292 Capt. F. W. Hutton on some of the 



more highly developed than usual, in oi'der to compensate for 

 the difficulty they have in seeing at night — e. g. the ear in the 

 Owl, and the mouth in the Nightjar— and there can be no 

 doubt that the prolongation of the nostrils in the family Procel- 

 lariidce is for the same purpose. The habits of Diomedea, where 

 the tube is reduced to a minimum, are diurnal, except perhaps 

 while the birds are young ; they do not, therefore, require their 

 sense of smell to be more than ordinarily acute. The various 

 species of Puffinus and Pelecanoides, too, in which the tube is 

 not so well developed as it is in Procellaria and Thalassidroma, 

 although eminently nocturnal, take their prey chiefly under 

 water, where smell cannot be of much use. The slanting posi- 

 tion of their nostrils would also prevent the water being forced 

 into them when diving. The tube is larger in Procellaria 

 gigantea than in any other species of the family ; and its ex- 

 tremely voracious appetite makes it appear probable that it 

 requires means for obtaining food superior to any of the others. 

 Another point of great interest connected with these birds is 

 the way they sometimes follow a ship for days together, and are 

 seldom seen to settle on the water. I have been informed by 

 Lieutenant Weld, E,.N., that a Cape-Pigeon, with a piece of red 

 ribbon round its neck, once followed the ship he was in for 

 1500 miles, and an albino variety of P. gigantea followed Mr. 

 Gould's ship for three weeks, though this bird has by no means 

 the same powers of flight as the Albatros. I myself have some- 

 times seen the same Albatros, or Cape-Pigeon, for several days 

 in succession, while the ship has been going from 150 to 200 

 miles in the twenty-four hours ; but these are exceptional cases. 

 It is, I believe, the generally received opinion of naturalists 

 that these birds, when seen for several days together, have never . 

 slept during the whole period, but have followed the ship night 

 and day. To me, however, it appears incredible that any animal 

 should be able to undergo so much exertion for so long a time 

 without taking rest ; and I hope to show that it is not necessary 

 to suppose that it does do so. Mr. Gould says that birds caught 

 and marked are generally seen next day; but such is not my 

 experience. I have sometimes marked ten or twelve Cape- 

 Pigeons in a day, and seldom seen one again. Mr. Gould, 



