Birds of the Weddell and adjacent Seas. 339 
these voyages in the autumns of 1903 and 1904 have the 
dark portions of their plumage of a fresh slate-black tint, 
instead of the faded brown presented by the examples 
obtained at the South Orkneys during the breeding-season. 
This is, with little doubt, attributable to the fact that the 
birds were either adults recently moulted, or young in their 
first plumage, or both. 
Whenever the ‘ Scotia’ stopped for the purpose of taking 
soundings, these Petrels settled on the water on the look-out 
for scraps of food, and so tame were they that specimens 
were often captured by simply scooping them out of the 
water by means of a large landing-net. Birds thus taken 
were sometimes liberated on the ship’s deck, where they 
shewed their entire inability to escape, the ‘Scotia’ not 
being long enough to afford them a sufficiently extended run 
to enable them to rise on the wing: it was the same with 
the Giant Petrels. 
When in pursuit of food at or near the surface, the Cape 
Petrels were observed to plunge downwards into the water 
after the manner of Terns. 
On February 7th, 1903, in 60° 35’ S., 39° 44’ W., a vast 
number, along with Giant and Wilson’s Petrels, were 
observed feeding on the floating carcass of a dead whale. 
Ross (/. c. ul. p. 191) saw this bird off Victoria Land, 
on January 14th, 1841, in 71° 50’ S., or in precisely the 
same latitude in which Mr. Bruce made his southernmost 
observation. 
During the voyage of the ‘Southern Cross’ it does not 
appear to have been noted beyond 65°3’S. (Sharpe, ¢. c. 
p. 157); but Vanhoffen (¢. c. p. 507) observed it right down 
to the winter-quarters of the ‘Gauss,’ namely to the 
Antarctic Continent (Kaiser Wilhelm II. Land) in 66° 2’ S., 
89° 38' E. The Swedish Expedition (Anderson, /. c. p. 46) 
also observed it near their southern limit, namely in the 
pack-ice east of Graham’s Land in 64° 30’ S. 
HaLoB&NA CHRULEA (Gmelin). 
Halobena cerulea Cat. Birds, xxv. p. 431. 
Under the collective name of “ Blue Petre!s,” both this 
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