. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . Grey-faced Petrel. (After Smith.) The Black-Capped Petrel. Q^strelata cervicalls. Upper surface greyish black. The crown of the head and nape, rustyblack. Under surface and front, white. Tarsi and basal part of thefeet, yellow; the tips black. Length of the wing, inches; of thetarsus, inch. Egg— inches in length. Kermadec Islands. This petrel arrives about the end of September, and remainsuntil the end of June. It is one of the last petrels to leave theIslands. It is solitary in its habits, and v
. The animals of New Zealand; an account of the dominion's air-breathing vertebrates . Grey-faced Petrel. (After Smith.) The Black-Capped Petrel. Q^strelata cervicalls. Upper surface greyish black. The crown of the head and nape, rustyblack. Under surface and front, white. Tarsi and basal part of thefeet, yellow; the tips black. Length of the wing, inches; of thetarsus, inch. Egg— inches in length. Kermadec Islands. This petrel arrives about the end of September, and remainsuntil the end of June. It is one of the last petrels to leave theIslands. It is solitary in its habits, and very seldom can twonests be found in the same locality. Its breeding-place is usuallynear the mountain-top, in some dark gully filled with palms and 258 THE ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND tree-ferns, and generally its burrow is made at the foot of thelatter. It is altogether nocturnal in its habits, and rarely leavesits burrow in the daytime, and therefore it is not seen at Black-capped Petrel. (Cat. Brit. ^Im.) The Kermadec Island Mutton Bird. (Estrclata neglecta. Very variable in colour. Back, brown. Head and lower surfacesometimes white, sometimes brown, or sometimes partly one and partlythe other. Under wing coverts and axillaries, brown. Primaries, blackishbrown. The bases of the inner webs and the adjoining shafts, black. Tarsi and basal portion of toes, yellow; their tips of the wing, inches; of the tarsus, inch. Egg— inchesin length. Kermadec Islands. This species does not form burrows, like the other members ofthe genus, but breeds in the open. The great variation inplumage is very remarkable; it has not yet been explained. It iscertain, however, that the darlv birds are not the young of thelight ones. Accounts are rather confused, but it seems probablethat three varieties can be recognised, with different habits. THE KERMADEC ISLAND MUTTON BIRD 259 These are as follows:—Variety A {leucophrijs), the lower
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