NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 210. 



It measured upwards of nineteen inches in length. Ex- 

 panse of wings, three feet eight inches, wings extending 

 beyond the tail one inch. Eyes, black ; nostril tubes open 

 and distinct, not concealed. Tarsi and webs, on the outer 

 side dusky ; on the inner, yellowish flesh colour. Hind toe, 

 consisting of a nail only. Bill, bluish black. Crown of the 

 head, including a portion of the cheeks, back, wings, and 

 tail, dark brown ; each feather on the back and scapulars, 

 bordered with a lighter colour. Inner webs of quills, 

 white towards the base. Rump, whitish, finely mottled 

 with brown. Chin, lower portions of the cheeks, neck, and 

 breast, pure white. Thighs and lower tail coverts, par- 

 taking of the brown colour of the upper plumage. Belly, 

 light brown or grey. Under wing coverts, white, dotted on 

 the upper edge with dark brown spots. Axillaries, white, 

 broadly tipped with dark brown. I consider this to be a 

 bird of last year, gradually assuming the plumage of the 

 adult. While at office this morning another of these birds 

 was brought to me by a man, who said that on his way to 

 town with his son he observed the bird swimming near the 

 shore, opposite the town of Hamilton ; that his son went 

 into the water, and, by diving under the bird, contrived to 

 catch it by the leg. It was an exact duplicate of Mr. 

 Downes' specimen. 



I know not how to account for the sudden appearance 

 of these two rare birds — the weather for the last fort- 

 night having been fair, with a strong easterly wind, except 

 during yesterday, when we had a strong breeze, or " half 

 a gale of wind," from the north-west. 



June gtk. — Mr. E. Jones, recently arrived in his brother's 

 vessel, the " G. O. Bigelow," from Porto Rico, tells me that 

 a day or so before they made Bermuda, a " Shearwater " 

 approached so closely to the schooner that he killed it 



