THE STORMY PETREL. 



479 



several eggs, all unlike, and Mr. Champley has five hundred, no two 

 of which are similar, the ground-coloring being of every shade, from 

 pure white to intense red, and 

 from pale stone-color to light 

 and dark green. 



The curious family of the Pe- 

 trels now comes before us. A 

 well-known British example is 

 the Stormy Petrel, known to 

 sailors as Mother Carey's 

 Chicken, and hated by them 

 after a most illogical manner be- 

 cause it foretells an approaching 

 storm. 



The Guiij.emot ( Uria Troik). 



This bird has long been celebrated for the manner in which it passes 

 over the waves, pattering with its webbed feet and flapping its wings 

 so as to keep itself just above the surface. It thus traverses the ocean 

 with wonderful ease, the billows rolling beneath its feet and passing 

 away under the bird without in the least disturbing it. It is mostly 



The Stormy Petrel [Tlada^^idiunm pdagica). 

 on the move in windy weather, because the marine creatures are flung 

 to the surface by the chopping waves and can easily be picked up as 

 the bird pursues its course. It feeds on little fish, crustaceans, and 



