LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 57 



in most of which a pair of the pardelas had their home, ami toward sunset 

 the wliole popuhition turned out, wheeling and screaming around our encamp- 

 ment and offering the most tempting roclveting shots as they swept over the 

 high rocks above us. 



Tlie male, in a harsh guttural voice, cried 'Ha-ffotv-a-fforo-a-gow," and the 

 female cliimes in 'Ha-ia-ia," and it may be imagined that with tliousands of these 

 miscreants circling close round our tent during the entire night, tired as we were, 

 sleep was almost impossible on the first evening of our stay. During the whole 

 of our visit we used every night to be mobbed by these noisy birds. Tlie 

 "march past," as we called it, generally commenced about six and continued 

 with unabated zest till we turned In about 10.30 and heard no more. In 

 spite of the tempting shots they offered, we killed very few of these birds, 

 only such as we required for specimens; but our men were not so sparing, 

 for they used every day to catch numbers for food (they skinned and boiled 

 them!) and took back sackfuls to Las Palmas, where, when salted, they are 

 much esteemed by the Spanish fishermen. 



The pardela breeds late, and though during the daytime we found most of 

 the birds in pairs in their rocky nesting chambers, we never procured a single 

 egg. Enormous numbers of the young are collected by the Portuguese fisher- 

 men every autumn, being valued for their oil and downy feathers. The oil is 

 of poor quality, and, as we were informed, is chiefly used for dressing coal 

 sacks. The happy couples greatly resent being disturbed in their nesting 

 cavities, and unless extracted without hesitation retaliate by biting with great 

 vigor, their curved bills, with tlieir sharp, cutting edges, being apt to leavii 

 an ugly wound on those unskilled in the mode of handling them. 



Though the majority pass the day in the holes in the rocks, many also rest 

 at sea and may be seen in flocks floating quietly on the surface at most 

 hours of the day. On our return journey the Pedro ran right over one of 

 these shearwaters sleeping peacefully with its head under its wing, but beyond 

 a rough awakening it flew off apparently none the worse. On several occasions, 

 when sitting in our camp by lantern light, skinning the birds collected during 

 the day, we were startled by one of these great shearwaters dashing into our 

 midst like some great white moth dazzled by the light. Fortunately none of 

 them ever struck us or we might have had the worst of the encounter. These 

 birds are evidently the cormorants alluded to by Mr. Knight in his " Cruise of 

 the Alerte" (p. 85). He writes: "The cormorants dwelt with their families 

 in fine stone houses which they had constructed with great ingenuity. Some 

 of the stones were large and heavy. It would be interesting to observ^e how 

 the birds set to work to move them and how they put the roof on. I have 

 been told that they rake up a mound of stones with their powerful wings in 

 such a way that by removing some of those underneath they leave the roof 

 above them." This is, of course, obviously impossible, some of the stones 

 being of great weight. The fact is that these little stone huts are put up 

 all over the top of the island by the Portuguese fishermen for the birds to 

 nest in, so that the young may be the more easily obtained when they visit the 

 place in autumn. This is commonly done also in the Canaries. 



When pulled out of their stone houses during the daytime these birds 

 present a very ludicrous spectacle as they stalk slowly off with a bewildered 

 air, not unmixed with reproach. After a time they get on the wing and make 

 off, their eyes having, I suppose, got accustomed to the light ; but if taken 

 from their nesting chambers and thrown up into the air they drop to the 

 ground like stones, without making any attempt to save themselves with their 

 wings. Bulwer's petrel acts in exactly the same way. 



