Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/148

144 Their nests, composed of small angular fragments of rock and some earth, are placed on the ledges of precipitous cliffs. The Cape pigeon, like other petrels, has the habit of ejecting from its tubular nostrils a red, oily, foul-smelling fluid, composed of the half-digested remains of crustaceans (Euphausia). The naturalists visiting the nests had to risk having this fluid squirted over their face and clothes. The birds can squirt this fluid to a distance of six or eight feet. The Cape pigeon often allowed itself to be captured on its nest. The eggs, which are pure white, are laid singly, and are very large for the size of the bird.

Besides these there are many other petrels recorded in Antarctic seas, and perhaps the best known of these is the Giant petrel (Ossifraga gigantea) called also the Nellie and the Stinker. Why sailors should have called this bird a "Nellie" I do not know, but the name "Stinker" is quite appropriate, on account of the curious, unpleasant, and persistent odour it possesses. Not only does the bird have this odour externally, but even its flesh and eggs have the same smell. The Scotia dogs readily ate penguins and other birds, but would not eat the flesh of the giant petrel. The weight of this bird varies from 7¼ to 10 lbs., and it looks nearly the size of a swan. The plumage varies from white, through grey,