40 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
and fully feathered, the unguis fairly strong and decurved. The wing is long with 
the first primary longest. The tail is faintly wedge shaped, the two middle feathers 
absolutely the longest, and the two outside shortest ; the upper-tail coverts extend 
to about two-thirds its length, the under fully as long. The legs are short, fairly 
compressed laterally, the toes fully webbed, the webs narrow, the outer and middle 
subequal, the inner shorter; claws long and narrow, that of the middle toe the 
longest. 
Coloration bluish-grey above, white below with the fore-head mottled and side 
of face white ; the tips of the tail white. 
30. Halobena cerulea.x—BLUE PETREL. 
Gould, Vol. VII., pl. 52 (pt. xxrx.), Dec. Ist, 1847. Mathews, Vol. II, pt. 2, pl. 91, July 
31st, 1912. 
Procellaria cerulea Gmelin, Syst. Nat., Vol. I., pt. u., p. 560, April 20th, 1789: Southern 
Ocean 47° to 58°. 
Procellaria forstert Smith, Ill. Zool. South Africa, pl. ti., July 1840: Cape Seas. 
Not Latham, Index Ornith., Vol. II., p. 827, 1790. 
Procellaria similis Forster, Descr. Anim., ed. Licht., p. 59, (pref. Jan. Ist) 1844: Antarctic 
Ocean. 
Halobena cerwea victorie Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. III1., pt. 3, p. 54, April 7th, 1916 : 
Victoria. 
Halobena murphyt Brooks, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harv., Vol. 61, p. 146, June 1917: South 
Georgia. 
DisTRIBUTION.—Southern Australian Seas. 
Adult male—General colour above pale blue-grey ; lesser and median wing- 
coverts darker than the back, like the bastard-wing and primary-coverts ; greater 
wing-coverts like the back; the four outer primaries dark brown on the outer 
webs, white on the inner ones, with black shafts ; inner primaries blue-grey like the 
back ; secondaries mostly white with grey on the outer webs, innermost secondaries 
like the back ; the long scapulars tipped with white ; tail blue-grey broadly tipped 
with white, more narrowly on the outer feathers, the outermost pair are white, dusted 
with grey at the tips; crown of head and feathers surrounding the eyes blackish, 
more or less mixed with white on the latter ; fore-head variegated with brown and 
white, imparting a scalloped appearance ; lores, chin, sides and upper neck as also 
the under-surface of body white, including the axillaries and under wing-coverts ; 
sides of lower neck blue-grey like the back ; bill bluish-black, the latericorn of the 
maxilla distinctly bluish. Legs and toes pale cobalt-blue ; webs pink in the centre, 
grey borders at the free edges. Total length 275 mm.; culmen 25, wing 209, tail 
85, tarsus 29. 
Adult female —Very similar to the adult male but the upper-surface not so dark 
Nestling—Covered with slate-coloured down. The newly-hatched young have 
bill and toes slaty-blue, with apparently pale-yellowish webs and brownish-black 
claws. The horny speck upon the bill is whitish, and situated high above the tip 
of the bill. The region about the base of the bill is largely denuded. They begin to 
hatch out about November 12th. 
Nest.—A burrow (excavated beneath the mounds of the umbelliferous plant 
Azorella selago) running straight inwards for a foot or more, then turning sharply 
to the right or left, parallel with the hill-side, thence downwards, often doubling 
once or twice upon themselves, and communicating with other entrances. At the 
bottom is an enlarged cavity, lined with fine root-fibres, twigs, ferns, or leaves of 
the ‘‘ Kerguelen tea,’’ and quite dry. 
Egg—Clutch, one ; white and glossless ; axis 44 mm., diameter 32. 
Breeding-season.—October and November. 
Distribution and forms —Round the Sub-antarctie Circle, but a rare bird in 
