THALASSIDEOMA BULLOCKII. 107 



The wind has no effect upon the dress of the weird old hag in the 

 sketch. Her chickens are round her. 



^' No song-note have they but a piping cry^ 

 That blends with the storm when the winds rise high ; 

 When the land-birds wail^ 

 They sport in the gale, 

 And merrily over the ocean they sail.^^ 



As respects Petrels on the south coast of England, my observation is 

 as follows :— We have them in spring and autumn. This looks like 

 migration ; for Saxby says the same at the Flugga lighthouse (^Ornithological 

 Miscellany/ part ii. p. 134). Sometimes they come to us with gales, but 

 more commonly without, with a north wind, to avoid a storm in the North 

 Sea. Sailors fancy they like rough weather. No notion can be more 

 erroneous ; they much dislike it. They follow a ship because they want food 

 and shelter, both of which it affords. 



The most marvellous thing about these birds is the extraordinary power 

 of seeing light shining on the water which they possess. They can do this 

 at long distances. Have we any similar thing in other species } Certainly ; 

 in Larks. The oil on the sea acts like the Lark-glass (Part IL p. 89), and 

 produces the same result ; for as long as a Petrel remains within a certain 

 distance, so surely will it come to oil on the water, and you may shoot till 

 you have killed every one. 



In confirmation I quote a letter of mine to ' Land and Water,' October 

 19th, 1867 : — " On October 10th a piece of the liver of a skate was observed 

 in the sea near the new Pier, Brighton. Out of this liver a good deal of oil 

 floated up, on which the sun shining attracted the attention of several Stormy 

 Petrels (Thalassidroma pelagica). Two or three were soon shot. They were 

 pattering on the water and tugging away at their fish dinner, which was 

 taken out and thrown in again. More came ; they appeared to rise suddenly 

 out of the sea, though none could be discovered around. Seven were 

 killed.'^ 



