PALMIPEDES. 363 



region by sailors. They are recognized either by the complete absence of 

 the tliumb, or|by having an exceedingly small one ; by their very long wings ; 

 by their bill, which, instead of being notched, is hooked at its extremity in 

 the first of the genera, and is but simply pointed in those comprising the 

 remaining genera. Their inferior larynx has but one peculiar muscle on 

 each side, their gizzard is muscular, and tlieir caeca short. 



Procellaria, Lin. 



The Petrels have a bill hooked at the end, the extremity of which 

 seems to consist of a distinct piece articulated to the remainder. Their 

 nostrils are united and form a tube which lies on the buck of the upper 

 mandible : there is a nail planted in the heel, instead of a thumb. Of all 

 the Palmipedes, these remain most constantly at a distance from land, and 

 when a tempest supervenes, they are forced to seek shelter on reefs and 

 ships, from which circumstance they derive their name of Storm Birds : 

 that of Petrel — Little Peter — has been given to them on account of their 

 habit of walking on the water, which they effect by the aid of their wings. 

 They make their nests in holes of rocks, and eject on those who attack 

 them an oily fluid, with which it would appear that their stomachs must 

 be always filled. The greater number of species inhabit the Antarctic 

 Seas. 



Those species are more particularly called Petrels — Procellakia — 

 whose lower mandible is truncated. 



Proc. gigantea, Gm.; Petrel geant ; Quebranta huessos, or Bri- 

 \^\ seur d'os; Lath. Syn. Ill, pi. 100 (the Giant Petrel), is only 

 «.■•" found in the South _Seas. Tt surpasses the Goose in size. Its 



plumage is blackish, though there are some varieties in which it is 



more or less white. 

 In the same seas are found, 



Proc. capensis; Petrel du Cap; Le Damier ; Pintado, &c. ; 



Enl. 964, (the Cape Petrel), is the size of a small Duck, white 



above, spotted black and white beneath. It is frequently spoken of 



by navigators *. 



We see, sometimes, on the coast of France, 



Proc. glacialis ; Petrel gris-hlanc, or Fulmar ; Petrel de Saint- 

 Kilda, Enl. 59; Brit. Zool. pi. M, f. 1. (The Fulmar). White, 

 with an ash-coloured mantle; bill and feet yellow; size of a stout 

 duck. It breeds among the cliffs on the coasts of the British 

 islands, and of the whole north -j-. 



Certain small species, with a somewhat shorter bill, and rather 

 longer legs and black plumage, the Thalassidroma, Vigors, are 

 particularly designated by sailors under the name of Storm Birds\, 



The most common, Proc. pelagica, Briss. VI, xiii, 1 ; Wils. VII, 



* Better known to mariners as the Cape Pigeon. — Eng. Ed. 



t Add the Petrel hartie, Temm., Col. 416;— the Petrel birard, Freycinet, 37; — 

 Proc. cinerea, Lath.; — Proc. desolata, Id.; — Proc. turtur, Forst. 

 X The " Mother Carey's Chickens" of the English and American seamen. — Eng. Ed, 



