except inone case,

when

bits of egg-shell were found.

Tarsus andfoot greenish slaty-black, scutellated. Clawsblack, long,

and

strongly hooked.

There being no land-birds on Kerguelen Island besides Cliionis, the office

and

mostofthe habitsof a buzzard-hawk have been

assumed by

thisgreat skua. It

was

atfirsttaken for a

hawk by

all of us; its

man-

ner offlight, watchfulness of the groundover which itflew,

and

habit ofperchingonspots

commanding

awideview^all suggestingthisimpres- sion. Itwas, indeed,difficultto believe the evidence of m^'^

own

senses

when

Ifound a web-footed bird avoiding the water

and

preying solely, so faras

my

observation extended,upon otherbirds.

When any

ofthe party

went

out shooting, he

was

pretty sure to be followed by one or

two

"sea-hens", as the sealers call them,

andjiad

^often to be very

prompt

to secure his

game

before ^it should be ^carriedoff inhisvery presence. Mr. Train tells

me

that he had one

day

to stand, while re- loading, withhis footupon a teal which he

had

shot, a skua swooping

down

constantly after it if hestepped

away

even for a couple ofyards.

On

another occasion (October21), the

same

gentleman

had

crippled a

teal, which

was

carried off, still living

and

not badly hurt, before his

BUPHAGUS SKUA ANTARCTICUS. 11

eyes, so thathe

had

to shoot the skua to securehis game.

November

21,in order fco settle the question whether they attack

and

killtheir

own game when

it is unhurt, Mr. Stanley

and

I

dug

^up, by the aid of the dog, a well-grown

and

nearly-fledged

young

bird (supposed tobe of Majaqueuswquinoctialis), as large asan ordinary domesticfowl.

A

pair of skuas being near at hand, watching our proceedings, I threw the

young

bird

up

into theair,'so that itflew

some

distance

and

alighted jjerhaps

two hundred

yards

away

from us.

One

of the skuas immedi- atelyflew

up

to it,

and

killed it

by

repeatedblows

upon

the

head

with

its beak; the otherremaining at

some

distance, on guard, as I atfirst

thought, but, as afterward appeared,afraid of its

mate

; for, while

we

stood watching the first skua eating its capture (nearly as large as

itself), the otherapproached

by

degrees,utteringshort, plaintive chirps, but not daring to share in the meal.

When,

after afew minutes,

we

drove

them

^off, the

abdomen

of the petrel

had

been torn open,

and

its entrails partly devoured. I could not see thatits claws were used in tearing itsprey; it seemingrather to depend

upon

the strength of its beak.

On

another occasion

(December

18), a fully-grown Ilajaqueus, sitting, which

had

been

dug up and

probablyslightly bruised

by

the dog, alighted in the sea after a short flight,

and was

at oncefiercely attacked

by

a skua.

The

^petrel

showed

extremefear, uttering piercing shrill cries,

and

turning over to fight at each swoop, but finally took

wing

again

and

escaped.

I

saw

this skua on one occasion feeding amicably with the gulls astern of the ship

when

atanchor

(December

28); and, on

January

18 one

was

seenflyingaboutthe

Monongahela

forafewminutes, shebeing thenabout three

hundred

miles from the nearest land.

As

a general rule,its habits areterrestrial,

and

on the fewoccasions when, probably afterpoor successin hunting, I

have

seenitalight,in the water, ithas helditswings

up

perpendicularly,likeabutterfly,asifafraidofwetting them.

At

thepairing-season, this trickof holding

up

thewingsbecomes quiteaprominentcharacteristic.

Two

willalight

upon

aknoll,quitenear together, holding theirwings perpendicularly in the air,

and

set

up

a vociferous cackling.

The

noteis loud, harsh,

and

hoarse, suggestive of the cry of the gull.

I have neverseenBuphagus pursuegulls to

make them

disgorgetheir food.

On

thecontrary,both^gulls

and

ternscombinetodrive

them away

assoon as they

come

^{into their}neighborhood, particularlywhilenesting.

