THE STORM r PETREL. 



385 



manner : and we are told, that, when attacked bj our voyagers, they 



ran at them in flocks, pecked their legs, 

 and spoiled their clothes. *' When tha 

 whole herd was beset, (says Mr. Forster, 

 in his account of one of the South Sea 

 islands,) they all became very bold at 

 once ; and ran violently at ur, biting 

 our legs, or any part of our clothes." 



Their sleep is extremely sound ; for 

 Dr. Sparrman accidentally stumbling 

 over one of them, kicked it several 

 yards without disturbing its rest; nor 

 was it until after being repeatedly 

 shaken that the bird awoke. They are 

 very tenacious of life. Mr. Forster left 

 a great number of them, apparently 

 lifeless from the blows they had re- 

 ceived, while he went in pursuit of 

 oilitMs ; l)ui they ;ill afterwards got up and marched oft' with the 

 utniMst ^Mavitv. 



These birds form their nests among those of the Pelicans, and live 

 in tolerable harmony with them. The female generally lays only a 

 single egg. Their nests are holes in the earth ; which they easily form 

 by means of their bills, throwing back the dirt with their feet. 



OF THE PETREL TRIBE IN GENERAL. 



The bill is somewhat compressed; the mandibles are equal in 

 length, and the upper one is hooked at the point. The nostrils form 

 a kind of truncated cylinder, lying over the base of the bill. The 

 feet are webbed, and, in the place of a hind toe, have a spur pointing 

 downwards. 



These birds frequent only the ocean, and are seldom to be seen or 

 shore, except during the breeding season. Their legs are bare of 

 feathers a little above the knee. They have the singular faculty of 

 spouting from their bills, to a considerable distance, a large quantity 

 of pure oil ; which they do, by way of defence, into the face of any 

 one that attempts to annoy them. This oil has been frequently used 

 m medicine, and, some writers say, with success. 



THE STORMY PETREL, AND NORFOLK ISLAND PETREL. 



The Stormy Petrel is not larger than a swallow ; and its color ia 

 entirely black, except the coverts of the tail, the tail itself, and the 

 vent feathers, which are white. Its legs are long and slender. 



The bill is about an inch and a half long, black and much hooked at 

 the end. The head as far as the eyes, and the chin, are mottled in 

 waves of brown and white ; the rest of the body is of a sooty brown 



