Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (Volume 18)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1886. Excerpt: ... oil-bag, which was thrown away, as the oil would spoil the flesh for food. They pluck each bird as they get them, and when a large number are obtained carry them to the camp, where they singe the down off over a lire; then they roast the bird until the fat is extracted, and, placing them in a vessel made of totara bark, they cover them with the fat to keep them air-tight. When preserved iu this manner they keep a length of time. I saw the Natives very often preserving them durmg my researches in the King Country, beginning of 1882; and have eaten and found them excellent. If the Natives disturb any of the Petrels' burrows, they always restore them. These birds, which were very numerous on the Little Barrier Island during the breeding season, I found on my last visit (April and May, 1885), had become very scarce, but I found the remains of many which pigs and dogs had destroyed. I procured specimens, as you see here: adult, young of different ages, and egg. Art. XIV.--Observations on Gould's Petrel (Hutton), Procellaria gouldi (Ohi, their Habits and Habitats. By A. Reischek, F.L.S. Read before the Auckland Institute, 21th July, 1885. These Petrels are common on the coast of New Zealand. I saw them in large flocks out at sea, where they remain from March till August; in the latter month they come ashore to their old breeding places, which they use annually as long as they are not molested. These birds breed in colonies: their burrows are sometimes very close to one another; on the Little Barrier Island (or Hauturu Island) I measured a piece of ground 86 feet in circumference, in the centre of which were six burrows. Their breeding resorts are always on the cliffs along the coast, and some are very difficult to approach, dug out by these Petrels even in hard...