PR* KTELLARIID.K — THE PETRELS 



PUFFIXrS. 



5S1 



Th>' Gnxit. T Shearwater is a Nortli Atlantio sji^oirs. jxv^sirii: tho trr^ater jxirt of 

 Its life in mid<veau. and rarely apprvwohing either sh«^re. It belongs only as a rare 

 vi-iitor either to the European or to the American oo;ist. 



The first example known to have Wen seen ia (.Jreat Britain was obtainetl by >[r. 

 Arthur Strieklaml. and was shi>t in AuLrust. 1S2S. on a very stormy day. near the 

 mouth of the Tees. It was seen early in the morning:. sittin<^ on the water like a 

 duok. and was shot as it rose. A second siH^cimen was obtained several years after- 

 wanl. Other sj^eimens have sin>e l)een pnvured on various jxirts of the Eiiirlish sea- 

 vxxist : and it is now su{'{K»sed that individmils • f this sj^eoies had l>een previously 

 m-t with, but confounded witli the Pn^mu< nrfjlorwn. 



Mr. Yarrell's figures and desi^riptions are taken from birds procured by Mr. 1>. W. 

 Mitchell on the coast of Cornwall. Mr. Mitchell states that, in Xovemlvr. In'm. a 

 man brvnight him one of these birds alive. He had found it asleep in his Utat. aKnit 

 tlir\'e o'diKk in the afternoon, and the I'ird had prolxibly taken up its <iuarters there 

 ':y daylight. The Kxit was m-x^red ab»:>ut two hundred yards from the shore. At that 

 time there were a great many more of thi< sj^ecies off Mount Bay. and two others 

 were brought in that had Kvn taken by hoi^ks. He also states that this birvl. in the 

 aiiult {>himage. apjH\irs pretty regularly every autumn, l-ut not always in ei]ual nuin- 

 i»rs. It had long Iven in several in.dlections in Plymouth. England. wher\> it was cnn- 

 f. unded with /'. •luolorum : but the latter is ii', t common there, and hence the crnir. 

 I: is also quite abundant alx-ut tlie Scilly Isles, where it is known as the HaokKdt. 

 It is a oonst;uit visitor there in the latter part of autumn, and its movements are said 

 to ije undistinguishable from those of the Manx Shc.irwater. Mr. Mitchell also in- 

 f.^rme<l Mr. Yarrell that the j^revious year, late in an afternoon, when the wind was 

 Mowing lnr\l from the S..s,W.. he saw through his telesco{>e four of these bir>l^ in 

 Mount's I*.ay. The weather was prolubly the cause of their lH?ing so far in shore, 

 as they are generally dee{>sea-'-:«.H-rs. They had exactly the fiight of F. 'in 'j!'^ rum. 

 ;ind they kept so close to the water as almost to skim the to{>s of the waves. He 

 w.is informed that these binls apjvar some autumns in thous;uids off the islands of 

 L ve and P^lj-ezzo. 



Mr. Thompson records the incurrence of binl< of this sjvcies in the south of Ire- 

 i.ind in the autumn. Mr. I>avis. of Clonmel. mentions keeping one alive alxnit a 

 w. ek. It was quite lively, and ran along very rapidly with its breast alxMit an inch 

 ;\:id a half from the ground. Having put it on a sloping rix>f. the bird seemed more 

 .1' its ease than it was on a level surface, and mounted rapidly to the top ; though 

 wh>>n it came to the edge it made no attempt to fly. but fell heavily to the ground. 

 It rarely stirred during the day. but kept itself as mudi concealed as {xissil'le; and 

 i: it could not hi<le its Kxly. would eiuleavor to conceal its head. The tishermen 

 sometimes keep these birds for weeks alxnit their houses; and in some instances 

 th-y beoonie quite tame, and do not attempt to fly. It is rarely, if ever, shot, but 

 > v.sually taken with a hook. It is commonly known by the name of Hagxlown. Mr. 

 Th.'mjvson al-^o states that Vr. M. Bell, dnnlging off Bundoran, on the west coast 

 of Ireland. July 1(>. 1840. saw tlm>e Petrels of this sixvies. on the wing, near him. 

 Th> re are sjx>cimens in the British Museum said to Iv from Snith Africa. 



Yarrell does not mention how or where this bir.l breeds, but states that the egg is 

 very large for the size of the bird, and that only a single one is laid. It is said to 

 Ri'.asure 2.75 inches in length by 1.^7 in breadth. Its color is pure white when 

 deyo^ited. IxH'oming soiled as inculx\tion progresses. 



•Vudubon mentions finding this sjxvies ranging from the Gulf of St. I.«awrence 

 to that of Mexico; but he verv rarelv met with it near the ctKist. In sailing to 



