A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. i;77 



of which have similar white eggs and burrowing habits, and are 

 edible. 



3. It was strictly nocturnal in its habits. It flew only at night 

 and made a "strange hollow and harsh howling" and a loud call, 

 from which its name (cahow) was given. It came readily to persons 

 imitating its note, and could then be easily taken by the hand, in the 

 night. 



4. It had good powers of flight, but could also run about on the 

 ground without difficulty. It was very tame and unsuspicious. 



5. It nested generally, if not always, in burrows in the soil, and 

 laid a single, large, white egg, of good flavor, like a hen's egg in 

 size and taste. 



6. It arrived at the Bermudas in October or November (old style) 

 and remained till about the first of June {Hughes). 



7. It laid its eggs in December and January, "in the coldest 

 months of the year." In this respect it differed from all other sea- 

 birds of the northern hemisphere. Therefore it probably spent its 

 summer south of the equator, or else it was a local pelagic species 

 that remained constantly at sea in summer, perhaps not far awa}^. 



8. In size it was compared to a "pigeon," to a "green plover," 

 and to a "partridge." Therefore its egg must have been very large 

 in comparison with the size of the body of the bird. The large 

 number of birds said to have been eaten at a meal also indicates a 

 rather small bird. 



9. It had a strong hooked bill and could bite viciously. No men- 

 tion was made of its ejecting oily or other matter from its bill for 

 defence, as do the petrels. 



10. Its color was "russet-brown" on the back ; its quill-feathers 

 were russet-brown and white ; its belly was white (Strachy). 



In this combination of characters it differed from all known birds.* 



d. — The Pimlieo or AuduborCs Shearwater. (Puffiniis Auduboni 

 Finsch, 1872 = P. obscurus of Hurdis and Reid.) 



The early writers refer to a nocturnal bird that they called the 

 "Pimlieo" (spelled pimplicoe by Butler, and pemblyco by Capt. 

 Smith) from its peculiar note, helped out, as Governor Butler sug- 



* These views have also been maintained by the writer in an article on the 

 Cahow in Popular Science Monthly, vol. lx, p. 22, Nov., 1901, and in Annals 

 and Mag. Nat. History, vol. ix. p. 26, Jan., 1902. 



