MONOGRAPH OF THE PETRELS. 



Edwards believed that his specimen came from the Cape seas, and Brisson, 

 without seeing it, described the bird as " Le Puffin du Cap de Bonne Esperance." On 

 these two descriptions and upon Edwards' figure, Linnaeus founded his name of 

 Procellaria cequinoctialis, which has since been the recognised designation of the Black 

 Fulmar of the Cape seas. 



The white on the chin proves, however, to be a variable character, for, after 

 examining the large series in the British Museum I find that the amount of white, 

 though varying among individuals, increases with the eastward distribution of the 

 species, till, in Australian specimens, not only do white chins and cheeks frequently 

 exist, but in some specimens two white bands are likewise found on the head. 



This latter form has been named M . conspicillatus by Gould, who gives a beautiful 

 figure in his " Birds of Australia." Although at first sight this would seem to be a 

 distinct species, further examination proves that the Australian birds also vary to a 

 considerable extent, and as intermediate forms exist, neither Salvin nor I have been 

 able to separate them, although they have been considered to be distinct by such good 

 authorities as Professor Giglioli, Dr. Elliot Coues, and Dr. Reichenow. 



Among the records of the occurrence of this species in the Cape seas, we have one 

 of John Macgillivray, who met with it on the voyage of the " Rattlesnake," in Simon's 

 Bay, in March, 1847. Dr. E. A. Wilson, during the voyage of the " Discovery," 

 noticed this Fulmar in Lat. 38° S., Long 1° E. (Nat. Antarctic Exped., II., Aves, p. 86), 

 and he also records it from False Bay. Layard says that it is resident in Table Bay, 

 leaving only to breed in the southern spring of the year (Sharpe, ed. Layard, Birds S. 

 Africa, p. 766). It is also said to occur to the northward of the Cape on both east and 

 west coasts. Dr. Wilson further states that M. aiquinoctialis was abundant in the 

 South Atlantic Ocean, and from October onwards it accompanied the ship until 

 November 9th, when it disappeared in Lat. 52° S., Long. 120° E. 



The Earl of Crawford, in the " Venus," met with the species in Lat. 34° 39' S., 

 Long. 8° 51' E., in September and October, 1874. The late Nikolai Hanson obtained 

 a specimen in Lat. 42° 23' S., Long. 20° 32' E. (Sharpe, Rep. Voy. " Southern Cross," 

 p. 146), and again in Lat. 44° 23' S., Long. 72° 5' E. Giglioli records it from Lat. 

 42° 55' S., Long. 36° 31' E., to Lat. 35° 1' S., Long. 85° E. 



An example was procured by the Scottish Antarctic Expedition at Gough Island, 

 and further specimens obtained in these seas are in the British Museum. Gould, who 

 mentions considerable numbers in the neighbourhood of Tristan da Cunha (Handbook 

 Birds Austr., II., p. 446), noticed this bird in the South Atlantic and South Pacific 

 Oceans, but states that it was most plentiful between the 25th and 50th degrees of 

 South Latitude, and especially about the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, and from 

 thence to Tasmania. Mr. A. J. Campbell confirms this statement as regards Tasmania, 

 and mentions M. mquinoctialis as an inhabitant also of the seas of New South Wales 

 (Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, II., p. 897). 



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