FORKED-TAILED PETREL. 435 



on a board by my side ; the wounded ones were placed in a cage, and I 

 began to examine them all with care. To my great surprise, I found 

 among them all the three species mentioned above. Sixteen of these birds 

 were beautifully prepared by Mr Ward, and the rest were placed in 

 spirits, after I had made correct outlines of each species, and taken their 

 exact dimensions and weight. The drawings, however, I was unable to 

 finish on account of the giddiness, which seldom leaves me while at sea. 

 The calm continued the whole of the next day, and, laying myself down 

 on the top of the round-house, I had ample opportunities of observing the 

 habits of the three species, while thus at a distance from land. 



My esteemed friend the Prince of Musignano has stated that the 

 Forked-tailed Petrel is less numerous near the American coast than the 

 species named after Wilson. It is true that it rarely goes so far south, 

 but in the vicinity of Massachusetts, and from thence to Newfoundland, it 

 is by far the most abundant of the two ; and it breeds on all suitable places 

 from the Islands of Mount Desert to the last mentioned country. 



The species of this genus with which I am acquainted all ramble over 

 the seas, both by night and by day, until the breeding season commences, 

 when they remain in their burrows, under rocks, or in their fissures, un- 

 til towards sunset, when they start off in search of food, returning to their 

 mates or young in the morning, and feeding them then. I feel pretty 

 confident that these birds, like Owls, can hold out against hunger for 

 many hours, and are satisfied with one abundant meal in the day. Wil- 

 son was of a different opinion, but I believe he never found these birds 

 breeding. 



The Forked-tailed Petrel emits its notes night and day, and at not 

 very long intervals, although it is less noisy than Wilson's Petrel. They 

 resemble the syllables pewr-zvit, pewr-wit. Its flight differs from that of 

 the other two species, it being performed in broader wheelings, and with 

 firmer flappings, in which respect it resembles that of the Night Hawk, 

 Caprhnulgus virginianus, while that bird is passing low over the mea- 

 dows or the waters. It is more shy than the other species, and when it 

 wheels off after having approached the stern of a ship, its wanderings are 

 much more extended before it returns. I have never seen it fly close 

 around a vessel, as the others are in the habit of doing, especially at the 

 approach of night ; nor do I think that it ever alights on the rigging of 

 ships, but spends the hours of darkness either on the water, or on low 

 rocks or islands. It also less frequently alights on the water, or pats it 



E e2 



