66 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



tain practically all that is known at present of the breeding habits 

 and efigs of this species. 



Nothing was definitely known of the hreeding of this species till 1908, al- 

 though erroneous reports of nesting have been received from time to time. At 

 one time it was believed to breed somewhere In the north Atlantic, owing to the 

 fact that large numbers may be seen there in summer. In collections eggs of 

 Puffi.mis Mihlii from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic isles have done duty 

 for it. The supposed eggs in Herr Nehrkorn's collection are said to have come 

 from Greenland, but their origin is stated to be doubtful, and Reinhardt's state- 

 ment that it breeds there is now generally discredited. Hewitson figured an egg 

 attributed to this species from the Desertas near Madeira, but this is now 

 known to be that of P. kuhlii borealis Cory (fortunatns Bannerman). Grad- 

 ually the idea gained ground tliat the true breeding haunts must be looked for 

 in the south Atlantic. Here another source of confusion arose, for eggs of 

 Pnffmus griseus, the " great " shearwater of the Chatham Islands and the New- 

 Zealand seas, were in several cases sold as those of this species. In 1906 the 

 S. Y. Valhalla lay to for four days off Tristan d'Acunha in January, but owing 

 to rough weather landing proved impracticable. Numbers of P. gravis were 

 seen in pairs, and when about 140 miles east of the island large numbers 

 were again observed. It was evident that they must be breeding somewhere in 

 the vicinity, but no further investigation took place till Mr. P. C. Keytel visited 

 the group in 1908. On that occasion he made an expedition to Inaccessible 

 Island, and obtained at least four or five eggs of this species, together with 

 skins, and on his return presented two of the eggs as well as skins to the South 

 African Museum. Another egg was given by Dr. L. Peringuey to Dr. P. L. 

 Sclater, who on his return from the cape to England, presented it to the Brit- 

 ish Museum. A fourth egg was purchased by me from Mr. Keytel and is in my 

 own collection. Unfortunately I have been unable up to the present to obtain 

 any notes from Mr. Keytel on the nesting habits and haunts of these birds. 



Eggs.- — The measurements of these four eggs are as follows : 



1. 81 by 49.1 mm. British Museum. Pi'esented by Dr. P. L. Sclater. 



2. 79.5 by 50 mm. South African Museum, Cape Town. 



3. 78.5 by 51 mm. Presented by Mr. P. C. Keytel. 



4. 71.6 by 44.3 mm. Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain's collection. 



All the eggs are white with no traces of markings, though slightly stained by 

 the soil. The shape is a pointed oval, and they are entirely devoid of gloss. 

 The surface is tolerably smooth, but under the microscope appears quite differ- 

 ent in texture to that of P. kuhlii, being covered closely with minute granula- 

 tions instead of a few scattered deep pittings. The shell of No. 4 is extremely 

 thick and heavy, but this may be partly due to the fact that it is a somewhat 

 undersized egg. 



Mr. Joiirdain has recently discovered another egg of this species 

 in the collection of Mr. J. G. Gordon in Scotland. It came from Tris- 

 tan da Cimha, was taken on May 29, 1917, and measures 70.30 by 46.9 

 millimeters.] 



On the American side it ranges north along the Labrador Coast 

 and off the southern part of Greenland. Captain Collins (1884), 

 records that it arrived at latitude 43° 10', longitude 62° 23', on 

 May 26, 1879, that it was most abundant near Le Have Bank to 

 and including the Grand Bank, and that it departs for the south 



