STORMY PETREL- 259 



tonio, the westernmost extremity of Cuba. On entering the 

 gulf stream, and passing along the coasts of Florida and the 

 Carolines, these birds made their appearance in great numbers, 

 and in all weathers; contributing much, by their sprightly evo- 

 lutions of wing, to enliven the scene; and affording me every 

 day several hours of amusement. It is indeed an interesting 

 sight to observe these little birds in a gale, coursing over the 

 waves, down the declivities, up the ascents of the foaming surf, 

 that threatens to burst over their heads; sweeping along the 

 hollow troughs of the sea, as in a sheltered valley, and again 

 mounting wi.th the rising billow, and, just above its surface, 

 occasionally dropping their feet, which, striking the water, 

 throw them up again with additional force; sometimes leaping, 

 with both legs parallel, on the surface of the roughest waves 

 for several yards at a time. Meanwhile they continue coursing 

 from side to side of the ship's wake, making excursions far and 

 wide, to the right and to the left, now a great way ahead, and 

 now shooting astern for several hundred yards, returning again 

 to the ship as if she were all the while stationary, though per- 

 haps running at the rate of ten knots an hour! But the most 

 singular peculiarity of this bird is its faculty of standing, and 

 even running, on the surface of the water, which it performs 

 with apparent facility. When any greasy matter is thrown over- 

 board, these birds instantly collect around it, and facing to 

 windward, with their long wings expanded, and their webbed 

 feet patting the water, the lightness of their bodies, and the 

 action of the wind on their wings, enable them to do this with 

 ease. In calm weather they perform the same manoeuvre, by 

 keeping their wings just so much in action as to prevent their 

 feet from sinking below the surface. According to Buffon,* it 

 is from this singular habit that the whole genus have obtained 

 the name Petrel, from the apostle Peter, who, as Scripture in- 

 forms us, also walked on the water. 



As these birds often come up immediately under the stern, 



* Tome xxiii, p. 299. 



