PEOCELLARIID.E — THE PETRELS — OCEANITES. 417 



Mr. E. L. Layard mentions meeting with it in the Southern Ocean in Lat. 23° 

 30' S., long. 72° E. ; and subsequently, when in lat. 24° S., long. 75° 30' E., he again 

 met with it. When in lat. 32° 50' S., long. 29° 50' E., near the mouth of Great Fish 

 Eiver, these birds were most abundant ; at least three hundred were in sight at one 

 time. At no other time did he see so many together, except in his voyage out to 

 Canada, in 1843, when they appeared off Anticosti in similar flocks. In his opinion 

 these birds very rarely alight upon the water, for he repeatedly watched them far 

 into the night, and still they kept on their unwearied flight; and even after the 

 moon had set, and their tiny forms were no longer visible, he could distinguish their 

 querulous cries. 



Captain F. W. Hutton, in his voyage from London to New Zealand Q' Ibis," 18G7), 

 states that he met with this species several times in the northern temperate zone, 

 but saw none while in the tropics. It reappeared in lat. 33° S., and continued com- 

 mon until May 2, lat. 39° S. It was then seen occasionally until May 18, lat. 40° 

 40' S., after which none were met with. 



Mr. L. Kumlien in the Arctic expedition found it far more abundant than Leach's 

 Petrel, and traced it as far north as Resolution Island. On the return voyage it Avas 

 first met with a hundred miles south of Cape Farewell. It has been observed in the 

 Pacific, and is given by ]\Ir. Gould as a bird of Australia. 



Dr. Pickering met with this species Oct. 24, 1838 (the latitude and longitude not 

 given, but the nearest land was the coast of Africa), and a specimen was taken alive. 

 It was found to be not only entirely incajDable of perching, but even of standing 

 upright, except by aid of its wings. It sat rather than stood, and the whole of the 

 tarsus rested on the ground ; and it walked in the same awkward position, being fre- 

 quently obliged to balance itself with the aid of its wings, with a more powerful 

 exertion of which it was enabled to run along on its toes, as it does on the surface 

 of the water. Birds of this species continued abundant about the vessel for sev- 

 eral days, and their coursing over the water with flitting wings reminded him of the 

 movement of butterflies about a pool. Only in one instance was this bird seen to 

 rest on the surface of the water. This Petrel does not sail in the continued manner 

 of Gulls and other sea-birds, but moves by rapidly flexing its wings, somewhat after 

 the manner of a Bat. It was continually coursing around and in the wake of the 

 vessel, generally in considerable numbers, during the greater part of the time the 

 expedition was in the Atlantic Ocean. It was taken in the Atlantic in lat. 35° S., 

 and was seen occasionally as far as Cape Horn. In the Pacific it occurred at times 

 until within a day's sail of Callao. Specimens were procured by the Expedition from 

 various and widely remote localities. 



It is often met Avith flying about the North Rock, Bermuda, in stormy weather ; 

 and jNIr. Hurdis records the capture of a very fine specimen, shot by Mr. Harford on 

 the 30th of June, 1853, killed some miles from shore, the date being suggestive of its 

 breeding in that vicinity. 



This species is not uncommon off Sandy Hook, within sight of land, and occasion- 

 ally stragglers are seen coasting along the shores of Long Island. Mr. Giraud states 

 that he had a favorable opportunity of observing the manners of these birds Avhen 

 he was making an excursion in a pilot-boat. The vessel being low, by throwing over 

 small pieces of fat, which they seized Avith avidity, he Avas enabled to keep them 

 very near. He observed that they Avere capable of a very rapid as well as a very 

 protracted flight, at times shooting past the boat, Avhich, under full sail, was moving 

 at a very rapid rate, but Avhich seemed, by comparison Avith the birds, to be lying at 

 anchor. When Avearied, this Petrel rests on the Avater ; and at such times it stands 



VOL. II. — 53 



