'"i89o'."'J PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONA.L MUSEUM. 257 



near euougli with a boat to sLoot them, and it was only by sheer good 

 luck that we were able to secure two specimens out ot the many thou- 

 sands seen.* The reason for their shyness and indiiference to food 

 when congregated in flocks in the spring and fall may lie in the fact 

 that they are then moulting. The condition of the specimens obtained, 

 together with the myriads of feathers floating on the surface of the 

 ocean, would seem to prove this view. It is not an unusual event for 

 tlie fishermen of Newfoundland to take this bird for food. When a fog 

 has been blown on shore for several days, the hagdons become quite 

 numerous in the bays and inlets along shore, and are then easily ap- 

 proached in a boat and shot. 



17. PufFiaus stricklandi Ridgway. Sooty Shearwater; Black Hagdon. 



A few scattered individuals were seen when going north along the 

 >r()va Scotia coast, and from Cape Pines to St, John they were very 

 numerous. The species was very common off Canada Bay and in the 

 straits of Belle Isle, and a few were occasionally seen as far ^est as 

 the Mingan Islands. On our return a few birds were seen soon after 

 leaving CJape Sable, and then to within a few miles of Pollock Kip 

 light-ship. Generally they were seen with the common hagdon, but 

 on the Newfoundland coast it was not unusual to see them in large 

 flocks by themselves. They were very wild, and we failed in every at- 

 tempt to obtain a specimen. The da^' following our arrival in Canada 

 Bay a dense fog set in, which was taken advantage of by some of the 

 fishermen to secure a Sunday dinner of bird meat. The result of a few 

 liours' shooting was about thirty birds, more than half of which were 

 of this species, but unfortunately it was not known to us until the birds 

 were all picked and most of them eaten. 



18. Oceanodroma leucorrhoa (Vieill.). Leach's Petrol. 



Seen with varying degrees of abundance throughout the voyage. 

 During our visit to the Bird Rocks four females and five eggs w^ere 

 taken from a hole which had its opening at the side of a slight depres- 

 sion. The birds were clustered together, and a little short dry grass 

 had been utilized as nesting material. The restricted area of the island 

 and hardness and unsuitability of the surface may account for so njauy 

 birds having nested in one burrow. The light-house keeper, who has 

 resided on the island for about fifteen years and has given great atten- 

 tion to the birds nesting there, told me that he had only been aware 

 of these birds nesting on the island since the summer of 1885 a d had 

 never yet seen a bird flying about the island during the day. At Pen- 

 guin Island we found that this species had adopted old pufHn and mice 

 burrows as nesting places, and but a single bird and egg were found 



* C.^-pelm were very abundant at the time, and perhaps the abundance of foodpr§« 

 Fented them from taking our bait. 



Proc. N. M. 90 17 



