258 LARINJE. CATARACTES. PROCELLARINJE. 



314. CATARACTES LONGECAUDATUS. LONG-TAILED PIRATE- 

 BIRD. 



Bill an inch and a fourth in length, greyish-black tinged 

 with blue above ; tarsus an inch and a half, partly yellow, 

 feet black; middle tail-feathers from six to eight inches 

 longer than the rest, gradually tapering to a narrow point. 

 Male in summer with the upper part of the head blackish- 

 brown ; the neck yellowish-white, the lower parts white ; 

 lower part of hind-neck, and all the upper parts, blackish- 

 grey ; quills brownish-black, with the shafts white. Female 

 similar, but with the middle tail-feathers much shorter. 

 Young with the bill light-blue, dusky at the end, yellowish 

 at the base ; tarsi and basal part of the feet dull yellow ; plu- 

 mage sooty-brown, lighter beneath ; feathers of the upper parts 

 bordered with brownish-yellow ; lower parts transversely 

 barred with whitish or greyish-yellow. 



Male, 24, 45, 12, 1, 1,V, 1 T \, T V Female, 20, 44 



This species, which is inferior in size to Cataractes Richard- 

 sonii, is of rare occurrence on our coasts, where it appears 

 merely as a straggler. It breeds in the arctic regions of both 

 continents, and is especially abundant in Greenland and New- 

 foundland. According to Mr Audubon, it extends in winter 

 as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. On the coasts of Europe 

 it is very rare at that season. Its habits are in all respects 

 similar to those of the preceding species. 



Lestris parasitica, Temm. Man. d'Ornith. iv. 501. Catar- 

 ractes parasiticus, Long-tailed Pirate-Bird, MacGillivray, 

 Brit. Birds, v. 



FAMILY LI. PROCELLARIK3]. PROCELLA- 

 RINE BIRDS. 



The last family in the series of British Birds is com- 

 posed of species varying greatly in size, some of those 

 which do not visit our shores being among the largest of 

 the - wanderers of the ocean, while others, and among 

 them one of our own, are not larger than a swallow. They 

 may all be known at once by the peculiar tubular form 

 of their nostrils. The body is rather full or slender; the 

 neck of moderate length ; the head rather large. Bill 

 shorter than the head, strong or moderately stout, com- 



