20 LAwRENCE, Breeding of Puffinus audubont, etc. [January 
“They evidently lay but one egg, as only one young was found in each 
hole, and the egg which I got was highly incubated; itis of a dull white 
color and measures 2// X 12!/. 
“The name ‘Diablotin’ in this case is not to be depended upon, as the 
fishermen and boatmen about here seem to apply that name to any 
strange sea bird which they meet. 
‘«The bird appears to be a Petrel, perhaps a well-known species, but it is 
new to me, and I believe has not been noted from this island. Isend you 
by book post the skins of an adult female and the young bird found 
in the same hole.” 
Dr. Henry Bryant found it to be abundant in the Bahamas. 
His accounts of its breeding and of the size of the egg agree closely 
with that given by Mr. Wells. It appears to be also quite com- 
mon in Bermuda, and several accounts of its capture there while 
breeding, may be found in Baird, Brewer and Ridgway (Water 
Bind stot uNe PAC ov sOlemll) 
The general coloring of the nestling sent by Mr. Wells is dusky 
gray, whitish on the abdomen. It seems large for a bird in its 
downy stage of plumage, measuring 9? inches in length. The 
adult measures in length (fresh) 13% inches; in ‘Water Birds of 
North America’ it is stated to be about 11 inches. 
These specimens are in the National Museum. 
The ‘Diablotin’ formerly inhabiting the Island of Guadeloupe, 
W. I., of which a very full history is given by Pére Labat, in his 
‘Voyage aux Isles de l’Amerique,’ published in 1724, and com- 
prising seven quarto pages, was a very different bird. It has been 
considered extinct there for a long time, and I think has not been 
satisfactorily identified with any known species. 
Pére Labat gives a full and interesting account of its habits, the 
hunt (chasse) after it on the ‘Souphriere’ of Guadeloupe, with 
a description of its size and plumage; there is also a plate of it. 
It appears by his description and the plate, that the entire 
plumage was black ; the shape of the bill in the plate is unlike that 
of a Petrel, but much resembles that of a Raven, but it may be 
improperly drawn. What the species was is a problem very 
desirable to be solved. 
While breeding they were constantly pursued by the natives for 
food, when found in their holes there was no difficulty in their 
capture, as they made no efforts to escape. It would seem as if 
finally all were killed by persistent persecution, thus being a 
parallel case to that of the Great Auk. 
