PETRELS. 



Older 1,\. rUOCKLLARIIFOKAIES. Petricl-tkiiu: 



Vi 



Tlif" Albati'dsfs and i'ctrols Ijear a i^trous;- superficial resemblance to [Ca^oK 



'2''> ''4 ' 

 tlic Gulls, to wliicli. however, they are not even remotely related. They '- •- 



may be distinguished by the curious shape ot the nostrils which have 



tubular openings, while in the fiulls these are slit-like. The various 



members of this order vary greatly in size, the Albatroses, which are 



the largest of the Petrels, possessing a wider spread of the wing than 



any known bird, while the Stormy-Petrels are hardly larger than a 



swallow. All are endowed with great ]50wers of flight and have a 



peculiar musky odour, specially noticeable in the Giant and Fulmar 



Petrels. The Albatroses build a fairly substantial nest and breed iu 



vast colonies iu the open, but the great majority of Petrels deposit their 



single egg in holes and crevices of the rocks or in burrows, using little 



or no lining. Tiic egg is dull white, often marked, especially in the 



smaller species, witii a ring of reddish spots round the larger end. The 



young when hatched are covered with thick white or grey down, antl 



for a long time hcli)lcss and dependent on the care of their parents. 



Family I. Dkjmedeid.e. Albatkoses. 



The Albatroses, of which three genera and about fifteen species arc [Case 2:!,] 

 recognised, arc the most powerful of all birds on the wing. One of the 

 largest and best known species is the Wandering Albatros [Dioiiwdca 

 cxulan.s] (355), which measures nearly eleven feet across the tips of the 

 wings. This bird breeds in gi-cat colonies on the high table-lands of 

 some of the islands in the Southern Ocean, repairing there in October 

 and building a mound of mud and grass with a slight hollow iu the top. 

 The single egg is not hatched till January, and the young is for a long 

 time helpless and covered with thick white down, as mav be seen in the 

 young Royal Albatros [D. regia) (357). The immense expanse of the 

 wings in flight is seen in the rare White-winged Albatros [D. chionoptcra) 

 (358) exhibited at the top of the Case. It is interesting to note that a 

 specimen of the Black-browed Albatros [D. melanophnjs) (356) was 

 captured iu Cambridgesliii-c in 181)7. Other species of the fanrily are 

 the Yellow-nosed Albatros [Thalassogeroii chlororhynchus) (359), and the 

 Sooty Albatros [Ph(eheirui ftilh/inosa] (360). 



F\imily II- Pkocellariide. Petiiels. 



The most aberrant of the Petrels are undoubtedly the three species (i 'ase .'8.] 

 included in the subfamily PdccanouViiue or Diving Petrels, which are 

 represented by Garnot's Petrel (Pelccunoichs yarnotl) (361). Like the 

 Little Auk (404) (Case 24), which they closely resemble in general 

 appearance, they have a hurried flight and dive into the sea in pursuit 

 of their prey without any interruption in the action of their wings, and 



