674 LARID^E. 



it ever alights on the rigging of ships, but spends the 

 hours of darkness either on the water, or on low rocks, or 

 islands. It also less frequently alights on the water, or 

 pats it with its feet, probably on account of the shortness of 

 its legs, although it frequently allows them to hang down. 

 In this it resembles the Storm Petrel, and Wilson's Petrel 

 has a similar habit during calm weather. I have seen all the 

 three species immerse their head into the water to seize 

 their food, and sometimes keep it longer under than I had 

 expected. The Forked-tailed Petrel, like the other spe- 

 cies, feeds chiefly on floating mollusca, small fishes, crus- 

 tacea, which they pick up among the floating sea-weeds, 

 and greasy substances which they occasionally find around 

 fishing-boats, or ships out at sea. When seized in the 

 hand, it ejects an oily fluid through the tubular nostrils, 

 and sometimes disgorges a quantity of food. I could not 

 prevail on any of those which I had caught to take food." 

 It is common on the banks of Newfoundland, and some 

 parts of the coast of North America. 



On the opposite side of the British Channel it has been 

 taken on the coasts of Holland, Belgium, and France. 



The bill is black ; the irides dark brown ; the head, neck, 

 and back, sooty black, the back rather the darkest in colour ; 

 wing-coverts rusty brown ; the tertials tipped with white ; 

 upper tail-coverts white ; primaries and tail-feathers black ; 

 the tail forked, the outer feathers being half an inch longer 

 than those in the middle ; breast and belly sooty black ; be- 

 hind each thigh, and extending over the sides of the vent 

 and lateral under tail-coverts, an elongated patch of white ; 

 the vent and middle under tail-coverts sooty black. 



The whole length of my bird is seven inches and a 

 quarter ; from the anterior bend of the wing to the end, 

 six inches ; the length of the leg one inch. The sexes in 

 plumage are alike. 



