INTRODUCTION. oi 
flying backwards and forwards, with its long wings, fishing close 
to the surface, with the lower half of the beak ploughing the 
water. It is the very singular shape of the beak which makes 
it specially noteworthy. 
With the Gulls our minds naturally associate that Oceanic 
Bird with an ill-omened name, the Storm-petrel (Procellaria 
pelagica), which breeds on Lundy Island and on others off our 
Western coasts. These birds roam over the Atlantic and are 
known as ‘“ Mother Carey’s Chickens.” They differ greatly 
from the Gulls and Terns in being silent birds. This Petrel 
Fig. 30. 


The Storm-petrel (Procellaria pelagica). 
is a type of a group of more than 100 species distributed 
throughout the Ocean all over the world, and so pelagic that 
they only rarely come to land except to breed. They are web- 
footed birds with hooked bills, long wings, and a short tail, but 
their most noticeable peculiarity is that their nostrils are pro- 
longed outwards as short tubes. They have wonderful powers 
of flight and are excellent swimmers, though many of them hardly 
ever dive. They will often accompany a ship for many days. 
The various species differ very greatly in size—our type being 
one of the smallest, not much larger than a Swallow. A rather 
