. A handbook of the birds of Tasmania and its dependencies . t have been a few thousand on the island everynight and a couple of hundred during the day. A pair that hadtaken up their abode among the stones of the foundation of thehut, and were kept under the closest observation, never left theirretreat for sixty hours. During the day they remained silent, buttowards evening the inale would commence to croon, and later onboth birds joined in the general discord reigning over the island. It was found that the first bird came up from the sea at , the party at each landing-place first cons
. A handbook of the birds of Tasmania and its dependencies . t have been a few thousand on the island everynight and a couple of hundred during the day. A pair that hadtaken up their abode among the stones of the foundation of thehut, and were kept under the closest observation, never left theirretreat for sixty hours. During the day they remained silent, buttowards evening the inale would commence to croon, and later onboth birds joined in the general discord reigning over the island. It was found that the first bird came up from the sea at , the party at each landing-place first consisting of about adozen birds. These would sit on the rocks preening their the first real contingent would arrive, at the second,and at the third and last. When all the birds had landedand more or less preened themselves, a commencement would bemade over the rocks to the rookeries on the top or sides of theisland. On no occasion were any birds seen to move inland untilthe last bird of the last batch was up on the rocks. Also night. BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 211 after night, rough or smooth, the various batches arrived punc-tually to the minute. On a calm evening the birds could be seenmoving through the water some five or six hundred 3ards from theshore, where they would show as a ripple on the surface. As thebirds came closer their heads could be distinguished just abovethe surface. It was usual for them to wait until a roller washedthem on to the low rocks at their landing-places; then, before thebackwash had time to carry them away, they would rapidlyscramble to safety, using feet, flippers, and bills. One evening aparty of birds were slightly late, and they seemed to know it, forthe speed with which they came through the water was trulyastonishing—they gave one the impression of miniature well did they make up for lost time that they were but a fewseconds behind schedule time. On some evenings no sound was uttered by the birds eitherwhen ix
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirdsau, bookyear1910
