ii2 The Albatrosses and Petrels 



are of considerable length and frequently turn and double on themselves, and 

 when available nesting sites are limited, or the ground is especially hard in which 

 it is necessary to dig, it appears that several birds may combine forces. Thus 

 on the Bird Rocks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Palmer speaks of having found 

 four females and five 1 eggs of Leach's Petrel in a single hole, but ordinarily there 

 is only one occupant. The Petrels lay but a single egg, which is white, frequently 

 tinged, when perfectly fresh, with very pale blue. The eggs of many species 

 are entirely unmarked, while those of others are more or less spotted with rufous 

 on the large end. They usually sit closely when incubating the egg and are 

 removed from it or their burrow with difficulty, not to say danger. Of this 

 peculiarity in Rodgers's Fulmar of the Pribilof Islands, Elliott says: "It is of all 

 the water fowl the most devoted to its charge, for it will not be scared from the 

 egg by any demonstration that may be made in the way of throwing or yelling, 

 and it will even die as it sits rather than take flight, as I have frequently wit- 

 nessed." Kidder also graphically describes the actions of various burrowing 

 species as observed by him on Kerguelen Island. The dog belonging to their 

 party habitually dug them out of their holes for food, and they " were generally 

 brought to the surface hanging to his ear." Petrels are mainly nocturnal in 

 their habits, at least during the nesting season, and their presence may be entirely 

 unsuspected in the daytime. To quote again from Kidder regarding the Whale- 

 bird (Prion desolatus): "Upon first landing, the hillsides, apparently deserted 

 during the day, became at night perfectly alive with these birds, flying irregu- 

 larly about the rocks and hummocks of Azorella, and filling the air with their 

 calls." Their crepuscular habits, combined with the fact that they usually seek 

 isolated places for nesting, make their study difficult, and we are still in ignorance 

 of the nests and eggs of several species. 



The food of the Petrels is also more or less in doubt. The stomachs of those 

 examined appear to contain oil, but whether this is the usual food is not known, 

 and it seems more than probable that the minute animals so abundant in tropical 

 waters supply a considerable share. 



As already stated, the Petrels never voluntarily visit the land except for nest- 

 ing purposes, but they are frequently driven out of their course and often far 

 inland during severe storms. A remarkable case of this kind was recorded some 

 years ago, when, during a violent storm of several days' duration^two specimens 

 of the Sandwich Island Petrel, a bird found normally in the vicinity of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, the Galapagos Archipelago, and Canary Islands, were secured 

 in an exhausted condition in the city of Washington. A single specimen had 

 previously been found dead on the shore of England, and one or two are recorded 

 from Scandinavia. In their natural wanderings these birds may have passed 

 around Cape Horn and up into the North Atlantic, where it is now known a 

 colony of them has been established in the Madeiras, as specimens have recently 

 been received from there, and as a matter of fact it may be added the species was 

 first made known from the Canaries. The specimens taken in Washington 

 were the first ever noted in North America, though very recently an example 

 has been captured in Indiana. The Black-capped Petrel, whose home is around 



