THE SHEARWATER. 541 



Wilson's Petrel (Oceanites oceanus) has very much the 

 same range and about the same habits as the above, but is 

 not known to breed so far south. Mr. Maynard had pretty 

 good evidence of its breeding in the Magdalen Islands, 

 though he did not find its nest Some 7.25 long, and 13.30 

 in extent, it is about 1.20 inch shorter than Leach's Petrel, 

 though its tail is fully 1.75 longer. Except the white base 

 of the tail feathers, and the yellow centers of the webs of 

 the feet of Wilson's Petrel, the color of the two species is 

 about the same. Its legs, however, nearly one-half longer, 

 and the long tail scarcely forked, as well as the slender ap- 

 pearance of the bird generally, sufficiently differentiate the 

 Wilson to a discriminating eye. The egg is said to be 

 some .82x1-12, chalky white, and occasionally spotted or 

 wreathed with purplish. 



The Stormy Petrel (Procellaria pelagicd), so well known 

 in the north of Europe, to say the least, is very rare on our 

 coast. Messrs. Verrill and Boardman accredit it to Maine, 

 and Audubon affirmed it to occur on the banks of New- 

 foundland and off the coast. Mr. Maynard, however, has 

 never seen it, and the late work on " New England Bird 

 Life," by W. A. Stearns, edited by Dr. Coues, affords no 

 personal attestation. The color of this species is very simi- 

 lar to that of the two former, except the white axillaries or 

 wing-linings, by which it may always be distinguished. It 

 is also noticeably smaller, being only 5.75 in length, and 

 13.50 in extent; and the tail is rounded. 



THE SHEARWATER. 



On reaching the coasts of Nova Scotia, many inquiries 

 were made of me by the seamen concerning a bird they 

 called the Hagdon or Haglet. After keeping watch for it 

 several weeks, I finally met it some miles out, in a thick fog 



