Section XIII. The North Atlantic. 

 By L. N. G. RAMSAY, M.A., B.Sc. 



THIS, the final section, includes the observations of the voyage from Scotland 

 southward to St Paul's Rocks in November-December 1902, and the return 

 journey from Ascension via the Cape Verde Islands and Azores in June and 

 July 1904. 



On the southward trip, very few birds were seen till Madeira was reached on 

 November 20th. A lark flew aboard about noon on the second day out, in 50 45' N., 

 7 35' W. (about half-way between Land's End and the Irish coast), in an exhausted 

 state, and succumbed the same night. 



Gulls were logged on the 16th, about 200 miles off the coast of Spain, and two 

 again on the 18th, still further from land. 



After Madeira, petrels were logged almost every day till St Paul's Rocks were 

 reached, lying near the equator, but none were identified. Porto Grande, in the Cape 

 Verde Islands, was touched at on December 1st. 



On the northward voyage in 1904, the Scotia, after passing through the Cape Verde 

 Islands on June 21st, steered much further to the westward, and was beyond the 

 34th meridian of west longitude for two days. 



At this point the floating gulf-weed of the Sargasso Sea was passed through from 

 June 28th to July 2nd (chiefly in lat 29-34 N.). 



Between Ascension and Cape Verde Islands few birds except some Stormy Petrels 

 were seen. Two Sooty Terns (Sterna fuliginosa) were seen on June 12th, some 

 300 miles W.N.W. from Ascension. In the neighbourhood of the Cape Verde Islands 

 gannets were seen, and also several examples of what was probably the Tropic-bird 

 (Phaethon lepturus), and some boobies (?). 



Between the 19th and 35th parallels of latitude only one bird (a small petrel) was 

 seen. After this the Azores were drawing near, and Stormy Petrels were seen daily till 

 the English Channel was reached. On 4th July the Scotia stopped to trawl on the 

 Princesse Alice bank, south of the Azores, and here nine Stormy Petrels (eight of these 

 which are now in existence are all Oceanites oceanicus) and five large shearwaters 

 were shot. 



Four of the shearwaters I have examined. One of these is a Puffinm grams, 

 O'Reil., the other three are P. kithli (Boie). They are the Atlantic dark- winged form of 

 this species, in which the white on the inner webs of the primaries does not extend 



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