( 107 ) 



ON A NEW BRITISH PETREL. 

 By Boyd Alexander. 



An example of Oceanodroma cryptoleacura, which proved on 

 dissection to be a female, was picked up on the beach close to 

 Littlestone, a small village six miles north of Dungeness, on 

 December 5th last, at a time when strong north-westerly gales 

 were prevalent. It was taken the next day to Mr. Bristow, the 

 taxidermist, at St. Leonards, and there I saw it in the flesh. It 

 was in poor condition, and clearly in appearance a storm-beaten 

 victim. 



This specimen was subsequently exhibited by Mr. Howard 

 Saunders at a meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club, on 

 April 15th, and the fact that it was found on the English coast 

 will be of interest to ornithologists, not only because it adds a 

 fresh species to the British Procellariidce, but also on account of 

 the recent discovery by Mr. Ogilvie Grant of the breeding of this 

 species in the Canar}' seas, where it had been previously con- 

 founded with Leach's Fork-tailed Petrel (see * The Zoologist,' 

 1895, p. 413). It may be well to give here a resume of the range 

 of 0. cryptoleucura : — It is found in the South Atlantic, and 

 inhabits the Sandwich Islands and St. Helena, while the most 

 northern breeding point at present known is the Salvage Group. 

 In the above places, therefore, it appears to be the representative 

 form of Leach's Petrel (0. leucorrhoa). Although the latter 

 species has occurred as far south as the Canaries, it can only be 

 regarded in the same light as when found off the English coasts 

 and off some of those of Eastern Europe — a mere straggler, 

 though not an uncommon one. 



On the other hand, when the lately increased straggling 

 distribution of 0. leucorrhoa is considered, it seems not unlikely 

 that 0. cryptoleucura will before long be met with quite as often 

 as its close relative ; in fact, it is not out of the question to 

 suppose that cases may have occurred prior to the one here men- 

 tioned, but where proper identification has not been exercised. 



The knowledge of ornithology possessed by a local taxidermist 

 does not, as a rule, extend much beyond the pale of those species 

 which have passed at different times through his hands, while 

 some which require a close examination to be identified (and 



