PROCELLARIID^E — THE PETRELS — DAPTION. 401 



K La\vrence, in 1853, on the strength of a single specimen said to have been obtained 

 on the coast of California, and now in the cabinet of that gentleman. Numerous 

 specimens were obtained by the naturalists connected with the Wilkes Exploring 

 Expedition, and its presence, at various places visited by their vessels, is noted in the 

 Journal of Dr. Pickering. He first observed it on the 19th day of January, 1839, in 

 latitude 39° south, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is subsequently mentioned by him at 

 various points, and for the last time on the 14th of July, the same year, on the Avest- 

 ern coast of South America, the day after sailing from the harbor of Callao, in about 

 12° south latitude. 



'My. E. L, Layard, in his account of the sea-birds observed by him during a voyage 

 in the Antarctic Sea, makes repeated mention of this species, which he first observed 

 soon after leaving Capetown, August 15. He speaks particularly of its habit of 

 alighting on the water. Between latitudes 37° and 41° south he mentions it as being 

 very abundant, so that many were caught by letting a strong thread trail with a cork 

 at the end of it. The birds fouled the line, which became entangled with their wings, 

 rendering them helpless. As soon as one was thus entangled it fell into the water, 

 and the rest immediately clustered around it. 



This bird dives readily, dropping suddenly into the water, and instantly disappear- 

 ing. It will also throw up its tail into the air in the manner of a Duck, and fish up 

 bits of food from a slight depth. On the 16th of September, when running along the 

 southern coast of Tasmania, this species was seen in vast numbers, there being 

 frequently as many as two hundred of these birds around the vessel at one time. 

 This Petrel is also included ("Ibis," 18(32) in Mr. G. P. Gray's List of the Birds 

 of Xew Zealand and of the Adjacent Islands. 



Captain Hutton (" Ibis," 1865) states that the " Cape Pigeon " — as it is also called 

 by the sailors — when caught and hauled upon the deck of a vessel, throws up from 

 its mouth or ejects from its nostrils, like the rest of its family, a quantity of reddish, 

 strongly offensive oil. This it does not for purposes of defence, but ap^iarently from 

 fright. It is never known, in moments of irritation, to eject an oily fluid from its 

 nostrils in the manner described by Mr. Gould. When placed on deck it is unable 

 to rise directly, but runs along with outstretched Avings. 



Its cry resembles the sound produced by drawing a piece of iron across a large 

 toothed comb, and may be represented nearly by the syllables cac-cac-cac-cac-cac. 



The breeding-place of this species was not positively known vmtil quite recently. 

 Gould states that it breeds in Tristan d'Acunha; but this is disputed by Captain 

 Hutton. Darwin was informed that it resorts to the islands of South Georgia. It 

 was not found on the Prince Edward's Islands, nor on Kerguelen Island. Sir J. Eoss 

 saw large flocks of young birds of this species in January, 1841, in lat. 71° 50' S., near 

 South Victoria. It seems, therefore, probable that this Petrel breeds in islands in 

 the Antarctic Ocean. According to Captain Hutton, its usual northern limit appears 

 to l)e lat. 27° S., although in one instance it was seen as far as 17° S. It Avas most 

 readily caught by a thread attached to a bit of wood, with which the bird in flying 

 becomes entangled. The poAver of flight of this species seems almost without any 

 limit. Lieutenant Weld, R. N., informed Captain Hutton that a Cape Pigeon, Avith 

 a piece of red ribbon around its neck, once foUoAved the ship on board of Avhicli he 

 Avas for more than fifteen hundred miles. 



Captain Hutton mentions, in a subsequent voyage, his meeting with this bird, 

 April 19, in southern latitude ; but it did not become common until the 26th. From 

 this he infers that it does not return from its breeding-grounds until the end of 

 April. He Avas informed by a sailor that on a voyage to Australia, Avhere he arrived 



VOL. II. — 51 



