XII. 



-ffU)/'*''^ 



lONA, 2&th October 1852. 



I WAS disappointed to hear of the Petrels arriving in such bad 

 condition, as I hoped that the post would have taken them quickly 

 enough to prevent their being spoiled. I got another young one 

 from the burrows on the 18 th of this month at Soay Island. It 

 is quite free of down in the upper parts, but underneath he still 

 retains a considerable amount, giving him the appearance of a 

 bird sitting in a nest of wool. The pale bar across the wing is 

 very distinctly marked. He is very active, and can fly perfectly 

 well. At night his wings are in perpetual motion during his 

 endeavours to escape from the box in which he is confined — so 

 much so that he spoils the appearance of his quill feathers and 

 tail very much ; and so I want to send him off as soon as possible, 

 though I should like to keep him till he is quite free of down. 

 I give him a good deal of liberty, allowing him to ramble about 

 the table the whole evening, the favourite time of activity. His 

 habits are similar to those of the pair I last described, except 



