NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 123, 26 May 1928, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

BIRDS IN ROSS DEPENDENCY MR. FERRAR'S OBSERVATIONS (By R, It. i). Stidolpb, R.A.0.U.) ' Interesting observations on , the birds of Eoss Dependency arc included in the. last issue of the "New Zealand ■Journal of Scienco and Technology," in an article written by Mr. H. T. Ferrar, M.A:, F. 6.5., of Captain E. F. Scott's first Antarctic Expedition. This area, as is well known, is under the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Government, and an account of its "bird life, according to the statements of Mr. Ferrar may be of interest. One-can-not do better than quote Mr. Ferrar'a general survey of the. area, which is defined as all that territory, and seas to the south of latitude 60 .degrees south, which jl^s between the longitudes of 160 degrees cast and 150 degrees west. "Southward from New Zealand," Mr. Farrar writes, "the^air becomes progressively colder, and tho ■ westerly winds stronger and more persistent. These strong winds form a girdle round the earth between latitudes 40 degrees south and. 50 degrees south, and are the ' Roaring Forties' of seafaring men. . This' region is tha principalhabitat of albatrosses* and petrels, many of which nest on the outlying islands of New Zealand. Farther south as the freezing point (32 degrees F.) isothern is approaching tho seas become) encumbered with sheets of floating ice called pack-ice. .Hero new species of birds appear, albatrosses and whale-birds (prions), giving place to tho southern fulmar, the Antarctic petrel,, and. the snowy petrel. On penetrating the pack-ice .the skits become overcast,, all precipitation' from the, atmosphere falls as snow, and birds become scarce, for their food is now out of reach, being hidden by an almost continuous .sheet of ice. In. passing through:the pack-ice belt a new scene meets the eye. The sky is blue, and. the sun shines on the ice-free, seaway, 'discovered by James Clarke Boss, who' was ' the first, that ever burst into that silent sea.'' Still further south a ' niouirtainous land comes in sight. This is South Victoria Land, the home of M'Corinick's skua and the adelic, and emperor penguins." Mr. Ferrar states that the birds found within the -boundaries of Koss Dependency mainly belong to genera and species that inhabit high southern latitudes. Some remain so far south throughout. the year that they aro seldom seen in habitable regions. Othei's, although breeding on the Antarctic continent ■ during sum-' ineiy migrate northwards, during tha winter months into seas that are constantly navigated, whilst a few, ho states, cross the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere. ■•■',-• • \ •' '■■' .•, . ■' Eight species- of . albatrosses have-., been noted in the area of Ross Dependency. Tho wandering and tho royal albatrosses, .are both common in the seas between South Victoria Land and • New Zeajand, but the snowy albatross seems to be rare. The two first-named greed in the Auckland' Island group, and tho last-named on Kerguelen and Marion Island. Two species of mollymawks, tho grey-headed and. the yel-low-billed mollymawks aro abundant in. the -(northern parts of the area. ; These birds range over the Antarctic Ocean, but their breeding places are not known. Another abundant bird in tho south seas is the black-browed mollymawk, which breeds oji ...the. Campbell Islands. The sooty albatross, Mr. 'Ferrar states, is the most striking bird . of all in the southern oceans. The light-mantled sooty albatross breeds oh the Antipodes and Auckland Islands, ' and ranges farther south than any of the others, having been seen in the Ross 'Sea area in latitude 74 degrees south. Eleven species of petrel aro. recorded. Tlie great' grey sheafwater has " been 'seen singly, and dii- flocks near the Antarctic circle, close ,to ■ trie. ■: pack-ice edge. The well-known . Capo pigeon is probably the commonest petrel of the southern seas.' * The diving petrel may often bo seen quite alone" in th'o Southern Ocean, flying hurriedly in a straight line, close over the wayeU;ops, until suddenly, like a stonej it disappears into tho water. \ Easily identified by its characteristic . marking and powerful flight, the white-headed petrel is by no means uncommon on ' the outskirts of, the .pack-ice, and ranges at least as far as : latitude'o7, degrees south. The blue petrel, the- .whalebird, and the broad-billed wnale bird kept with Mr. Ferrar's boat well into ■the pack-ice on her voyage south. The southern fulmar petrel is plentiful on tho northern edge of tho pack-ice, and' it has been known to cross this belt into the Ross Sea., During the summer months flocks of Antarctic petrels fly up .and .down the coast of South Victoria Land, and along the Great Ice Barrier. The snowy petrel, a\jvhite bird about the size of the tui, has* tho most southern distribution of. any bird except the_ emperor penguin, and is more strikingly confined,, states Mr. Ferrar, to the limits of tho ice,than any other species of petrel. The snowy" petrel breeds in ,burrbws and crevices in the rocks of Cape Adare, at any height above set level from,a few feet to 1400 feet.v The' cluinsy.-lopking _ giant petrel or nelly, wanders, freely from temperate climes in latitude 30 degrees south to the penguiueries on Mount Erebus, in' latitude 78-degrees south. , ' Wilson's storm petrel, Mr. Ferrar reports, is common 'in the Ross Sea area. It breeds in burrows and roek-crevicea on Cape Adare, and probably on other promontories oii 'coast of South Victoria Land, as well as on < Kerguelen Island. Its nest, he states, ip communal, 'and several pairs of birds may / sometimes be seen perching near1 or flitting aboUt a burrow entrance. The nest is lined with. Adelie penguin fea'thcrs, and the female bird lays her egg some time during the month of November. Mr. Ferrar records • that , both sexes take turns at incubation,1 and young and old birds' retreat from tho far south during February .or later as the sea begins to freeze over. Two other species of storm petrels -probably range into Ross Dependency. A specimen of the Vieillot storm petrel was seen in latitude o2 .degree* south and. longitudo 127 degrees east in November, and five days later one of Gould's storm petrels was identified near tho pack-ice. - . „ (To bo continued.)