FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS 35 



GENUS PUFFINUS. 



General Characters. — Nasal tubes united and resting* on base of bill, not 

 reaching to middle ; nostrils -visible from above ; the partition between 

 them as wide or wider than nostril. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Under parts white or grayish. 



2. Bill 2.G0 bulleri, p. 36. 



2. Bill under 1.70. 



3. Larger, wing about 13 creatopus, p. 35. 



3'. Smaller, wing about 9 opisthomelas, p. 35. 



1'. Under parts dark sooty gray. 



2. Larger, wing over 11, bill over 1.55 griseus, p. 36. 



2'. Smaller, wing under 11, bill under 1.28 . . . tenuirostris, p. 37. 



91. PuflB.nus creatopus Coues. Pink-footed Shearwater. 



Breast and throat white, shading into brownish gray of upper parts and 

 under tail coverts ; bill yellowish, feet flesh color. Length : 19, wing 

 12.50-13.25, bill l.()0-1.70. 



Distribution. — Eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California, south 

 to Chili. 



At Monterey Mr. Loomis has found the pink- footed shearwater 

 abundant in June, and in November has seen as many as two hun- 

 dred in a day. In migrating, be says, their flight is not as direct as 

 that of the black-vented and dark-bodied. They circle frequently 

 and cross their tracks, much as swallows are wont to do when mi- 

 grating singly or in small comjianies. 



93. Puffinus opisthomelas Cones. Black-vented Shearwater. 



Upper parts sooty gray, lighter on head and neck ; under parts white, 

 except for sooty under tail coverts. Length: 12.25-15.00, wing i>.00-i>. 10, 

 tail 3.25-3.80, bill 1.30-1.42. 



Distribution. — Pacific Ocean from coast of Lower California north to 

 Vancouver Island. 



A set of opif<t]iom('h(H eggs was taken at Santa Barbara Island in 

 1873, and Mr. Antliony thinks the birds not unconnnon on some of 

 the smaller outlying ishuuls. Their presence along the coast of 

 southern and Lower Califoniia, he says, seems to depend on the food 

 supply. They are always common, but less so during the breeding 

 season, their numbers ])eing greatest in late July. August, and Sep- 

 tember, wlien they follow tlu; large schools of herring and other tish 

 that come in shore. They are often seen in flocks of several thou- 

 sand when fish are plenty, and Mr. Anthony lias met a flock on the 

 coast of Lower California wliich he estimated at not less than fifty 

 thousand. 



It is only in very calm weather, he says, that they are seen resting 

 on the water, but then they collect in a compact circle and wait 



