11, 



Ml HI) I.AI.I.KIU'. 



emerge I'l-Dm bencatli tlic surfarc Hyiiij;. Unlike- tin- dtlicr I'ctrels, they 

 arc f^cncrally fouiid singly or in pairs and ni>st sporadically. 

 '>s'oT^ The second snljlaniily Prorclldriinu' inelndes the true Petrels. The 

 Shearwaters [Piiffiniis] are ninnerously I'cpresentcd in all the great 

 oceans of the world, and derive their name from their curions hahit of 

 skimming jnst over the surface of the -naves. The Manx Shearwater 

 (P. iiu(jlonnn) (370) is widely distributed over British waters throiigliout 

 the year, and breeds on many of the islands oft" the coast, while the 

 (ireater (372), Sooty (368), and Little Dusky (369) Shearwaters are 

 visitors to our sJiores, the latter being much the rarest. 



The allied genus (Estrelata, including some thirty species, is interesting 

 iiom the fact that two of tlie species liavc each been recorded once from 

 Britain. Of these a sjiecimen of the Collared Petrel (CE. brevipes] (365) 

 killed in Wales is exhibited, but the Capped Petrel (CE. hcesilata] is so 

 rare that only one example exists iu the Museum collection. 



Bulwcr's Petrel (Bulweria buhcen) (364), a curious sooty-black form, 

 is common in the Madeirau w aters, and has occurred once in Yorkshire 

 and once in Sussex, where a specimen was picked up dead. The Pintado 

 Petrel or "Cape Pigeon" (Diipfion capens/s] (363), as its name implies, 

 is numerous off the South African coast, and well-known from its habit 

 of accompanying ships for the sake of the scraps of food thrown over- 

 board. Lastly we may draw attention to the beautiful Snowy Petrel 

 [Pntjoclroiiia iiirea) (362), a native of the icy regions of the South. 

 [Case -24.] On the floor of this Case will be found the Giant Petrel or " Nelly " 

 {OssiJ)-(/(/a (/ii/aii/t'ii) of the Southern seas, the largest of the true Petrels. 

 Apart from its size this species is remarkable for possessing both a light 

 (376) and a dark (377) phase of coloration, some individuals being dark 

 brown and others almost entirely white. Examples of both types arc 

 shown. Tlie Fulmar Petrel ( Fulmar us (iluriulh) (379) is a well-known 

 inhabitant of the seas of Arctic Europe, and nests within our limits on 

 St. Kilda and the Shetland Islands. Two phases of plumage are kiujwu, 

 some examples having the under surface white, while in others these 

 parts are grey. The Broad-billed Blue Petrel [Prion ariel) (380) 

 represents a small group remarkable for the presence on each side of the 

 bill of long lamelhe, resembling those of the Ducks. 01 the small long- 

 legged Petrels, commonly known as " Mother Carey's Chickens," and 

 placed by some authors in a separate suljfamily, Oi-caiufiiiic, quite a 

 number appear on the list of British Birds. Two, the Storm-Petrel 

 {Procellarld pelagicu) (381) and Leach's Fork-tailed Petrel [Occaiiodroma 

 leucorrhoa) (382), breed on some of the islands off the west coast of 

 Britain, while Harcourt's Storm-Petrel (O. castro) (383), Wilson's 

 Storm-Petrel [Oceanites oceanicus) (387), and the beautiful White- 

 breasted or Frigate-Petrel {Pi'laiiodroiiui inarimi) (385) arc accidental 

 visitors to our shores. 



