320 RiDCWAV o» Fishers Petrel. [ f,"{' 



Adult (?) wale, type of the species, No. 89431, U. S. Nat. Mus., Kadiiik 

 Island, Alaska, June, 11, 1882; William J. Fisher. — Head, neck, and lower 

 parts pure white, but this unvaried only on sides of forehead, lores, malar 

 region, chin, throat, chest and under tail-coverts; feathers of middle of 

 forehead (longitudinally) and fore part of crown, marked Avith a central 

 spot of slate-color, the feathers of the hinder part of crown and occiput 

 siinilarlv marked but the spots becoming gradually more transverse 

 posteriorly, and, at the same time, the lighter borders of the feathers 

 more grayish ; a blackish spot immediately before and beneath the 

 eye; sides of breast washed with grayish, and belly and flanks over- 

 laid by a nearly uniform wash of deep smoky gray, all the feathers 

 being pure snow-white immediately beneath the surface ; many of the 

 feathers of the sides barred with plumbeous gray; anterior under wing- 

 coverts dark sooty gray or slate-color, the coverts along the outer 

 margin of the under side of the wing mainly of the same color; rest of 

 wing-lining, with inner webs of primaries, uniform pure w-hite, the 

 quills having merely a narrow, but abruptl\- defined, dusky stripe next 

 the shaft, the white portion being margined for a short distance along 

 the terminal portion with grayish; axillars mainly plumbeous, or barred 

 with the same. Hind neck, back, scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts 

 plumbeous, darkest on the lower part of the rump, the feathers with 

 distinct dusky shaft-streaks, except on the hind neck. Tail white with 

 very irregular zigzag bars of pluinbeous gray, the innermost rectrices 

 mainly gray (the middle pair, however, are wanting). Lesser wing- 

 coverts dark slate (many shades darker than the back) ; greater coverts, 

 secondaries, and tertials plumbeous gray, moi"e silvery toward edge of 

 wing, very distinctly edged with pure white; three outer primaries and 

 primary coverts slate black, the inner quills gradually more grayish, and 

 narrowly bordered with white. Bill wholly deep black ; tarsi, most of 

 basal phalanx of inner toe, and basal portion of webs, light brownish 

 (flesh-color in life.''), rest of feet dusky. Wing, 10.15 inches; tail, 4.00, 

 slightly graduated; culmen, i.oo; depth of bill at base, .40, width at 

 base, .40; tarsus, 1.35; middle toe, 1.40. 



Fisher's Petrel appears to be very distinct from any other 

 known species, its nearest relatives, apparently, being Peale's 

 Petrel, ^. gularis (Peale),i and De Filippi's Petrel, Ai. deflip- 



^ Proceltaria i^utaris Peale, Zool. U. S. Expl. Kxp. 184S, 299 (Antarctic 

 Ocean; U. S. Nat. Mus.). 

 (Estrelata gularis Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 1S81, 94 

 (part). — Baikd, Brewer, & Ridgway, Water B. N. Am. II, 18S4, 

 397 (part). 

 ^"Estrelata gularis Riim-.wav, Man. N. Am. B. 18S7, 67. 

 /Estrelata mollis (nee Proeellaria mollis (iour.D) Col^es, Pvoc. Ac. Nat. 

 .Sci. rhilad. 1866, 150, 151 (part). 



