^-r. 



406 



THE TUDK-NOSED SWIMMKIJS — mtlXAUKS. 



AcpordiiiK to l\riU'Killivmy, tliis hinl li;i.s the siiiiic lial)it as Li'iicli'H IVtrol, (if 

 pjoctiiij,', when hiuulleil, a (inaiitity »tf pun' oil, which is (nuttt'ully prcscrvwl by tin- 

 i'owh'rs. This IVtrcl may li»> kept alive in coiilim'nu'nt liy siiicariiif,' its breast with 

 oil, whicli it will suck t'loia thu feathers, drawing each feather singly through each 

 nuuulible. 



This I'ctrel is often met with far out at sea; and will follow vessels for the sake 

 of shelter as well as for food. When the latter is thrown to fhem they will very 

 gracefully liover over the surface of the water with iijiraised wings, presenting very 

 much of the appearance and movi'nicnts of a largo butterfly hovering over a Hower. 

 In this manner they pick up whatever is thrown to them, feeding on any fatty 

 substance, small crustacn-ans, minute fishes, and almost any refuse. 



Mr. Macgillivray thus describes the movements of these Petrels in a storm : " When 

 the waves are high and the wind fierce, it is jdeasant, oven midst the noise of the storm 

 and the heaving of th»^ vessel, to watch the little creatures as they advance; against, 

 the gale, at tho height of scarcely a foot above the surface of the water, which they 

 follow in all its undulations — mounting to the top of the wave, there (juivering in 

 tho blast, and making good their way by repeated strokes of their long narrow wings ; 

 then sliding down the slope, resting a nionient in the advancing mass of water, 

 gliding up its side, and again meeting on its summit the force of tho rude wind that 

 scatters abroad its foam-bells. I have seen them thus advancing, apparently with 

 little labor; and in .such cases less effort must bo required than when they have to 

 encoiuiter a galo before it has blown long enough to raise tho waves, which afford 

 them partial shelter." 



Mr. Robert Gray states that in the Island of Soa ho found this species having it.s 

 holes in the soft earth. Tho entrances were about as largo as rabbit-burrows. From 

 these, other smaller galleries branch off", so that one external aperture serves as 

 a kind of lobby for a number of pairs. 



Genus CYMOCHOREA, Coues. 



Thalassidi-omit, fir. Comp. List, 1838, 64 (iwrt ; not of Vigokn). 



Cymoc/wrm, Coces, I'l'. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliiliul. Mairh, 186-J, 75 (tyi'C, ProccUnrin Icitcorhoit, Viv.ii.i,). 



Char. Size small, but larger than the preceding genera ; tail much more than half the winj^s, 

 forked, the feathers very broad at the ends ; tarsus scarcely longer than the middle toe and claw 

 (about one and a half times as long as the culnien) ; jiluniage dusky, with or without a while 

 rump-patch. 



The following species belong to the North Americiui fauna, and are the only ones known : — 



A. A white rump-patch. 



1. C. leucorboa. Uniform dusky, more fuliginous below ; upper tail-coverts white, usually 



mi.xed with grayish. Wing, ().t)(>-G.30 inche.s ; tail, 3.5()-4.(K), forked for .80-.9() ; culnicn, 

 .60-.(i5 ; tarsus, .9()-.95 ; middle toe, .80-.85. IM. Northern Atlantic and Pacitic oceans. 



2. C. cryptoleucura.^ Uniform fuliginous, the head and upper parts more .slaty, ;^'rcat<r 



wing-coverts and tertials paler, inclining to dull grayish ; remiges and rectrices dull black, 

 the latter (except nuddle pair) white at base ; upper tail-coverts white, the longer broailly 

 tipped with black (as in Procellnria pclwiiea). Bill, legs, and feet (including webs) lilack. 

 Wing, 5.80-6.30 inches ; tail, 3.(M)-3.15, forked lor .20-.30 ; culmen, .GO ; tarsus, .85-.90 ; 

 middle toe (with claw), .85-.90. J/ab. Samlwich Islands, 



• Cymochorea cryploleucura, lliDGW. Pj-oc. U. S. Nat. Miis.Vol. 4, 1882, 337 (tyiies in Nat, Mus. Coll.). 



