722 DUSKY SHEARWATER. 



but on the uninhabited ' cays ' in the Bahamas group the ' Pimhco ' 

 — as it is called — is still plentiful. Northward it has been known to 

 wander as far as New Jersey, while southward it is found in the 

 West Indies generally; beyond the above area, and over a large 

 portion of the Pacific, several closely allied and imperfectly known 

 species are met with, and it is desirable to await the result of 

 Mr. Salvin's determination in his promised monograph before 

 saying more. Possibly the unsatisfactory name obscurus (which was 

 originally applied to a bird from Christmas Island, in the middle of 

 the Pacific) may have to be relinquished for the Atlantic bird, and 

 auduboni of Finsch substituted ; but seeing that the former has 

 served for many years and has been generally accepted, there seems 

 no immediate need of alteration. 



The egg is laid in a burrow or hole among the rocks, and is pure 

 white : average measurements 2 in. by i"4 in. During the daytime 

 this Shearwater remains in its retreat, and it is so thoroughly 

 nocturnal that Capt. Reid was aware of only one instance of an 

 example being seen on the wing in Bermudian waters ; its para- 

 sites have no eyes, and belong to a group peculiar to night-flying 

 birds. There is consequently great difficulty in estimating the range ; 

 added to which, very inaccessible places are often selected for breed- 

 ing. Col. Feilden has given a description (Ibis, 1SS9, p. 60) of his 

 visit to one of these — the Bird-rock off Barbadoes, a mushroom- 

 shaped mass of coral limestone, surrounded by surf, through which 

 the natives swim to collect the nestlings for food. The stomachs 

 of the birds examined contained remains of cephalopods and fish. 



The adult resembles the Manx Shearwater, but is much smaller : 

 average length 11-12 in., wing 7*75 in. : specimens from the Desertas 

 being less than those from Barbadoes. The bill is black and 

 slender; the upper parts are of a dark sooty-black, with a bluish 

 tinge on the mantle, while there are some slate-coloured bars on the 

 flanks and under tail-coverts ; the latter, as well as all the lower 

 surface being chiefly white. (Birds from New Zealand and Samoa 

 — assigned to this species — have the under tail-coverts dusky.) 



