ORDER PALMIPEDES. 641 



cry, resembling the croaking of a reptile. When it is at- 

 tempted to surprise them on their eggs, they dart into the 

 eyes of the hunter, an oil, of which their stomach is full. 

 Observers, not aware of this fact, have frequently lost their 

 lives by it, falling into the sea, or down precipices. 



Though the petrels have very long wings, their flight is 

 not remarkably lofty. It is on the high seas that they 

 are most usually to be met ; but it sometimes happens that 

 individuals, driven perhaps by some gust of wind, or having 

 lost their Vay, appear upon fresh waters. 



It appears from the observations made by MM. Quoy and 

 Gaimard, daring the voyage of Captain Freycinet, that the 

 mere presence of the petrels is no certain sign of the proximity 

 of land. The same gentlemen remark, that there is some 

 difficulty in shooting them, as they do not, in general, sur- 

 round vessels, except when the winds are high, and the sea is 

 agitated, and that they cannot be sought out without compro- 

 mising the lives of those who would hazard the attempt : a 

 complete description, therefore, of the numerous species of 

 which this genus is composed, is scarcely to be expected. 



Of the Giant Petrels, Captain Orne, of the American ser- 

 vice, says, that in spring they come in great flocks to the 

 Malouine Islands, where they lay such quantities of eggs, on 

 the strand, that canoes may be loaded with them. Another 

 American captain tells us, that they observe much order in 

 the general arrangement of their eggs ; and, living at this time 

 in a sort of republic, they exercise, by turns, a sort of sur- 

 veillance over the species of temporary establishment which 

 they form. This extraordinary fact, however, is not noticed 

 by Captain Orne. 



The small species which M, Cuvier places after his first 

 subdivision of the petrels (see text), are said by M. Tem- 

 minck to be semi-nocturnal ; that by day tlioy habitually con- 

 ceal themselves in the holes of rocks, and hunt only by twi- 



VOL. VIII. T T 



