528 NATATORES. PUFFINUS. SHEARWATER. 



doubt, greatly facilitates that singular practice of running 

 along the surface of the waves, which they are so frequently 

 seen to exhibit when in search of their food. In habits they 

 approach the succeeding genus Thalassidroma (Storm Pe- 

 trels), feeding by night rather than by day. They breed in 

 the holes of rocks, rabbit-burrows, &c. and lay a single white 

 egg of a large size. Their food consists of putrescent fish, 

 cetacese, marine worms, and other floating animal matter. 

 Their flight is rapid, and they are observed to be particularly 

 alert during dark and tempestuous weather. 



CINEREOUS SHEARWATER. 



PUFFINUS CINEREUS, Steph. 

 PLATE CII. 



Puffinus cinereus, Steph. Shaw's Zool. 13. 227. 



Procellaria cinerea, Gmel. Syst. 1. 563 Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 824. sp. 10. 



Procellaria Puffinus, Linn. Syst. 1. 513. 6 Gmel. Syst. 1. 566. 



Le Puffin, Buff. Ois. 9. 321 Id. PL Enl. 962. 



Petrel Puffin, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. 2. 805. 

 Cinereous Petrel, Lath. Syn. 8. 405. 10. 

 Cinereous Shearwater, Shaw's ZooL 13. 227. 



Very rare I AM induced to add this species of Shearwater to the 

 list of our Fauna, in consequence of a specimen that lately 

 came into my possession, obtained upon the coast of Nor- 

 thumberland. Its size is about a third larger than that of 

 the succeeding species, which it resembles in general form ; 

 and its bill, as in TEM MINCE'S description, is turned slightly 

 upwards in front of the nostrils, which latter are formed of 

 two tubes, rather depressed anteriorly, and opening by sepa- 

 rate truncated apertures. This appears to be a common 

 bird in the Mediterranean, and on the coast of Spain, but 

 does not seem to have been hitherto recognised as a British 

 visitant, though in all probability it may occasionally have 

 been killed here, but always confounded with the other one 



