Mil, lirSTOKIEKOK KOflin AMERICAN VhTRlA/ri A Sf) i'U.UWSr . ]'.',:> 



\vf)if|i )t. |)i'l<s ii|) off (Ik- siir-fiir'c r)f (he water. 'IHirifr M'^HO) 

 says: "Th*- Iv-kimo nMuif of this hiffi i.-; ^^ h'u ik^ mii'I nxtiinrs f>il 

 efit(!r. Tlicy aK.sf;rt that this hirrl skirn.s the water for tiaee.s of u\\ 

 whifh fnay Jiave flowt'd from a wourKlcfl sf!nl or wFiale. and that 

 hirj/e /lof:k.s of thf.rn will follow the \\u',\\\\\\i ' ;ueass of a seal for fh;it 

 purpose," Apparently oil is flie. prirKipfii fooM of this find other 

 fjfticls for wlieri <;\\\\i\\i or killer] lar^'e qiifintities of oily juices 

 flow from i\\c riioiith:: ;ui'l nostrils, f~oiliri^r the pliima/,^es beyond re- 

 [jair. 'J'lie }ouii^^ are fe^l hy s'juir'tin^.'- tliis fluid into their mouths, 



liehavior. — "i'fie forked-tJiJIed fK;ti('l in flight is not easily mis- 

 taken for ;invt})in^ else, as the soft. Mended, pc;irl in-.iy eolois of 

 it- jdiinia^'e are conspicuous nnd distinctive, 'i lie fli^rlit of this 

 [jetrel, like others of its fi-enus, is li^ht, rapid, anrl err.'itic, flitting 

 hither and Ihitlier rK,-e, to the surface r,f the waves, often with its 

 feet extender] as if widkinrr on the water. 'Jhe following account, 

 evidently taken from Dor-top Pickerinj:^'s journal, written off the 

 coast of Oregon in Apiii. 1S40, is g-iven by Baird. f'rewer, and 

 Ptidgway (1884) : 



(ifwr'A\]y, they rf^rriiridr-fl him of WWatyn'H petrol, but their wings sficmerl 

 lontrer ari«l thf*ir rriovenients appeared to be more rapid ; in fact, they appeared 

 to resemltle the lurger Procellariflfie. Occa.siorialiy this hird f^ailefl In its flij?ht, 

 hilt (JiMirif,' the ;;?rf!fiter |»art of the tlrne it nir>ved hy very rapidly tlexinf< it.s 

 winj-'.s in the same mann'T uh Wilson's petrel. Jt x»r'jved to he not diffieult to 

 capture, and several sfjecimens werf! taken with hooic and line. The bird.^ 

 would dive a foot or two after the bait, and made use of their wings in and 

 under the water, from which they evidently had not the difficulty in rising 

 which is observable in the albatross. Their power of swimming seemed rather 

 fr-eble, yet they alighted in the water without any apparent hesitation. The 

 'I'-ad body of one of their crmipanions having been thrown o%-ertK)ard, the other 

 hirds clustered abr>iit it with as much avidity as aroUnd any other fr)od. 'ftiis 

 hirrl uttered a faint cry when it was taken on board. 



Mr. Richard C AfcGregor (lOOG) while anr^horerl in Akut»,n 

 TTiiihrir in the Aleutian Islanrls, on August 19, 1901, witnesserl a 

 jjeridiar j'erformance of this species in a dense fog at night, which 

 he described in his notes as follows: 



At about 9..30 a petrel was brought down (to my room) by the fiuarter- 

 mnsfer; in a short time three more and thrn an auklet were produced by 

 r);ivie ((i. M.). Going on deck I found 0. furcMta flying about the masthead 

 light — there were probably five or six in sight. In a short time I had a dozen 

 laid out. There was a moderate fog at first and as this thickened the birda 

 increased in numbers. Fully a dozen were in sight like so many moths. They 

 struck th(! rigging, i>ridge, find wbeelhouse and tiuttererl to the deck in a daze<l 

 condition. The fox fa young animal caught by the men an<l kept on deck; 

 f-oon had a dozen or more in and about his box, anrl the cats were running 

 them over the deck. On all sides of the ship their cries were heard. They 

 flew into the chart room, the fireroom, and down the ventilator to the main 

 deck. Even from my room in the lower wardroom their cries are plainly 

 audible. 



