104 Mr. F. Du Cane Godraau on the Birds of the Azores. 



in the cliffs^ about the end of May. One bird that I shot con- 

 tained an egg almost ready for exclusion. 



PuFFiNUS ANGLORUM, Boic. " Stapagado.'^ 



Not so numerous as the last species ; like it, however, it 

 breeds in holes in the cliffs, in May, and is esteemed by the 

 inhabitants as an article of food. The specimens I procured 

 were wonderfully fat, and the eggs in the ovaries of two females 

 were in an advanced stage. 



? PuFFiNus OBSCUBUS (Gmeliu) . "Frulho/' 

 People living in the island of Flores told me that there was 

 a smaller bird than the last species, but similar in form, colour, 

 and habits. I hence conclude it is P. obscurus. It is said to 

 arrive about the month of March, and to breed in the cliffs. It 

 had reared its young and gone again before I was there, and I 

 did not obtain or even see a specimen ; neither did I hear of it 

 in the other islands. The natives frequently bring up young 

 birds of this kind tame, as they afford amusement from their 

 grotesque manner of waddling about. 



Thalassidroma wilsoni, Bonaparte. "Alma de mestre.'^ 

 On returning from Flores to Fayal we were becalmed for 

 some hours; and as there were a good many Petrels flying 

 about, I took the boat belonging to the schooner and shot some. 

 They were all of this species, nor did I see any other in the 

 archipelago. In flying they carry their legs stretched straight 

 out behind them, and their feet protruded about an inch beyond 

 the tail, producing the effect of two long feathers. I know 

 nothing about this species breeding in the archipelago, though 

 I suspect it does, as it remains throughout the year. 



M. Morelet* is the only naturalist, that I am aware of, who 

 has visited the Azores and written upon their ornithology ; but 

 his specialite being conchology, the birds did not receive so 

 much of his attention as they deserved. He gives, however, an 

 enumeration of thirty species which he considers to belong 

 to the islands. My own experience leads me to modify this 

 list, as some species contained in it are certainly stragglers, 



* Notice sur I'histoire naturelle des Azores, par A. Morelet. Paris, 

 1850. 



