46 PROCELLARIID^. 



many inland localities on the Continent. It visits Madeira, 

 the Canaries, and the west coast of Africa down to Walvisch 

 Bay ; and the late Captain Sperling states that he met with 

 it on the east side between the latitudes of Zambesi and 

 Zanzibar. Crossing the Atlantic, we find that Mr. H. C. 

 Hart, of H. M.S. 'Discovery,' observed two Storm Petrels 

 off Godhaab, on the coast of Greenland, in 64° N. lat. 

 (Zool. 1880, p. 210) ; and it is recorded from the banks 

 of Newfoundland. Dr. Coppinger, of H. M.S. 'Alert,' states 

 that twelve or fourteen Storm Petrels followed the ship, 

 feeding greedily on offal, until the 5th of November, 

 when in the neighbourhood of St. Paul's Rocks, near the 

 equator. He noticed the neat and graceful way in which 

 they planted their webbed feet on the water, and avoided 

 wetting their tarsi, maintaining a stationary attitude with 

 outstretched wings and legs straightened, while pecking 

 at the object of their fancy. When performing a curve, 

 they kicked the water with the outer foot. He frequently 

 observed them floating on the surface with closed wings ; 

 in fact, they were only on the move when feeding ; and, 

 far from only following the ship in stormy weather, they 

 were, in the tropics at least, more abundant during calms. 

 They also followed the ship at night, which he found to be 

 the best time for catching them, by means of sixty yards of 

 light line armed with a small anchor-shaped piece of bottle- 

 wire. The stomachs of those he examined contained a 

 number of stony particles, bits of cinder, minute shells, and 

 otolites of fish. 



These birds rove over the greater part of the Atlantic 

 and Mediterranean, feeding on the small fishes, Crustacea, 

 and mollusca to be found about the extensive masses of sea- 

 weed which float upon the surface of the ocean. They are 

 erroneously supposed to be seen only before stormy weather, 

 and therefore are not welcome visitors to sailors, who call 

 them the Devil's birds, witches, and Mother Carey's chickens 

 — the last being alluded to by Captain Carteret in ' Hawks- 

 worth's Voyages,' i. p. 318 (1773), as a well-known sailor's 

 name. Their habit of paddling along the surface is said 



