. Nests and eggs of birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania . nty inches across, some of them in particular being thickly coatedwith excreta, and containing chiefly young in down, although fresh eggs were also found, usuallytwo or three in number for a sitting, while scattered around some of them were the remains ofhsh in all stages of putrefaction. The nests, as will be seen by the accompanying figure, areplaced upon the Hat rocks; others are deep structures formed liy filling up the cavities betweentwo rocks, and some are built close to the small rocks on the sand. Mr. Joseph Gabriel,
. Nests and eggs of birds found breeding in Australia and Tasmania . nty inches across, some of them in particular being thickly coatedwith excreta, and containing chiefly young in down, although fresh eggs were also found, usuallytwo or three in number for a sitting, while scattered around some of them were the remains ofhsh in all stages of putrefaction. The nests, as will be seen by the accompanying figure, areplaced upon the Hat rocks; others are deep structures formed liy filling up the cavities betweentwo rocks, and some are built close to the small rocks on the sand. Mr. Joseph Gabriel, leaderof the party, thus refers to the visit in The \ictorian Naturalist, I 21st No\ ember, 1893:— The wind had changed and was blowing right in to the cove, so that there was nothing for itbut to kedge the boat out far enough to get an offing, when we set sail again for StorehouseIsland, anchoring within one hundred yards of the Cormorant rookery. While ha\ing breakfastwe were deeply interested with the movements of the birds. Landing we soon got to work-, and. WIIITK nitEASTKI) COHMORANT. • Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. II., p. 492 (1S65). f Vict. Nat., Vol. X., p 173 (1894). illALACKOCOKAX. 329 our leader taking a long tramp round the island, when he returned lie found the artists hadfinished photographing and recording observations of the rookery. The birds in this instancedid not allow us to drive them off the nests, but went without asking. We did not linger here,as the noise of the young ones was unpleasant, while the pungent, ammoniacal aroma of thelive guano was still more unpleasant. The nests were built of herbage and seaweed, and insome instances were skilfully placed on shelving rocks. The full clutch of eggs numbers three.()n our leaving tlie lookery the old birds soon rejoined their young.
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