A NEW DIVING PETREL 67 



We rowed to within half a mile of the shore of 

 Tristan da Cunha, near the settlement. The sea 

 was perfectly smooth, and had it been earlier in 

 the afternoon we should have landed. The settle- 

 ment is composed of about sixteen stone houses, 

 and is situated at the foot of the peaks where the 

 grass-covered ground slopes gradually down to 

 the sea. Great numbers of cattle were feeding 

 on this grass land. The islanders sell them to 

 passing ships, and we ordered two bullocks, but 

 owing to the stormy weather which set in that 

 night we were unable to hold any further com- 

 munication with the shore. 



During the evening I made a smaU collection 

 of sea-birds. Two fine examples of the yellow- 

 nosed albatros were shot, also some terns.* The 

 latter, which are much like our common tern, 

 were very numerous, and, judging by the number 

 of young birds which were only just able to fly, 

 there must be a considerable nesting colony. 



The most interesting birds which we saw, 

 however, were some diving petrels, which proved 

 to belong to a hitherto undescribed species. f 

 Superficially these petrels resemble the diving 

 petrel of the Straits of Magellan, but they are 

 somewhat smaller and have a much greater power 

 of flight. On several occasions I saw them rise 

 off the water and fly away out of sight, whereas 



* Sterna vittata. 



t Pelecanoides dacunhae NicoD, "Bull. B.O.C," XVI., p, 103. 



