THE STORM PETREL. 



Procellaria pclagica. 



HE Storm Petrel, or, as it is 

 more commonly called, the 

 Stormy Petrel,, is probably the 

 most diminutive of the web- 

 footed birds, and from its 

 fancied connection with rough 

 weather has been for a long 

 time regarded, especially by 

 seafaring men, with feelings of 

 awe and foreboding. The idea 

 that these pretty birds are the 

 infallible heralds of storms has 

 gained for them the unpleasant 

 sobriquets of devil's birds, 

 witches, and Mother Carey's 

 chickens. As, however, it is 

 considered extremely unlucky 

 to kill them, perhaps the im- 

 munity from interference they 

 enjoy may be taken as a satis- 

 factory set-off against the un- 

 canny attributes with which 

 they have been credited. 

 The entire length of the 



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