42 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



{38.) 106. Oceanodroma leucorhoa. 



Leach's Petrel. (723.) 

 Sooty brown, darker on crown. Wing 

 coverts and secondaries ashy. Rump 

 and outer lower tail coverts white. Legs 

 and feet black. Length 8 inches. 



An irregular visitor during the warmer 

 half of the year to the eastern waters of 

 Suffolk Co. When in the vicinity of the 

 fishing boats, and any refuse is thrown 

 overboard, they will hover over it, eating 

 the grease, and keeping their wings in 

 motion just sufficient to keep their feet 

 on the surface, and giving them the ap- 

 pearance of walking on the water. "Pe- 

 trels are common in the sound opposite 

 this place in the summer. I never saw 

 them nearer than four or five miles from 

 the shore" (Helme). Breeds from Maine 

 northward. Laying one egg, white, with 

 a ring of reddish spots about the larger 

 end. in a cavity or burrow in the ground. 

 Eggs about lJixl inch. 



(39.) log. Oceanites oceanicus. 

 Wilson's Petrel. (722.) 



Dark sooty brown throughout. Wings 

 and tail blackish. Some of lower tail 

 coverts, rump, and sides of a abdomen 

 white. Leg.- and feet black, latter with 

 webs yellow. Length 7% inches. 



Oceanic. An irregular straggler off our 

 coast. Breeds on isolated islands. Lay- 

 ing one white egg, about l%xl inch, in 

 cavities among rocks. 



{40.) uy. Sula bassana. 

 Oannet. (650.) 



General color white. Head and back 

 of neck buffy. Primaries black. Bill pale 

 blue. Lines on the upper mandible black- 

 ish. Bare place on throat, and around 

 eye bluish black. Feet blackish. Iris 

 white. Length 38 inches. Bill 4 inches. 



A rather common winter resident along 

 the eastern coast. Maritine in habits, 

 seldom coming to land or into the smal- 

 ler bays. Food entirely of fish, which 

 they dive for and pursue under water. 



Breeds in immense colonies on precipitous 

 islands in the northern regions. Builds 

 nests of sea weeds, mud, stones, etc. Lays 

 one whitish egg, covered with a chalky 

 deposit, and averaging about 2x3% in. 



'41.) ng- Phalacroeorax carbo. 

 Common Cormorant. (642.) 



General color black. Upper parts dark- 

 ash, with bronze reflections. Bare space 

 around the eye, dull olive, beneath the 

 the eye red. The gular sac yellow, be- 

 neath which is a broad band of white. A 

 patch of white feathers on the side over 

 the thigh. Length 37 inches. 



A rare winter visitor from the north. 

 Recorded as far south as New Jersey. 

 Breeds in Labrador in nest made of sticks 

 and seaweeds. Lays 4 to 6 eggs about 

 2%xl% inches, elliptical in shape, and 

 greenish in color. 



(42.) 120. Phalacroeorax dilophus. 



Double-crested Cormorant. 



(643.) 



Head, neck, and breast greenish black, 

 Feathers of upper parts dark ashy brown, 

 with black margins. Tail black. A tuft 

 of erectile feathers back of the eye. Bare 

 surface of head orange red. Length 33 

 inches. 



An aboundant migrant, and to some 

 extent a winter resident. Called "Shag" 

 By local gunners, and seldom shot, owing 

 to their worthlessness as an article of 

 diet. I am informed by Capt. B. C. Cort- 

 wright, an old gunner, that he has shot 

 numbers of these birds over decoys. 

 Breeds from the northern U. S. north- 

 ward, both on the coast and inland. Nest 

 made of green seaweeds. Eggs bluish 

 green, two to tour, and average about 

 I%x2% inches. 



