PALMIPEDES. 409 



t 



seems to consist of a distinct piece articulatcdwith the remainder. 

 Their nostrils are united and form a tube laid on the back of the 

 upper mandible; there is a nail planted in the heel, but no thumb. 

 Of all the Palmipedes, these remain most constantly at a distance 

 from land, and when a tempest supervenes, they are forced to seek 

 shelter on reefs and" ships, from which circumstance they derive 

 their name of Storm Birds: that of Petrel Little Peter has been 

 given to them on account of their habit of walking on the water, 

 which they effect by the aid of their wings. They make their nests 

 in holes of rocks, and eject on those who attack them an oily fluid 

 with which their stomach seems to be always filled. The greater 

 number inhabit the Antarctic Seas. 



Those species are more particularly called Petrels Procel- 

 LARiA whose lower mandible is truncated. 



Proc. gigantea, Gm.', Petrel ge ant; Qiiebranta huessos; L,d.t\\. 

 Syn. Ill, pi. 100 (The Giant Petrel), is only found in the South 

 Seas. It is the largest of all the species, surpassing the Goose in 

 size. Its plumage is blackish, though there are some varieties 

 in which it is more or less white. 



Proc. capensis; Petrel du Cap, 8cc. Enl. 964 (The Cape Petrel), 

 is the size of a small Duck, white above, spotted black and 

 white beneath. It is found in the same seas as the preceding 

 species, and is frequently spoken of by navigators.(l) 



Proc. glacialis; Fulmar; Petrel de Saint-Kilda, Enl. 59; Brit. 

 Zool. pi. M,f. 1. (The Fulmar.) White, with an ash-coloured 

 mantle; bill and feet yellow; size of a stout duck. It breeds 

 among the cliff's on the coasts of the British islands, and of the 

 whole north. (2) 



Certain small species, with a somewhat shorter bill and 

 rather longer legs and black plumage, the Thalassidroma, 

 Vigors, are particularly designated by sailors under the name 

 of Storm Birds. (3) 



The most common, Proc. pelagica, Briss. VI, xiii, 1; Wils. 

 VII, lix, 6;Edw., 90, is scarcely larger than a Lark; stands 

 high; all brown except the rump which is white, and a white 

 line on the end of the great wing-covertsl When it seeks shel- 



(1) Better known to mariners as the Cape Pigeon. Jim. Ed. . 



(2) Add the Petrel hartie, Temm., Col. 416; the Petrel berard, Freycinet, 37j 

 Proc. cinerea, Lath.; Proc. desolata. Id.; Proc. iurtur, Forst. 



(3) The ^'Mother Carey's Chickens" of the English and American seamen. 

 *Am. Ed. m 



Vol. I. 3 B 



