876 THE KAEDING PETREL. 
The air was full at all times of circling birds, at least several hundred of 
them, probably several thousand, They flew about excitedly, much more nimbly 
than in the day-time, but still erratically, incessantly clashing wings with their 
fellows and now and then colliding with such force that they fell down into 
the grass. Those which flew about uttered from time to time the character- 
istic ery, but those a-wing were but a small portion of the total number in 
evidence. The grass swarmed with birds working their way down thru to the 
burrows, or else struggling out, all giving from time to time the rolling cackle 
which is the accompaniment of activity; while from the ground itself came an 
attendant chorus of cries, Taken altogether, there were thousands, perhaps 
tens of thousands of birds in motion, and the total effect of the rustling and 
the cackling (or crowing) was a dainty uproar of notable proportions, a never- 
to-be-forgotten babel of strange sounds. And in this fairy tumult not the 
least element was the peeping and whining of the chicks, both tended and 
untended. 
The characteristic ery is that given above, but it was frequently abbrevi- 
ated to Petteretterell, etteretterell. This was the only adult sound heard save 
a rolling cry rendered staccato in r’s and I's, which came apparently from birds 
standing at the mouth of the burrows. The note with its short e’s is instantly 
suggestive of the name, and if the notes of other Petrels resemble this one, 
I should unhesitatingly say that the name is imitative, and that the classic 
explanation of “Little Peter walking upon the waves” is, like so many other 
philological traditions, more ingenious than probable. 
Concerning the number of birds in this colony is was difficult to form a 
judgment. We explored fifty nests, representing a hundred birds, in the least 
populous portion of the colony; yet the area affected was no sensible portion 
of the whole, certainly not a hundredth, probably not a five-hundredth part. 
Based upon this estimate alone, the number of resident birds would run from 
ten to fifty thousand, and it might easily be much greater. I think the birds 
in the air simply represented the newcomers, who took a few turns about the 
island as they came in from the ocean, preparatory to settling down to the 
business of feeding their mates. Certainly the majority of the birds were at all 
times below the ground; while the number in transition may be judged by the 
fact that at one o'clock, when I left the bed and groped about in the darkness 
on hands and knees, I picked up birds both from the ground and the grass. 
At four o'clock the volume of sound had subsided, and not above a dozen 
flitting forms were seen; while at six o'clock there was no slightest sign to 
betray the presence of the sleeping multitude. 
