PROCELLABIID^ . PETRELS. 



773 



shorter and less deeply emarginate. Legs and feet dull light reddish. Entire upper parts 

 a rather light grajish-bruwn, deepest un the wing-coverts and lertials ; each feather with 

 a tolerably broad margin and tip of white, broadest and most conspicuous on the wing-coverts 

 and tertials. Forehead, sides of the head below the eyes, the neck all round, the edge of 

 the fore-arm, inferior surfaces of the wings, and whole under parts, white. Primaries almost 

 exactly as in the adults, except that tlie innermost have more white, and there is a slight 

 white terminal margin as for as the fourth or fifth. Secondaries about as in the adults, but 

 their brown portions lighter and duller. Tail white; the greater part of the two central 

 rectrices, and the inner webs of the others, with a tinge of dull grayish-brown, deepest on 

 the middle pair. S. Atlantic and Gulf States, strictly maritime, abundant ; casually N. to 

 New England. Nesting like that of terns, in communities ; eggs dropped on the sand, 

 3 in number, pure white, spotted and splashed with dark browns and blackish, and pale 

 neutral-tint. 



20. Suborder TUBINARES : Tube-nosed Longwings. 



Character and definition of this group the same as of the single 



60. Family PROCELLARIID^ : Petrels. 



Nostrils tubular. 

 Bill epignathous ; its 

 covering discontin- 

 uous, consisting of 

 several homy pieces 

 separated by deep 

 grooves. Hallux 



small, elevated, func- 

 tionless, appearing 

 merely as a sessile 

 claw, often minute, or 

 absent. 



These are oceanic 

 birds, rarely landing 

 except to breed, un- 

 surpassed in powers 

 of flight, and usually 

 strong swimmers. Ex- 

 cepting the Sea-run- 

 ners (Halodrotnince), 

 nf>ne of them dive. 

 With the same excep- 

 tion, the wings are 

 long, strong, and 

 pointed, of 10 stiflf 

 primaries and numer- 

 ous short secondaries: 

 Fio. 521. - Nest of the Palmar. (Designed by H. W. Elliot.) ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^. _ 



brachial portions are sometimes extremely lengthened. The tail is short or Tnoderate, of less 

 than 20 feathers, variable in shape. The feet are usually short, with long full-webbed front 

 toes, and a nidimentary hallux, or none. In size, these birds vary remarkably, ranging from 



