in PROCELLARIIFORMES 59 



from time to time to breathe ; but they have a most curious habit 

 of stretching out the legs below the tail, laying their wings flat 

 to their sides, arching their necks forward, and then making a 

 sudden spring clear out of the waves. An occasional croak is 

 heard while the birds are in the water, but on land the barking 

 noise is perfectly deafening, nor do the severe bites with which the 

 intruder is greeted make matters more tolerable. 1 Among other 

 species recognised by different writers are E. antarcticus of the 

 Falklands, South Orkneys, South Shetlands, and New Georgia ; E. 

 antipodum of New Zealand and Campbell Island, with an almost 

 yellow head; E. atratus of the Snares Islands, entirely of a blackish 

 hue, and possibly a melanistic form ; E. sMegeli of Macquarie 

 Island, E. vittatus and E. pachyrliynchus of New Zealand, E. sclateri 

 of the Auckland Islands, and E. serresianus of Tierra del Fuego. 

 Palaeeudyptes antarcticus - is a fossil form nearly 7 feet high, 

 from the Eocene of New Zealand, while Senores Moreno and 

 Mercerat record Paraptenodytes antarcticus, Palaeospheniscus 

 patagonicus, P. menzbieri, and P. lergii from the Miocene of 

 Patagonia. 3 



Order IV. PROCELLARIIFORMES. 



The Procellariiformes, or Petrels, are archaic ocean forms 

 with great powers of flight, often placed near the Laridae on 

 account of a supposed external resemblance, though the structure 

 of the internal parts shews this to be misleading, and indicates 

 rather a position between the Sphenisciformes and Ciconiiformes. 



The single Sub-Order TUBINARES, with the Family Procel- 

 lariidae, may be subdivided into the Sub-families: (1) Diome- 

 deinae, or Albatroses ; (2) Oceanitinae and (3) Procellariinae, or 

 Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels proper ; and (4) Pelecano'idinae, 

 or Diving Petrels. 4 



Fam. Procellariidae. In the larger species the bill is long, 

 stout, and frequently compressed, with a strong sharp hook over- 

 hanging the truncated mandible ; its size gradually diminishing 

 throughout the Sub-families in very much the above order. The 



1 Cf. Moseley and Abbott, ut supra, p. 57. 



2 Huxley, Quart. J. Geol. Soc. xv. 1859, pp. 670-676. 



3 An. Mus. La Plata, Pal. Argent, i. 1891, pp. 16-19, 446. 



4 H. Gadow, Bronn's Thier-Reich, Aves, Syst. Theil, p. 129. For other classi- 

 fications see W. A. Forbes, Rep. Brit. Ass. 1881, p. 671 ; and 0. Salvin, Cat. Birds 

 Brit. Mus. xxv. 1896, p. 342. 



