THE PETRELS 



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THE PETRELS 

 Family PROCELLARIID^E 



Next in size to the albatrosses is the giant petrel (Ossifraga gigantea), the 

 sole member of its genus, and the first representative of the second family of the 

 order. All the members of this family differ from the albatrosses by the nasal 



THE GIANT PETREL. 



tubes being laid side by side upon the top of the beak. Generally the wings are 

 long, but the number of quills does not exceed thirty-nine, and is usually about 

 thirty, although occasionally reduced to twenty. The hind-toe, although sometimes 

 minute, is generally present, and there are usually basipterygoid processes on the 

 rostrum of the inferior aspect of the skull. The giant petrel is distinguished from 

 all the other members of the family by its large size, and by the length of the beak 

 exceeding that of the metatarsus. The beak is very stout, and has the nasal tubes 



