440 BIRDS OF BRITISH BURMAH. 



Genus PELECANOIDES, LacSp. 



779. PELECANOIDES URINATBIX. 



THE DIVING PETREL. 



Procellaria urinatrix, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 560. Puffinuria urinatrix, Gould, 

 B. Austr. vii. pi. 60. Pelecanoides urinatrix, Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 827 ; 

 Sharpe, Rep. Trans. Venus Exped. p. 114 ; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 115. 



Description. The whole upper plumage, wings, tail and sides of the face 

 glossy black ; the superior scapulars fringed with white ; the lesser wing- 

 coverts narrowly margined with whitish; the secondaries and tertiaries 

 likewise margined with whitish ; the outer tail-feathers tipped with 

 whitish ; sides of the neck and the whole lower plumage glistening white ; 

 the black of the hind neck coming forward along the sides of the 

 breast. 



Younger birds have the fore neck and the sides of the neck mottled with 

 brown. 



A nestling from the Auckland Islands has an extraordinary growth of 

 long brownish down over the whole of the lower parts ; the upper plumage 

 is similar to that of the adult, but the white margins to the various parts 

 mentioned above are broader. 



Irides very dark greyish brown ; base of the cutting-edge of the upper 

 mandible and a line along the lower edge of the under mandible blue-grey ; 

 tarsi and toes beautiful light blue ; webs transparent bluish white tinged 

 with brown ; naked pouch hanging from the chin nearly black, and being 

 very thin lies in folds like a Bat's wing. (Gould,) 



Length about 8 inches, tail 1'9, wing 4'8, tarsus 1, bill from gape 1, the 

 tail is quite square. 



The Diving Petrel is included by Dr. Jerdon in his ( Birds of India/ on 

 the strength of a statement made by Sundevall that he observed it in the 

 Bay of Bengal. 



This bird is found chiefly in the southern hemisphere, more especially 

 from Australia to Cape Horn. 



This diminutive sea-bird swims about on the surface of the sea, diving 

 habitually after shrimps and small fish. It flies unwillingly, and when on 

 the wing it skims along the surface of the water. 



