GREATER SHEARWATER. 627 



does not appear to have been distinguished there from 

 P. anglorum, until Dr. Moore published his Catalogue 

 of the Birds of Devon. The latter is not a very com- 

 mon bird there, which may have been the cause of such 

 a mistake. 



"P. major is very well known to the Scillonians, by 

 whom it is called HacJclolt. They inform me it is a 

 constant visitant in the latter part of autumn, and re- 

 present its manners on the water as resembling those of 

 P. anglorum. I recollect seeing four last year, through a 

 telescope, in Mounts Bay. It was late in the afternoon, 

 the wind blowing hard from S.S.W., which accounted for 

 their being so far in-shore ; they are generally deep 

 sea-goers. They had exactly the flight of P. anglorum, 

 and kept so close to the water as almost to skim the tops 

 of the waves. Mr. Clement Jackson told me last spring that 

 they appear some autumns off Looe and Polperro in 

 thousands." 



Mr. Wm. Thompson has recorded two occurrences of 

 this species on the south of Ireland, communicated to him 

 by Mr. Robert Davis, jun., of Clonmel, who also sent me 

 notice of the circumstance, and a coloured drawing. One 

 bird was taken in the autumn of 1838, the other in the 

 autumn of 1839. Mr. Davis says, " I kept the second 

 specimen alive for about a week, but, not having a suitable 

 place for that purpose, killed it and set it up. As well as 

 I can recollect the former specimen, this resembled it in 

 every respect. It was, however, more lively, and ran 

 along very rapidly, with the breast about an inch and a 

 half from the ground. Having, on one occasion, put it on 

 a roof, it seemed to be more at ease on the inclined plane 

 afforded by that situation, than on a flat surface ; it 

 mounted rapidly to the top, though when it came to the 



8 S 2 