I even on one occasion

saw

a single gull driving a skua

away

from the neighborhoodofits nest.

On

the 15th ofOctober,I shot

and

wing-

12 BIRDS OF KERGUELEN

ISLAND.

tipped one of these birds so that it fell into the water. It

seemed

unusually alarmed, looking up into theair, crying out hoarsely with a note unlike its usual call,

aud swimming

very slowlyfora web-footed bird.

The

great

number

of gulls whichcollected atonce

and

beganto attack itexplained its fright,

and

it

seemed

to suffer sogreatly thatI firedinto it again after afew minutes,

and

spoiled

my

specimen. Itis

noteworthy that,whereasothersea-birds

when wounded

invariably

swim

outto sea, thisone endeavoredto gain the land, plainlylookingin that direction for safety,although I stood

upon

the shore, directly in its

way.

Eggs

were firstfound

November

17,two innumber,

marked

byirreg- ularchocolate-coloredblotchesupon anolive-drabground,

and

measuring 2.75-3.00

by

1.50inches.

The

nestisa shallow cavityinthelong grass (Festuca), linedsparinglywithgrass-stems,

and

alwaysina dryspot.

The

oldbirds

make

itverylivelyforthe egg-hunter, attacking

him

on oppo- site sideswithgreatvigor

and

determination,

and

keeping

up

anoutcry that is reallyappalling.

They

are veryskillful in leading one astray from thelocalityof their nests,never going nearit

when any

oneisin sight,sothatit

was

a

good

while beforeIfoundthesecondnest,although I

had

spent

more

timein thisquest thanin pursuit of

any

othersingle objectwhile on the island. Seeing a skua fly

by

the house one

day

(December7), apparentlygoing

somewhere

in agreat hurry,I therefore snatcheduj) arevolver (no

gun

being at hand)

and

followed him.

He was

going to join the female on her nest, asI suspected,

and when

I approached bothattacked

me

as usual. I succeeded in killing themale, but emptied the revolver at the female without success, and

was

kept standing for certainly twentyminutes, pelting the enraged birdwith stones as she

swooped down

at

my

head, with the

two

eggs in plain sight,but not daring topick

them

up.

A

^lucky throwfinally disabled her,

and

I secured the eggs,which were very

much

paler than those gatheredtheretofore,

and

quitefresh. I supposethatthispair

had

been

-SO oftendisturbed

by

ournear neighborhood that theywerelaterthan usual inlaying.

It would

seem

that these birds paironce forall,since a singlecouple holds possession of each meadow-district, allowing no intruders;

and

sincetwo were almost always seen together during our stay.

An odd

bird,

whose mate had

probably been shot,

and

which

had

a ragged

wing

from

some

stray charge of small shot,used to circulate around from districttodistrict,beingalwaysattacked by both male

aud

female as soon as seen.

On

the 20th December, however, I

saw

seven near

LARUS DOMINICANUS. 15

togetherin one

meadow. On

the

same

clay, 1found a singleegg ina nestwhich I

had

robbed

December

^3. I didnot succeed in findingthe young, but heardofapair being seen on

December

26.

Icannot say

how

far the habitsof'•'•Lestriscatarrhactes,''^ thenorthern representative ofthisbird,agreewith

what

hasbeenrelated ofBupJiagus.

The

latter certainlyseems to

me

aremarkable instance of modification of habit,

and

even of form, resulting from the peculiarcircumstances in whichit isplaced.

As among

marsupials, wherethat type prevails,

we

findrepresentatives ofalmost every tribe of

mammals,

sohere there

is asea-birdoccupying the placeofatribe asfar

removed

from ^itstruc- turallyas the

Tasmanian

devilisfrom thefox. I should think iteven probable that the introduction of afewpairsofhawks,couldtheyaccom-

modate

themselves to the conditions of the island,

would

relegate this skua very shortly to its proper place as afish-feeder,

and

to the habits of itsnorthern congeners.

A

^veryinteresting incident, although not directly related toitsnat- ural history, occurred in connection with oneof these birdson

Decem-

ber17.

