272 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



Situation and Locality. In burrows made in 

 soft peat earth, under rocks, holes, fissures, and 

 clefts in rocks, and in holes of walls, close to the 

 sea ; on rocky islands, such as the St. Kilda group, 

 Hebrides, and some of those off the Irish coast. 



Materials. Dry grass and bits of moss, some- 

 times nothing whatever. 



Egg. One ; white, chalky, and speckled round 

 the larger end with small rust-coloured and greyish- 

 brown spots. Size about 1.3 by .96 in. (See 

 Plate XIV.) 



Time. June. 



Remarks. Resident, but wandering. Notes: 

 pewr-wit, pewr-wit, said to be uttered by the birds 

 as they sit on their nests, both by night and day. 

 However, whilst at St. Kilda I never once heard it, 

 although I examined a goodly number of nesting 

 burrows. Local and other names : Leach's Petrel, 

 Fork-tailed Storm Petrel, Fork-tailed Petrel. Gre- 

 garious, and a very close sitter. I have on several 

 occasions at St. Kilda taken the bird off her egg 

 without protest on her part. 



PETREL, STORM. 



(Procellaria pelagic a.) 

 Order TUBINARES ; Family PROCELLARIID^: (PETRELS). 



Description of Parent Birds. Length about six 

 inches. Bill moderately long, hooked at the tip, 

 and black. Irides dark brown. Head, neck, back, 

 wings, and tail a uniform sooty-black. The outer 

 edges of some of the smaller feathers of the wings 

 and upper tail-coverts white. All the under-parts 

 are sooty-brown, with exception of the sides of 



