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GENUS PUFFINUS— BRISS. 



SHEARWATER. 

 [Bill rather slender, as long as the head, much compressed toward the end 

 — about as deep as broad at the base — nearly straight, being slightly recurved, 

 with the tips decurved ; head rather large, oblong ; neck rather short ; body 

 moderate ; wings very long, narrow — the first quill longest ; tail of moderate 

 length, graduated, of twelve rounded feathers ; feet rather large ; tarsi com- 

 pressed, of moderate length ; tibia bare above the knee ; anterior toes long, 

 slender.] 



PUFFINUS CINEREUS— LATHAM. 



CINEREUS PUFFIN, OR WANDERING SHEARWATER. 



Puffinus cinereus. Bonap. 

 Cinereus Puffin, Nuttall. 

 Wandering Shearwater, Puffinus cinereus, Audubon. 



Specific Character — Bill yellowish-green, the tip brownish-black ; 

 length from the frontlet feathers to the end one inch and three 

 quarters; tarsi two inches. Adult with the upper parts deep 

 brown ; the hind neck paler, and tinged with gray ; primary quills 

 and tail brownish-black ; lower parts grayish-white ; webs and 

 claws yellowish flesh color. The cabinet of the Lyceum of Nat- 

 ural History, New- York, contains a specimen which has the head, 

 hind neck and upper parts deep brownish-black ; quills and tail 

 black ; lower parts light brown. Length twenty inches, wing 

 thirteen. 



On the coast of Long Island the occurrence of this bird is ex- 

 tremely rare. The cabinet of Mr. Brasher contains a handsome 

 specimen that was procured at the Narrows. It was taken by a 

 fisherman, who observed it feeding on the offal of fish that he was 

 cleaning. Not having a gun, and desirous of capturing this rare 

 bird, he resorted to the ingenious stratagem of attaching to the end 

 of a line, a fish-hook — and by letting it drift among the offal, upon 

 which it was intently feeding, it became fastened to the web, and 

 by this means the prize was secured alive. It proved to be a fine 

 adult male. Its stomach contained a few particles of shells, and 

 doubtless its boldness was the effect of extreme hunger. 



The Cinereus Puffin, or Wandering Shearwater, " inhabits the 

 sea throughout the globe. Common between the banks of New- 

 foundland and the United States, in the Mediterranean, &c." 



