General 
descrip- 
tion. 
536 NATATORES. THALASSIDROMA. Perret. 
rally very fat and oily, and by the inhabitants of Ferroe and 
other islands it frequents is sometimes — » into a lamp. 
For this purpose a wick of cotton, or other material, is drawn 
through the body, and which continues to burn till the oil 
becomes exhausted. Instances frequently occur of its being 
found rather far inland, either dead or in an exhausted and 
dying stated, but the cause of such mortality has not hitherto 
been satisfactorily accounted for; it may, however, arise 
from weakness, occasioned either by old age or accidental 
illness, rendering it unable to contend with the autumnal 
and wintry blasts, during which period such instances are 
most frequent ; and this is rendered more probable by its 
being commonly in an emaciated condition. The flight of 
the Storm-Petrel is remarkably swift, and is equalled by few 
of the feathered race. It is often seen darting from wave to 
wave, at intervals dipping its bill into the water as if in 
search of insects, or picking up food, during which it will 
stand (as it were) upon the summit of the billow with wings 
expanded and raised, but is very rarely seen to alight for 
swimming, and is totally unable to dive, a faculty attributed 
to it in an eminent degree by some of the earlier writers. 
PiareE 103. Fig. 2. Natural size. 
Bill, from the forehead to the tip, three-eighths of an inch 
long; black, with the tip much compressed. Head, 
back, quills, and tail, glossy black. The lower range 
of wing-coverts brownish-black. Under plumage pitch 
or brownish-black. Patch behind the thighs, and bar 
across the upper-tail coverts, white. Legs and feet 
black, with the tarsus seven-eighths of an inch in length. 
