PETRELS. 



523 



order. All the members of this family differ from the albatrosses by the nasal 

 tubes being laid side by side upon the top of the beak. Generally the wings are 

 long, but the number of quills does not exceed thirty-nine, and is usually about 

 thirty, although occasionally reduced to twenty. The hind toe, although sometimes 

 minute, is generally present ; and there are usually basipterygoid processes on the 

 rostrum of the inferior aspect of the skull. The giant petrel is distinguished from 

 all the other members of the family by its large size, and by the length of the beak 



THE GIANT PETREL. 



exceeding that of the metatarsus. The beak is very stout, and has the nasal tubes 

 of great length, and its outer sheath so produced as to reach beyond the proper 

 apertures of the nostrils, thus giving the appearance of a single nostril. The tail 

 is characterised by the presence of sixteen feathers. In general appearance and 

 size this bird is not unlike some of the smaller dark-coloured albatrosses, its total 

 length being about 32 inches, and the span of the wing 66 inches. Although 

 pale-hued individuals are far from uncommon, the general colour of the plumage is 

 typically dull slaty brown, becoming paler on the face, throat, and under-parts, and 

 some of the feathers of the upper-parts tinged with chocolate, while those of the 



