mutton-bird

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


The word is ordinarily appliedto the Antarctic Petrel, AEstrelata lessoni. InAustralasia it is applied to the Puffin or Short-tailed Petrel, Puffinus brevicaudus, Brandt. The collection of theeggs of this Petrel, the preparation of oil from it, thesalting of its flesh for food, form the principal means ofsubsistence of the inhabitants, half-caste and other, of theislands in Bass Straits.

1839. W. Mann, `Six Years' Residence in the AustralianProvinces,' p. 51:

«They are commonly called mutton birds, from theirflavour and fatness; they are migratory,and arrive in Bass'sStraits about the commencement of spring, in such numbers thatthey darken the air.»

1843. J. Backhouse, `Narrative of a Visit to the AustralianColonies' (1832), p. 73:

«Mutton birds were in such vast flocks, that, at a distance,they seemed as thick as bees when swarming.»

Ibid. p. 91:

«The Mutton-birds, or Sooty Petrels, are about the size ofthe Wood Pigeon of England; they are of a dark colour,and are called `Yola' by the natives.»

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. i.p. 264:

«The principal occupation of these people during this month ofthe year is taking the Sooty Petrel, called by the Coloniststhe Mutton Bird, from a fancied resemblance to the taste ofthat meat.»

1846. G. H. Haydon, `Five Years in Australia Felix,'p. 47:

«The mutton-bird, or sooty petrel . . . is about the size ofthe wood-pigeon of England, and is of a dark colour. Thesebirds are migratory, and are to be seen ranging over thesurface of the great southern ocean far from land . . . Manymillions of these birds are destroyed annually for the sake oftheir feathers and the oil of the young, which they are made todisgorge by pressing the craws.»

1855. Rev. R. Taylor, `Te Ika a Maui,' p. 382:

«The titi, or mutton-bird, is a seabird which goes inland atnight just as the light wanes. The natives light a brightfire, behind which they sit, each armed with a long stick. Thetitis, attracted by the light, fly by in great numbers, and areknocked down as quickly as possible; thus in one night severalhundreds are often killed, which they preserve in their own fatfor future use.»

1857. C. Hursthouse, `New Zealand the Britain of the South,'vol. i. p. 121:

«The young titi (mutton-bird), a species of puffin, is caughtby the natives in great quantities, potted in its own fat, andsent as a sort of ` pâte de foie gras' to inland friends.»

1863. B. A. Heywood, `Vacation Tour at the Antipodes,' p. 232:

«The natives in the South [of Stewart's Island] trade largelywith their brethren in the North, in supplies of the mutton-bird, which they boil down, and pack in its own fat in thelarge air-bags of sea-weed.»

1879. H. n. Moselep `Notes by Naturalist on Challenger,p. 207:

«Besides the prion, there is the `mutton-bird' of the whalers( AEstrelata lessoni), a large Procellanid, as big as apigeon, white and brown and grey in colour.»

1880. Garnet Walch, `Victoria in 1880,' p. 49:

«The crest of the Cape [Wollomai] is a favourite haunt of thoseelegant but prosaically-named sea-fowl, the `mutton-birds.'. .One of the sports of the neighbourhood is `mutton-birding.'

1888. A. Reischek, `Transactions of New Zealand Institute,'vol. xxi. art. xlix. p. 378:

«Passing through Foveaux Strait, clothed with romantic littleislands, we disturbed numerous flocks of mutton-birds( Puffinus tristis), which were playing, feeding, orsleeping on the water.»

1891. `The Australasian,' Nov. 14, p. 963, col. 1 (`A Lady inthe Kermadecs'):

«The mutton-birds and burrowers come to the island in millionsin the breeding season, and the nesting-place of the burrowersis very like a rabbit-warren; while the mutton-bird is contentwith a few twigs to do duty for a nest.»

1891. Rev. J. Stack, `Report of Australasian Association forthe Advancement of Science,' vol. iii. p. 379:

«Wild pigeons, koko, tui, wekas, and mutton-birds were cookedand preserved in their own fat.»

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

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