PUFFINUS CUNEATUS. 



Long. 105° W., on the 7th of August, 1903. It is the largest example that has come under 

 my notice, having the following measurements : Wing, 12.2 inches ; culmen, 1.7 ; 

 tarsus, 2.0 ; middle toe and claw, 2.45. 



Mr. Anthony (Auk, 1900, p. 250) relates that, during the months of May and 

 June, off Cape St. Lucas and the Revillagigedo Islands he met with P. cuneatus, and 

 a large colony of this Shearwater was nesting on San Benedicto. The record is of 

 special interest, as the species was new to the American Fauna. A fine series of skins was 

 obtained, showing all the intergrades between the white-bellied phase of P. cuneatus 

 and the dusky form from the Sandwich Islands, described by Dr. Stejneger as P. knudseni. 

 Mr. Anthony further states that he observed this Shearwater at sea near Clarion 

 Island, though at the time of his visit the birds were not nesting ; they were not 

 seen west of Rocca Partida (Auk, 1898, pp. 313, 316), nor between Cape St. Lucas, in 

 Lower California, and Socorro and San Benedicto, where they became abundant ; 

 the bird was also noted by Mr. Nelson near the Tres Marias Islands (N. Amer. Faun., 

 No. XIV., p. 27). 



The low murmuring sound made by the birds was very difficult to locate, but Mr. 

 Anthony eventually found the south end of San Benedicto literally honeycombed with 

 their burrows ; in fact, so completely undermined that he frequently sank hip-deep 

 through the surface of apparently solid ground. The birds betrayed their presence by 

 moans and sobs, and when the burrows were opened, each one contained a pair, 

 which fought and bit savagely on being dragged to the fight. Their plumage varied 

 considerably, the larger number being dark, but many had a fight under-surface. One 

 burrow contained a typical P. cuneatus, with pure white under-parts, in company 

 with a dark P. knudseni. 



The burrows extended about five feet in a horizontal direction along the steep 

 narrow ravines at the southern end of the island, and the pumice rock was so hard 

 in places that the burrows frequently had to be opened with a pickaxe. A little 

 green grass or other vegetation formed the only attempt at a nest, and on this slight 

 structure both the parent birds sat; but there were no eggs, and the condition of 

 the birds gave no indication that the breeding season was at hand, when Mr. Anthony 

 visited the island. 



At sun-set the birds ashore would go out to sea, and at the same time large 

 numbers came inland. Thousands of Shearwaters would then be circling about, with 

 a very airy and graceful flight, contrasting with that of P. auricularis, which occasionally 

 skimmed through the throng. A bird with white head and dusky body was 

 observed circling several times round the boat, and seemed strongly suggestive of a 

 Heermann's Gull. 



On Laysan, Mr. H. C. Palmer found this Shearwater in pairs, and making a rude 

 nest of grass in a burrow in the sand, in which but a single white egg is laid. The 

 latter is elongate in shape, the shell very thin and smooth, but without gloss. 



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