670 A. #. Verrili— The Bermuda Islands. 
shelled and have no difference in yolke nor white from an Hennes 
Egge. There are thousands of these Birds, and two or three lands 
full of their Burrows, whether at any time (in two houres warning) 
we could send our Cockboat, and bring home as many as would 
serve the whole Company: which Birds for their blindnesse (for 
they see weakly mm the day) and for their cry and whooting, wee 
called the Sea Owle;* they will bite cruelly with their crooked Bills.” 
The following description is taken from ‘The Narrative’ (1610), 
by Silvanus Jourdan, who was also one of Somers’ party : 
* Another Sea fowle there is that lyeth in little holes in the 
ground, like unto Coney holes, and are in great numbers, exceedingly 
good meate, very fat and sweet (those we had in the winter) and 
their eggs are white, and of that bignesse that they are not to be 
knowne from these egges. The other birds egges [terns] are 
speckled and of a different colour.” 
In “A Letter written from the Summer Islands,” Dec., 1614, by 
the Rev. Lewis Hughes, the following account of the cahow occurs : 
“Here is also plenty of sea foules, at one time of the yeare, as 
about the middle of October, Birds which we eall cahouze and Pim- 
licoes come in. The Cahouze continue til the beginning of June in 
great abundance, they are bigger bodied than a Pigeon & of a very 
firm & good flesh. ‘They are taken with ease if one do but sit downe 
in a darke night and make a noise, there will more come to him then 
he shall be able to kill: some have told me that they have taken 
twelve or fourteen dozen in an hower. When the Cahouze time is 
out, other birds called noddies and sandie birds come in, and continue 
till the latter end of August.” This is the only account that gives 
definitely the time of its arrival and departure (old style). 
The following extract is from the early part of Governor Butler’s 
“ Historye,” written about 1619, as shown by internal evidence : 
“For the cahowe (for so soundes his voice), it is a night bird, and 
all the daye long lies hidd in holes of the rocks, whence both them- 
selves and their young are in great numbers extracted with ease, and 
prove (especially the young) so pleaseinge in a dish, as ashamed I 
am to tell how many dosen of them have been devoured by some 
one of our northern stomacks, even at one only meale.” 
* These peculiarities do not apply to the shearwaters, for they are often seen 
swimming and feeding in small flocks, in the day time, far away from their 
nests. Nor are they known to utter any loud cry similar in sound to ‘‘ cahow”; 
in fact they are rather silent birds, not even making an outcry when pulled off 
their eggs; nor are they to be seen hovering over the water. See under ‘‘ Pim- 
lico,” below. 
