204 THE STORMY PETREL. 



their bodies ani the action of the wind on their wings ens-bU 

 them to do this with ease. In calm weather, they perform the 

 same manoeuvre, by keeping their wings just so much in 

 action as to prevent their feet from sinking below the surface. 

 According to Buffon, it is from this singular habit that the 

 whole genus have obtained the name Petrel, from the 

 Apostle Peter, who, as Scripture informs us, also walked on 

 the water. 



As these birds often come up immediately under tte 

 stem, one can examine their foim and plumage with near^ 

 as much accuracy as if they were in the hand. They fly 

 with the wings forming an almost straight, horizontal line 

 with the body, the legs extended behind, and the feet partly 

 seen stretching beyond the tail. Their common note of " weet^ 

 tceetj" is scarcely louder than that of a young duck of a 

 week old, and much resembling it. During the whole of a 

 dark, wet, and boisterous night which I spent on deck, they 

 flew about the after rigging, making a singular hoarse 

 chattering, which m sound resembled the syllables patrdt tu 

 cuk cukj tu tu, laying the accent strongly on the second 

 syllable tret Now and then I conjectured that they alighted 

 on the rigging, making then a lower, curring noise. 



Notwithstanding the superstitious fears of the seamen, 

 who dreaded the vengeance of the survivors, I shot four- 

 teen of these birds one calm day, in lat. 33°, eighty or 

 ninety miles off the coast of Carolina, and had the boat 

 lowered to pick them up. These I examined with considei* 



