10. OCEANODROMA TRISTRAMI, Stejneger. 



(TRISTRAM'S FORK-TAILED PETREL.) 



Procellaria melania (nee Bp.), Seebohm, Birds Japan. Emp., p. 270 (1890). 

 Oceanodroma markhami (nee Salvin), Stejneger, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI., p. 621 (1893). 

 Oceanodroma fuliginosa (nee Gm.), Stejneger, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., XVI., p. 620 (1893) ; 



Salvin, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XXV, p. 352 (1896) ; Rothsch., Avif. Laysan, 



III., p. 308 (1896). 

 Oceanodroma tristrami, Stejneger in Salvin's Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XXV., p. 354 (1896). 



Major : uropygio et supracaudalibus fumoso-brunneis, minime albis : subalaribus 

 fumoso-brunneis, pectore concoloribus, minime albicantibus. 



A Peteel obtained by Mr. Y. Tanaka at Torishima in 1891, and presented by him 

 to the Science College Museum at Tokyo, was described by Dr. Stejneger in the 

 " Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum for 1893 " (Vol. XVI., p. 620). He 

 identified the specimen with the " Sooty Petrel " of Latham (Gen. Syn., III., p. 409, 

 unde Procellaria fidiginosa of Gmelin), and Salvin agreed with this identification. 



Dr. Stejneger did not give the dimensions of his specimen, but he stated that 

 it was " chiefly distinguishable from the other brown-rumped species by its larger size." 



Mr. Seebohm considered that a Petrel from Sendai Bay, on the east coast of 

 Hondo, obtained by Lieut. Gunn, and then in Canon Tristram's collection, was refer- 

 able to O. melania, Bp., and on comparing it with the type of the latter species in Paris, 

 he came to the conclusion that it was O. melania. Canon Tristram, however, sent the bird 

 to Dr. Stejneger, who found that it was not identical with an example of O. melania 

 obtained by Xantus at Cape St. Lucas. Dr. Stejneger further suggested that it might 

 be O. markhami of Salvin, but subsequently he attached to it the name of 0. tristrami, 

 and under that title it was published by Salvin in the Catalogue of Birds of the 

 British Museum. Personally, I think that Dr. Stejneger's conclusions were correct, 

 and that the Japanese bird was certainly not O. melania. He refers to a table 

 of measurements of 0. tristrami and its allies, but this was not included in his memoir. 



I have recently examined a Japanese specimen of the bird recognised by Dr. 

 Stejneger as Latham's " Sooty Petrel," obtained by Mr. Alan Owston, on May 5th, 



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