646 LARID^E. 



its legs, although it frequently allows them to hang down. 

 In this it resembles the Storm Petrel, and Wilson's Petrel 

 has a similar habit during calm weather. I have seen all the 

 three species immerse their head into the water to seize 

 their food, and sometimes keep it longer under than I had 

 expected. The Forked-tailed Petrel, like the other spe- 

 cies, feeds chiefly on floating mollusca, small fishes, crus- 

 tacea, which they pick up among the floating sea-weeds, 

 and greasy substances which they occasionally find around 

 fishing-boats, or ships out at sea. When seized in the 

 hand, it ejects an oily fluid through the tubular nostrils, 

 and sometimes disgorges a quantity of food. I could not 

 prevail on any of those which I had caught to take food." 

 It is common on the banks of Newfoundland, and some 

 parts of the coast of North America. 



On the opposite side of the British Channel it has been 

 taken on the coasts of Holland, Belgium, and France. 



The bill is black ; the irides dark brown ; the head, 

 neck, and back sooty black, the back rather the darkest 

 in colour ; wing-coverts rusty brown ; the tertials tipped 

 with white ; upper tail-coverts white ; primaries and tail- 

 feathers black; the tail forked, the outer feathers being 

 half an inch longer than those in the middle ; breast and 

 belly sooty black ; behind each thigh, and extending over 

 the sides of the vent and lateral under tail-coverts, an 

 elongated patch of white ; the vent and middle under tail- 

 coverts sooty black. 



The whole length of my bird seven inches and a quarter; 

 from the anterior bend of the wing to the end six inches ; 

 the length of the leg one inch. The sexes in plumage 

 are alike. 



