44 



BIRD GALLERY. 



23,24.] The second subfamily Proce//anm« includes the true Petrels. The 

 Shearwaters [Puffinus) are numerously represented in all the great 

 oceans of the world, and derive their name from their curious habit of 

 skimming just over the surface of the waves. The Manx Shearwater 

 (P. anglorum) (370) is widely distributed over British waters throughout 

 the year, and breeds on many of the islands off the coast, while the 

 Greater (372), Mediterranean Greater (371), Sooty (368), and Little 

 Dusky (369) Shearwaters are visitors to our shores, the last being 

 much the rarest. 



The allied genus (Estrelaitty including some thirty species, is interesting 

 from the fact that three of the species have each been recorded once from 

 Britain. Of these a specimen of the Collared Petrel {(E. brevipes) (365) 

 killed in Wales is exhibited, also SchlegePs Petrel {(E. neglecta) (365 a), 

 but the Capped Petrel {(E. hcesitata) is so rare that only one example 

 exists in the Museum collection. 



Bulwer's Petrel {Bultveria hulweri) (364), a curious sooty-black form, 

 is common in the Madeiran waters, and has occurred once in Yorkshire 

 and once in Sussex, where a specimen was picked up dead. The Pintado 

 Petrel or " Cape Pigeon" {Daption capensis) (363), as its name implies, 

 is numerous off the South African coast, and is well-known from its habit 

 of accompanying ships for the sake of the scraps of food thrown over- 

 board. Lastly we may draw attention to the beautiful Snowy Petrel 

 {Pagodroma nivea) (362), a native of the icy regions of the South. 

 [Case 24.] On the floor of this Case will be found the Giant Petrel or "Nelly " 

 {Ossifraga gigantea) of the Southern seas, the largest of the true Petrels. 

 Apart from its size this species is remarkable for possessing both a light 

 (376) and a dark (377) phase of coloration, some individuals being dark 

 brown and others almost entirely white. Examples of both types are 

 shown. The Fulmar Petrel [Fulmarus glacialis) (379) is a well-known 

 inhabitant of the seas of Arctic Europe, and nests within our limits in 

 Scotland and the North of Ireland. Two phases of plumage are known, 

 some examples having the under surface white, while in others these 

 parts are grey. The Broad-billed Blue Petrel {Prion ariel) (380) 

 represents a small group remarkable for the presence on each side of the 

 bill of long lamellse, resembling those of the Ducks.- Of the small long- 

 legged Petrels, commonly known as " Mother Carey's Chickens," and 

 placed by some authors in a separate subfamily, Oceanitina, quite a 

 number appear on the list of British Birds. Two, the Storm-Petrel 

 {Procellaria pelagica) (381) and Leaches Fork-tailed Petrel [Oceanodroma 

 leucorrhod) (382), breed on some of the islands off the west coast of 

 Britain, while Harcourt's Storm-Petrel [0. castro) (383), Wilson's 

 Storm-Petrel {Oceanites oceanicus) (387), and the beautiful White- 

 breasted or Frigate-Petrel {Pelagodroma marina) (385) are accidental 

 visitors to our shores. 