On

that

day

I scored one

on

the back of the head with

a

revolver-bullet soasto open the brain-cavity. It turned back-summer- saults for twenty minutes without cessation, until I killed it, infact.

JS'omatter

what

positionit

was

putin, it immediatelystretched out its legs

and

wings,

and

pusheditselfoverbackward. Placedin theAvater, it endeavored to execute the

same

manoeuvre,

and was

near working

itselfout ofreachfrom the shore.

The

specimen

was

injected withcar- bolicacid

and

preserved.

The

corresponding effect,thatresultingfrom a

wound

of the cerebrum only,

was

at another time illustrated in a gull(see Lams),

and

both incidents recalled strikingly Dr.

Weir

Mitch-

ell's interesting experiments, performed

some

ten years ago

upon

pig- eons.

LAEUS DOMINIC ANUS,

Yieill.

Southern Black-Backed Gull.

Larusdoininicanus, "Vieillot".

—

Lichtenstein,Verz.Doubl.Mus.Berol.No.846.

Blasius,J.f. O.1865 (pub.1866), p. 378.

Larusazarce,"Lesson, ex Azara409^".

Dominicanusazarce,Boxaparte,Consp.Av. ii,1856,p. 214.

Dominicanusvociferiis,Bruch,J.f.O. 1853, p.100; 1855,p. 28L

Dominicanuspelagicus,Bruch,J.f. O. 1853,p.100,pi. 2,^f.3; 1855,p. 280.

Bonaparte,Consp.Av.^ii,1856,p.214.

Larusvetula, "Baillon^".

Dominicanusvetula,Bruch,J.f.O. 1853,p.100,pi.2, f.4^; 1855,p.281.

Bonaparte,Consp.Av.^ii, 1856,p.214.

Dominicanusfritzei,Bruch,J.f. O. 1855,p.280 (L.fuscus,Fritze).

Bonaparte,Consp. Av.^ii, 1856,p.214.

14

BIRDS

OF KEKGUELEN

^ISLiAND.

Lariis anfijpodum,Gray.

Dominicanusantipoditm,Bruch,J.f. O. 1853,p.100, pi.2,f.8; 1855,p.231.

Bonaparte,Consp.

A

v.ii,1856,p.214.

CJupeilarusaniipodum,Boxaparte.

Larusverreauxi,Bonaparte,Eev.Zool. 1854, p.7; Naum.1854,p.211.

Dominicanusverreauxi,Bruch,J.f.O. 1855,p. 281.

Clupeilarus verreauxi,Bonaparte,Consp. Av.^ii, 1856,p.221.

Laruscapensis,"Smith,MSS." (Gray.) Larusfuscus,^''Fritze". (Gray.₎ Laruslittoralis,"Fouster". {Gray.) Larusantarcticus,"Ellman". (Gray.)

ThebirdfromKerguelen'sLandappearstobe the particularstyleofsouthern black- backedgull towhich thetermantipodum has been applied. Thebillisveryheavy

—

asBonapartesays,"_rostrocrassissimoferegabianumsimulante^". ButIhave nofaith whateverinthespecificdistinctionswhich Bonaparte, Bruch,and othershave sought to establishamongthese forms,and donothesitate tobringthemall underone head, following SchlegelandBlasius.

—

^C.

Listof^{specimens,with}measurements.

2^{1^}

c a a a

ga

-=.2

^^'-3 S-2

a a a a

!§?'

o

Mc

W ^1-1§ 1 ^{a "3}

s

ri

M

a

1

1 ^{- "3}

ao

Remarks.

68965 08964 08966 68967 68968

25 58 S3 84 103 156 219 220 221

1874.

Sept. 29 Nov. 7 Nov.18 Nov.21 Nov.26 Dec.14 1875.

Jan. 2 Jau. 2 Jan. 2

?

? 9

d

? 23.00 22.75 22.50 22.40 23.75 22.00

49.00 50.05 51.50 49.25 54.50 53.