8o Diary of a Voyage f)'o)ii Karachi to Marseilles. 



a dozen seen in the distance which were a])parently not in 

 full plunia.s^e, and which I could not identify. Two or 

 three Swifts {CypselHS affinis) passed the ship. 



May 20TI1. i/° 54' X 69° 10' E. 218 miles. A single Tropic 

 l)ird, probably Phacthon indicus, was flyinsj;' for some 

 time parallel with the ship. Once it stooped but unsuc- 

 cessfully at a flying" fish exactly after the manner of a 

 Falcon, and later on it fell from a height into the water 

 with a splash like a tern. No land seen. 



M.^Y JisT. 16° 52' X 64° 11' E. 292 miles. Two large 

 1)rownish looking Shearwaters passed across the bows of 

 the ship !)efore breakfast. These might have been the 

 Green-billed Shearwater {Fufjiims chlororhynchus). A 

 single Shearwater was seen after sunset. 



AIay 22ND. 15° 42' N. X 50" 07' E. 300 miles. A large white 

 bird seen in the distance early was probably a Gannet. 

 A fevv Shearwaters were seen during the day. and 

 appeared to be mostly small of a uniform brown colour, 

 though one Ijird had whitish underparts which renders it 

 likely to have been Puffinns pcrsicns. 



May 23RD. 14° 44' N. x 54° 18' E. 285 miles. Two Masked 

 Gannets {Suia cyaiiops) appeared about 7 a.m., and for a 

 time flew just o\er the forecastle of the ship, keeping 

 close together. The black rectrices and remiges. con- 

 trasting with the pure white of the remainder of the 

 plumage, and the livid bill and facial skin were sufficient 

 to identify the birds beyond doubt. 



A few Shearwaters of the dusky type were seen through- 

 out the day. About 4 p.m. a distant floc.v of white birds, 

 probably Terns, were seen busily fishing over a small 

 patch of water. 



May 24111. 1 was somewhat astonished to see a party of two 

 or three small Black Petrels with white about the tail, 

 as it is new to my experience to meet Petrels in the 

 Arabian Sea. From a study of distributions it is probable 

 that they were the Fork-tailed Storm Petrel (Occauo- 

 droiiia leiicorrhoa). .\ few Shearwaters, mostly of the 



