ON THE BIRDS OF THE WEDDELL AND ADJACENT SEAS. 261 



It was equally frequent during the second voyage, in 1904, and often followed the 

 ship all day. When off Coats Land in 74 1' S. no less than twenty were shot on 

 March 14th, while the Scotia was locked in the pack. -lust previously to this, namely 

 on March 5th, when in 72 31' S., thousands of this species were seen in company with 

 McCormick's Skuas, Giant and Snowy Petrels, and Arctic Terns. On the northward 

 voyage it was not observed beyond 68 26' S. (10 11' W.). 



As already recorded (The Ibis, 1 90G, p. 169), a few came under notice at Laurie Island 

 in the summer of 1903-4, and it was thought not unlikely that the bird was nesting 

 there. A number were also seen near Saddle Island, another of the South Orkney 

 group, on March 22nd, 1903, in about GO S. , the most northerly point at which this 

 species was observed during the voyages of the Expedition. A number of specimens 

 were obtained in the month of March during the Antarctic voyages of 1903 and 1904, 

 and these vary in their plumage. Some are more or less faded (drab) in colour and 

 abraded in feather, and are, no doubt, unmoulted birds ; others are evidently freshly 

 moulted adults or young of the year ; in these the head, back, scapulars, lesser wing- 

 coverts, quills and tip of the tail are slaty black, and the under parts purer white. 

 Specimens in moult are intermediate between these two forms, and make clear the 

 relationships of these phases in plumage as regards adult birds. Some of these moult- 

 ing birds lack rectrices, their tails being represented by the long under tail-coverts only. 

 The feet in life have the tarsus and outer toe greyish, the other toes and the webs paler 

 and washed with yellow. 



Priocella glacialoides (Smith). 

 Priocella ijlarialoides Cat. ]!., xxv. p. 393. 



The Silver or Silver-grey Petrel was observed during the voyages to and from the 

 Weddell Sea, between the latitudes 44 30' and 71 22' S., and the meridians of 9 43' 

 and 42 30' W. The extreme southerly range here indicated has only been exceeded, 

 I believe, in the case of the observations made by Ur Wilson during the National 

 Expedition under Captain Scott, when the bird was seen in the Ross Sea ( Voy. of the 

 "Discovery," ii. p. 481). 



This petrel was first met with on the 9th of February, when the Scotia was skirting 

 the pack-ice in 58 57' S. and 33 34' W., or about midway between the South Orkney 

 and South Sandwich groups; but it was not observed beyond 63 54' S. on the 1903 

 voyage. On the second voyage it was noted as high as 71 22' S., on March 18th, 1904, 

 when one was seen in company with several other species of petrel and Arctic Terns. 



It does not appear to be an abundant species in the Weddell Sea; but it was 

 observed in numbers during the northward voyage, when latitude (50 S. was reached, 

 and was last seen when the Scotia was neuring Gough Island. 



As stated on page 236 of this volume, it was occasionally seen in the summer of 

 1903 about the cliffs at Laurie Island, where it was considered probable that a few 

 were nesting. I mentioned (l.<:) that its breeding-haunts remained unknown. Since 



