414 



THE TLBK-NOSED SWIMMERS — TmiNAHES. 



JZ\ 



where it is said to havf Ikhmi takt'ii at Sitka; althuugli uuthing is addcil in rogard to 

 its history. 



Dr. Pickoriiig, in liis .louriKil, first records its oocurronoo at sea, on tlic 20th of 

 April, 1S40, the eoast of Oregon being about two Innidred miles distant. Three days 

 later, when in sight of that eoast, great nnnd)ers of this species were noticed flitting 

 aronnd in the track of the vessel, actively engaged in searching for particles of food 

 thrown overboard. Generally they reminded him of Wilson's Petrel, l)ut their wings 

 seemed longer and their movements appeared to be more rapid ; in fact, they appeared 

 to resemble the larger J'roirllni'hv. Occasionally this bird sailed in its flight; but 

 during the greater part of the time it moved by very rapiiUy flexing its wings in the 

 same manner as Wilson's Tetrel. It proved to be not difficult to capture, and several 

 specimens were taken with liook and line. The birds would dive a foot or two after the 

 bait, and made use of their wings in and undi-r the water, from which t^iey evidently 

 had not the difliculty in rising which is observable in the Albatross. Their power of 

 swimming seemed rather feeble, yet they alighted in the water without any api)arent 

 hesitation. The dead body of one of their con\panions having been thrown over- 

 board, the other birds clustered about it with as nuich avidity as around any other 

 food. This bird uttered a faint cry when it was taken on board. 



In addition to these notes of Dr. I'ickering, Jlr. J'eale farther states that this 

 species was observed in considerable nnndieis on tlu; northwest coast of America, in 

 the most northerly regions visited by the Exj)edition, but not farther south than the 

 thirty -eighth degree of north latitude. 



Dr. Cooper states that although he has never met with it on the coast of Cali- 

 fornia, he has received a specimen obtained by ^Nlr. E. Lonpiin, of San Francisco, and 

 shot by the latter at San I'edro in August. 



Mr. Dall, in his Notes on the Avifauna of the Aleutian Islands, east of Una- 

 lashka, mentions that this bird, though not observed anywhere at sea, was found 

 on the Chica llocks, in the Akutan Pass, near Unalashka, breeding, June 2, 1S72. 

 The eye of this species is black. The nests were on the edge of a steep bank near 

 the shore, and ten or twelve feet above it : and each structure was placed in a hole 

 extending oblicpiely downward and backward from the face of the bank, and about 

 a foot deep, at the bottom of which a little dry grass or fine roots were placed. In 

 two instances the parent-bird was caught on the nest alive. Each nest contained 

 only one snuill white egg. j)erfectly fresh — though others might have been laid 

 afterward, had the l)ird not been disturbed. 



Mr. Dall states, in his second paper on the Aleutian Islands, that the male of 

 this species appears to do a large part of the work of incubation. This species, as 

 well as Leach's Petrel, has the habit, when handled, of disgorging a reddish oily Hui'l 

 of a strong aiul disagreeable musky smell; and one can tcdl by the odor of the burrow- 

 alone whether it is tenanted by a Petrel or by one of the Alr'uUv. It was found by 

 ]Mr. Dall breeding on all the less populated islands as far east as Unalashka. rnliive 

 the reported habits of the North Atlantic Petrels, this species is never seen in stormy 

 weather at sea, nor does it ever follow in a vessel's wake, so far as his observations 

 go. It is occasionally seen flying about in calm, fine weather, throughout the Nortii 

 Pacific. 



Eggs of this siu'cies in the Snuthsonian Collection, ol)tained by i\lr. Dall and In 

 Mr. Bischoff at Sitka, Alaska (128r)4), are of a dirty c^halky-white color, oval in 

 shape, with rounded ends; and four present tht^ following measurements : 1.35 by 

 1.00 inches; 1.30 by 1,00; 1.40 by 1.00; 1.35 by 1.00. 



