PROCELLARIID.E — THE PETRELS — PUFFINUS. 385 



side of tibia [i. e. tarsus] dingy orange, the rest greenish black, as is the fourth toe and outer side of 

 the third, the inside of the latter and the whole of the second dingy orange ; the webs much paler ; 

 claws brownish black" (Audubon). 



Total length, about 15.00 inches; extent, 32.00; wing, 8.50-9.25 ; culmen, 1.35-1.40; depth of 

 bill through base, .40-.45 ; tarsus, 1.70-1.80; middle toe, 1.65-1.70. 



Although some writers speak of this species as being common on the North 

 Atlantic coast of America, I am disposed to question the correctness of this state- 

 ment. At most, so far as I can ascertain, it is possibly of very occasional and rare 

 occurrence, and only to be met with after a violent storm ; but even of this we have 

 no evidence. So far as I can learn, this bird does not breed on any part of our coast, 

 nor has it been noticed on any of our Arctic exploring expeditions. Except at sea, 

 several hundred miles from our coast, it was not seen by Audubon, and is given by 

 Professor Bernhardt as being only an occasional visitor in Greenland. Mr. Boardman 

 informs me that a single individual of this species has from time to time been met 

 with at sea off the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia ; but he regards such an occurrence 

 as something extremely uncommon, and as purely accidental. This bird is also men- 

 tioned as being only an accidental and very rare visitor on the coast of Long Island. 

 It is exclusively aquatic, and never visits land except for purposes of incubation, 

 generally selecting islands remote from the mainland, the rocky nature of which 

 offers favorable opportunities for seclusion and safety. It is found in such situations 

 along the western shore of Europe, from Iceland to the Mediterranean, and is more 

 common in the latter sea than in its more northern breeding-places. 



In Iceland, according to Faber, it remains all the winter, occurring only in its 

 neighboring water. It is mure common in the south, especially on the Vestmannaeyjar, 

 than in the north. 



According to Mr. Howard Saunders, it is quite abundant on the Mediterranean 

 coast of Spain ; but from the nocturnal character of its habits, it does not appear to 

 be so common as it really is. But, he adds, pass a night at sea in a fishing-boat, and 

 as the sun goes down, and the last rosy tint fades from the mountains, the air sud- 

 denly becomes alive with dark, sharp-winged Manx Shearwaters, dashing hither and 

 thither in the gloom, and justifying the name the Malaga fishermen give to them of 

 Animus and Dktblos. They breed on the Island of Dragonera; but, to Mr. Saunders's 

 great surprise, he was too late to procure their eggs, for all had been hatched out 

 before the 20th of May. 



Mr. Godman found this species at the Azores, hut not so abundant as was a larger 

 one (P. Kuhli'i ?). Like the latter, it was found to be breeding in holes in the cliffs, in 

 May. It is highly esteemed by the inhabitants as an article of food. The specimens 

 obtained were all very fat, and two of the females were found to contain eggs ready 

 for exclusion. 



In his account of the birds of Madeira and the Canary Islands, Mr. Godman refers 

 to this species as occurring in all the islands of those groups, and thinks that it must 

 breed on the Desertas and on other neighboring islands, as he saw it there in consid- 

 erable numbers in the month of June. 



Mr. C. A. Wright (" Ibis," 1804) speaks of it as a resident species, breeding in 

 company with P. cinereus (P. Kuhlii) on the southern coast of Malta, and on several 

 small rocky islands in the neighborhood. He states that he has frequently visited 

 Filfla in June and July, and taken the eggs, as well as the young and the old birds. 

 This species lays a single egg, of pure white color, which it deposits in a crevice or 

 under a fragment of rock, and which is said to be smaller and more elliptical than 

 the egg of the larger species, to which he refers under the name of P. cinereus. 



vol. ii. — 49 



