Order PKOCELLABIIFOBMES.] 



qy 



VurvuJbMl^ 



[Family PUFFINID^. 



OCEANITES OCEANICUS 



(WILSON'S STORM-PETBEL.) 



Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl), Buller, Birds of New Zealand, yoI. ii., p. 250. 



Refekbing- to the specimens obtained by Dr. Kidder's expedition on Kerguelen Island, Dr. 

 Elliott Coues remarks : "I have looked at a great many ' Wilson's Petrels ' from various parts of 

 the world, without having been able to see any differences between them. In any event, the bird 

 here presented is the original oceanica of Banks, Kuhl, &c. ; it is the other one, wilsoni, Bp., 1824, 

 which is to be cut away from this one, if any division is attempted. Bonaparte has the thing- 

 hind part before in his ' Conspectus.' " Of the habits of this species on shore the following- 

 interesting particulars are given : " These birds are crepuscular near the shore, like Garrodia 

 nereis, and much more common near our station after their first appearance on the 8th December. 

 I had previously seen them at sea east of the Cape of Good Hope ; and on the 14th December I 

 saw them clearly out by day, feeding on the oily matters floating away from the carcass of a sea- 

 elephant. They frequent rocky parts of the hill-sides, and flit about very like swallows in pursuit 

 of insects. There seemed to be no flying insects on the island, however, other than very minute 

 gnats. The two specimens preserved were shot on the evening of the 29th December, among the 

 rocks near the top of the hill on which we were encamped. I never succeeded in finding the eggs, 

 but learn from the Rev. Mr. Eaton, who found one on Thumb Mountain, some fifteen miles from 

 our station, that it is single and white, and that the nest was made under a large rock not far from 

 the beach. He found the egg on the 8th December. I have no doubt, from what I have observed 

 of its habits, that it nests among and under rocks habitually, and usually at a considerable eleva- 

 tion above the sea." 



Relating to this species, I find the following entry in my diary for 1894 : — 



4th February (about 60 miles off Cape Verd). — A beautiful cool day, with just sufficient breeze to fan 

 the air. About 11 o'clock at night a Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), attracted by the glare of the electric 

 light, dashed itself on board, and was captured by one of the passengers. It proved on dissection to be a ? , 

 and the stomach contained pasty organic matter of a greyish-brown colour. Length, 8*5 in. ; extent of 

 wings, 17"5 in. . . . 



8th February. — No birds ; but about noon I observed two large porpoises in the distance, moving very 

 languidly, as if it was too much exertion even for them to plunge about in this tropical heat. To-day 

 is beautifully fine, but there is no animated object to break the monotony of this great wilderness of waters. 

 Since seeing the large Petrel on the 3rd instant we have traversed over two thousand miles of ocean without 

 seeing so much as the wing of a bird, with the exception of the Storm Petrel that came on board on the 4th, 

 and the little visitant from the shore on the preceding Sunday. In this respect this is a veritable Dead Sea : 

 so different, indeed, from the great southern ocean, with its plenitude of bird-life at all seasons of the year ! 

 We look for a change in this respect now that we have crossed the Equator. 



The attention of collectors should be directed to these smaller Petrels. The seas surrounding- 

 New Zealand and extending to Australia form, so to speak, a great nursery for this family, of 

 which no less than forty-five species, belonging to fifteen genera, are already on our list ; and, as 

 comparatively trivial characters often distinguish them, it is not unreasonable to look for the dis- 

 covery of new species from time to time. 



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