352 BIRDS OF DAMABA LAND. 



405. Pseudoprion turtur (Smith). Dove-coloured Petrel. 



Procellaria turtur, Smitli's Zool. of S. Africa, pi. 54. 



„ „ Gould's Birds of Australia, vol. vii. pi. 54. 



„ „ La3'ard's Cat. No. 672. 



Pseudoprion turtur, Gray's Hand-list of Birds, No. 10921. 



This species is occasionally seen in the bays and inlets 

 of the south-west coast of Africa, especially after a storm ; 

 but the open sea is its favourite resort. It sometimes 

 settles on the water, but rarely remains longer than is 

 necessary to enable it to fish up its prey. It will follow 

 in a vessel's course for hours together, but evidently not 

 with a view of picking up the refuse that may chance to 

 be thrown overboard, as is the case with some other 

 species, nor does it approach very close. It is a very 

 powerful flier, and cleaves the air with astonishing 

 velocity — now rising suddenly, then abruptly precipi- 

 tating itself to the very crest of the foaming waves, and 

 skimming gracefully over the intervening troughs — its 

 varied evolutions thus affording to the voyager a constant 

 object of never-ceasing interest. 



[According to Mr. Andersson^s MS. memorandum, already 

 alluded to under the head of Procellaria pelagica, it appears 

 that this species was also satisfactorily identified from a specimen 

 which he forwarded to England some years since ; but it did not 

 occTiT in his last collection. Mr. Andersson records (in his MS. 

 notes) that this Petrel, and also two or three nearly allied con- 

 geners of similar habits which frequent the southern and south- 

 western coast of Africa, but which he does not appear to have 

 succeeded in positively identifying, are called by the sailors 

 " whale-birds." 



Writing of the Petrels, to which this term is thus promis- 

 cuously applied, Mr. Andersson observes : — " I have frequently 

 seen the ' Whale-birds ' settle on the water in the neighbour- 



