110 THALASSIDEOMA BULLOCKII. 



numerously on the islands at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, whence I have 

 long had its eggs sent to me, and have supplied many of our British collectors " 

 (of whom, this writer thankfully acknowledges himself one who has thus 

 derived benefit). Mr. Dresser continues his remarks thus : — " Mr. Boardman 

 informs me that ' this Petrel prefers the grassy islands, where it can burrow 

 (like the Sand-Martin) under the sod ; and it frequently digs under rocks, 

 making a hole varying from two to three feet in depth. It lays a single egg in 

 a little flat nest formed of fine grasses gathered loosely together ; and frequently 

 the bird also collects a few smooth pebbles, and places them in its nest. The 

 young when hatched are covered with loose down, and look more like a httle 

 long-haired mouse than a bird, as neither bill nor wing are visible. During the 

 day-time one rarely sees any of the birds at their breeding-place ; and I think 

 they feed at night ; for we usually found the old birds in their holes, where 

 they can be heard as one walks about ; they utter a low note like peer wit, 

 which sounds in all directions. When you seize the old bird it almost always 

 ejects a very nasty- smelling oily matter through the nostril.' " 



To understand the latter statement we must remember that ^*in the 

 Petrels the nostrils are produced in a tubular form parallel to one another 

 for a short distance along the upper part of the mandible, with the orifices 

 turned forwards" (Owen's 'Anatomy of Vertebrates/ vol. ii. p. 131). 



It is possible that the oil is sent out thus from fear, and as a means of 

 defence. 



In Thalassidroma pclagica the downy bird appears bigger than its parents, 

 from the looseness of the plumage. 



The Rev. A. E. Eaton, in the First Report of the Transit-of- Venus 

 Expedition to Kerguelen's Island in 1874 (conclusion) (Ann. & Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. Jan. 1876, vol. xvii. p. 89), tells several interesting particulars respecting 

 Petrels, which I transcribe in full : — 



" Thalassidroma wilsoni (Dr. Wyville Thompson, however, seems to 

 consider the Kerguelen-Island bird to be another species) arrived in the 



