90 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



securing food, but pass most of tbeir time sitting in large numbers on tlie 

 water, and at this period it is somewhat difficult to catch them on liook and 

 line. Occasionally a flock will make a short flight and again settle down, but 

 there appears to be a strong inclination, at that time, to huddle together and 

 keep up the organization which has probably existed during their migration 

 from distant regions. The same thing in regard to going in flocks is noticeable 

 in the fall when they collect for their autunmal migration from the fishing- 

 banks. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — Islands in New Zealand seas. On New Zealand 

 (Otaya, Kaimanawa Ranges, and near Wellington), on Norfolk, 

 Stewarts, Kapiti, Snares, St. Stephens, Auckland, and Chatham 

 Islands, and probably many others. Also breeds on islands near 

 Cape Horn, 



Range. — Widely distributed over both great oceans. North in the 

 Atlantic Ocean in summer, to Labrador, southern Greenland, the 

 Faroe and the Orkney Islands ; and in the Pacific Ocean to the Ku- 

 rile and Aleutian Islands. South in the southern oceans, probably 

 to about 60° south. 



Sfr-ing 7nigration. — Appears on the Atlantic coast of North Amer- 

 ica in May ; North Carolina, Fort Macon, May 21 ; New Jersey, Sea 

 Isle City, May 25 ; Rhode Island, off Seaconnet Point, June 2 ; Mas- 

 sachusetts, Pigeon Cove, May 29 ; southern Greenland, off Cape Fare- 

 well, June 22. On the Pacific coast the main flight arrives off Cali- 

 fornia in May, but the species has been recorded in every month in 

 the year. 



Fall nilgratlon. — Disappears from the north Atlantic in Septem- 

 ber and October; most of the British records are in these two months. 

 Main flight leaves the California coast at about the same time. 



Casual records. — A straggler was taken in Rhode Island (off 

 Point Judith, March 28, 1902). 



Egg dates. — Islands near New Zealand: Nineteen records, No- 

 vember 16 to April 28 ; ten records, November 19 to 26. Cape Horn : 

 Two records, December 23 and January 1. 



PUFFINUS TENUmOSTRIS (Temminck). 



SLENDER-BILLED SHEARWATER. 



HABITS. 



Among the vast flocks of dark colored shearwaters which we saw 

 as we passed through IJniinak Pass and entered Bering Sea, on June 

 4, 1911, we were confident that this species was represented. Un- 

 fortunately, we were unable to collect any specimens for identifica- 

 tion and we shall therefore never know whether these immense 

 gatherings of sea birds were made up of sooty or slender-billed 



