STORM-PETRELS. 



135 



Egrgs. — White, with a few spots of pale brown. The spots 

 are generally obscure, and frequently the underlying grey spots 

 are most in evidence. Occasionally, when the spots are more 

 distinct, they form zones round the large end of the egg. In 

 some the underlying grey spots are very distinct and are 

 scattered all over the surface. The eggs soon become stained 

 to a buff, or reddish-buff, or chestnut colour. Axis, 2 "2 5-2 "5 5 

 inches; diam., i •65-1 75. 



THE PETRELS. ORDER PROCELLARIIFORMES. 



The Petrels are distinguished from the Gulls and other sea- 

 birds by their tubular nostrils, whence they are often called 

 Tubinares. The palate is schizognathous, the nostrils holo- 

 rhinal. The anterior toes are fully webbed, and the hind-toe 

 or hallux is very small, being often entirely wanting. The 

 spinal feather-tract is well-defined on the neck, and the oil- 

 gland is tufttd. 



The young are hatched covered with down, and are fed by 

 the old birds for some time in the nest. The eggs are entirely 

 white, or have a zone of reddish dots round the larger end. 

 They are generally placed in holes burrowed in the ground, 

 often on the lofty summits of oceanic islands, while some 

 species make a nest in the open. The Petrels range in size 

 from the dimensions of a large Swallow to those of an 

 Albatross, which has the widest stretch of wing of any existing 

 bird. (Cf. Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mas. xxv. p. 341.) 



Mr. Osbert Salvin has recently published a classification and 

 description of the Petrels in the 25th volume of the " Catalogue 

 of Birds in the British Museum," and he arranges them in four 

 families, viz, : — 1. Procdlariidce^ or Storm-Petrels ; II. 

 Fuffi?iidcB, or Shearwaters and Fulmars ; III. Pelecanoididce, 

 or Diving-Petrels ; and IV. Dioniedeidcs^ or Albatrosses. 



THE STORM-PETRELS. FAMILY 

 PROCELLARIID^. 



In this family, which contains the smallest of the Petrels, 

 the noitrils are united externally above the culmen ; the 



