STORM PETREL. 525 



severe gales. Ten or twelve years ago Mr. Gould exhibited 

 twenty-four, in a large dish, at one of the evening meetings 

 of the Zoological Society. In March, 1825, one bird of this 

 species, while flying about over the Thames between the 

 bridges of Blackfriars and Westminster, was shot from a coal 

 barge. These small birds are frequently driven by strong 

 winds to great distances inland. Mr. Bicheno has recorded 

 one taken near Newbury, in Berkshire, others have been 

 taken in Oxfordshire ; three or four are noticed as having 

 been caught in the streets of the town of Coventry ; and 

 three within a few miles of Birmingham. This species ap- 

 pears also to breed freely at many different places around us, 

 generally small islands ; but is never observed to frequent 

 land except during the breeding-season. Among some other 

 notes recently referred to, Mr. D. W. Mitchell says, " the 

 Stormy Petrel also breeds at Scilly, and is, as far as I know, 

 confined to one locality, on the islet where the Thames 

 steamer ran ashore, in the extreme S. W. of the group. It 

 is the latest layer among the sea-fowl ; the first egg I took 

 was newly-dropped in the second week of June." Mr. 

 Thompson mentions that this bird is at all times to be met 

 with on the coasts of Ireland, washed by the Atlantic, and 

 breeds on several of the islets ranging from north to south of 

 the western coast. Pennant found them in August, 1772, 

 on the rocks called Macdonald's Table, off the north end of 

 the Isle of Skye, and conjectured they bred there. They 

 lurked under loose stones, but betrayed themselves by their 

 twittering noise. Mr. John Macgillivray, who visited the 

 Hebrides in July, 1840, says, " The Stormy Petrel is abund- 

 ant in St. Kilda. The island of Soa is the principal breed- 

 ing-place, where, as well as in several spots among the others 

 of the group, it nestles among debris, and in crevices of the 

 rocks. The bird sits very close upon the nest, from which 

 it will allow itself to be taken by the hand, vomiting on 

 being handled a quantity of pure oil, which is carefully pre- 



