THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 569 



species. I myself have never yet been able to obtain this bird. 

 However, on the 13th of November 1879, some fishermen from 

 this island saw a large Petrel, about eight miles out at sea, flying 

 about among a number of P. cjlacialis, quite close to their boat. 

 This bird had its back and the crown of its head of a blackish- 

 brown colour, its underside being white. There is no doubt that it 

 belonged to P. major. 



Nothing definite is as yet known in regard to the nesting 

 stations of this species ; it is, however, suspected that they are to be 

 found on the coast of Greenland. The birds pass the autumn and 

 winter months on the Atlantic Ocean, and occur often numerously 

 oft' the coasts of Ireland, but are rare in Iceland, Norway, and in 

 the North Sea generally. 



377. Sooty Shearwater [DUNKLER STURMVOGEL]. 

 PROCELLARIA GRISEA, Gmelin. 1 



Sooty Shearwater. Dresser, viii. 523. 



Puffin majeitr. Temminck, Mamu'l, iv. La femelle, 508. 



At the last hour, when I had already thought that these pages were 

 finished, an example of this species made its appearance on the 

 scene, in order to assume a place on the list of the birds of Heligo- 

 land. The example in question is a fine old male, in freshly 

 moulted, nearly uniformly blackish sooty-brown plumage (schwdrz- 

 lich russbraun) the chin, throat, and upper part of the foreneck 

 alone displaying a faint tinge of grey. The firm plumage of the 

 back and upper sides of the wings has the appearance of polished 

 whalebone. 



It was shot on the 25th October 1888 in the vicinity of the 

 island, and is the only one of this species ever killed here. 



In regard to its nesting stations very little is known at present. 

 In the one hemisphere it is said to nest numerously on the 

 coasts of New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, and in the 

 other, it has been observed in June i.e. the breeding season on the 

 south coast of Greenland. It is also said to be abundant on the 

 coast of Labrador, and is distributed during the autumn and winter 

 months over almost the whole area of the Atlantic and Pacific 

 Oceans. It has also been met with occasionally on the coasts 

 of Great Britain. 



1 Puffinus griseus (Gmel. ). 



