194 THE STORMY PETREL. 



away, as they do the owl, as if fully acquainted 

 with its plundering propensities. Linnaeus attached 

 to it the trivial epithet " excubitor," a sentinel ; a 

 very apposite appellation, as this bird seldom con- 

 ceals itself in a bush, but sits perched upon some 

 upper spray, or in an open situation, heedful of 

 danger, or watching for its prey. This shrike 

 must be most mischievously inclined if not a pre- 

 datory bird. May 23rd: A pair of robins have 

 young ones in a bank near my dwelling : the anxiety 

 and vociferation of the poor things have three times 

 this day called my attention to the cause of their 

 distress, and each time have I seen this bird watch- 

 ing near the place, or stealing away upon my ap- 

 proach ; and then the tumult of the parents sub- 

 sided ; but had they not experienced injury, or 

 been aware that it was meditated, all this terror and 

 outcry would not have been excited. 



Many birds are arranged in our British orni- 

 thology not known as permanent inhabitants, but 

 which have occasionally visited our shores during 

 inclement seasons, or been driven from their general 

 stations by tempestuous weather. An event like 

 this, the violent gale of All-hallows eve, in 1824, 

 brought to us the stormy petrel (procellaria pela- 

 gica) ; a bird that resides far in the depths of the 

 ocean, does not approach our shores, it is believed, 

 except for the purposes of incubation, and we know 



