104 EDWARD A. WILSON. 



HALOB^NA C^RULEA. 



The Blue Petrel. 



Procellaria ccerulea, Gmel., Syst. Nat., i. (1788), p. 560. 



Halobwna ccerulea, Bp., Compt. Rend., xlii., 1856, p. 768; Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., xxv. (1896), p. 431, 

 ibique citato,. 



MATERIAL IN THE 'DISCOVERY'S' COLLECTION. 



No. 181, ad. sk., ? . 61 46' 8. 140 12' E. Nov. 16, 1901. In pack ice. 

 Colouring of the soft parts : 



Bill, bluish black, the latericorn of the maxilla distinctly bluish. 

 Legs and toes, pale cobalt blue. 



Webs, pink in the centre, grey borders at the free edges. 

 Claws, black. 



Halobcena ccerulea is a bird which can easily be distinguished at sea from any Prion 

 by the white termination to its tail. Flying constantly in company with the different 

 species of Prion, in size and colouring much the same, it would be difficult to tell them 

 apart were it not for this. 



We first encountered it on October 24th, 1901 (45 S. 48 E.), when a very heavy 

 sea was running, with a high wind and occasional storms of snow. Considerable 

 numbers were flying round about the ship, and we kept them with us from that date 

 onward as we went south ; they were still with us in the denser ice-pack (62 S. 

 140 E.) on November 16th and 17th. 1901. 



On our homeward voyage we had them with us again in the South Pacific between 

 135 W. long, and the Horn, and between 55 and 60 S. lat. ; also in the South 

 Atlantic, not far from the Falkland Islands. 



These observations coincide with the accepted range of this bird, which is given as 

 the Southern Seas, between lat. 40 S. and 60 S. 



It has been known to breed in Kerguelen Island, where Mr. Eaton obtained their 

 first eggs plentifully on October 23rd, laid in burrows made in the Azorella growing 

 upon dry soft loam. A nestling, almost full fledged, was killed at the same place 

 on February 9th. It has been obtained also at the Cape of Good Hope, and in 

 the Pacific Ocean near Cape Horn ; and we ourselves obtained a specimen, which 

 was unfortunately shot to bits, in the pack ice of 62 S. lat. 140 E., two degrees 

 farther south than the range given in the British Museum Catalogue. 



PRION VITTATUS. 



The Broad-billed Whale Bird 



Procellaria vittata, Gmel., Syst. Nat. I. (1788), p. 560. 



Prion vittatus, Lacep., Mem. Inst. (1801), p. 514 ; Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. XXV. (1896), p. 432, ibique 

 citata. 



