Birds. 6379 



Gap is about five miles east of Seaford, at which place the Rev. R. N. Dennis, Hector 

 of East Blatchington, procured a specimen on the 7th of October, 1858. Doubtless 

 we shall hear of more captures this winter. — Id. 



Occurrence of the Black Sivan (Cygnus atratus) in Somersetshire. — In the spring 

 of last year, five of these birds were shot in North Moor, near Bridgwater, Somerset- 

 shire. I did not at the time ascertain the species, but I have lately had the opportunity 

 of seeing one of the five at Taunton, when it clearly appeared to be the C. atratus of 

 Keill (Anas atrata, Latham), the whole plumage being black, or very nearly so, and 

 the bill red, with white marks near the point. It measured from the tip of the bill to 

 the end of the tail, 3 feet 10 inches. I could not measure the expansion of the wings, 

 as the bird was prepared for being stuffed. The birds, when first seen, were far from 

 wild, allowing a near approach before they attempted to fly off. This may have been 

 from excessive fatigue. Were they foreign immigrants, or is it more probable that 

 they escaped from some preserve? If immigrants, where did they come from? — 

 Thomas Clark ; Halesleigh, January 5, 1859. 



Remarks on the Southern Petrels. — A very common and well-known bird is the 

 Pentado petrel (Procellaria capensis), commonly known as the " Cape pigeon," from 

 July to December ; it is by far the most numerous bird between the latitudes of 30° S. 

 and 40° S. ; during the rest of the year it is seldom seen. I have not been able to 

 ascertain where it breeds, as it is never seen in the islands of the Southern seas ; and 

 at the time of the year when the other birds are nesting it is found plentifully out at 

 sea. It is very remarkable the preponderance of marine birds in cold climates over 

 those in tropical seas, being exactly the reverse of that which usually obtains on land, 

 but perhaps they are not quite so numerous as people imagine, as we must remember 

 that a ship at sea draws all birds towards it for a circle of at least 20 miles in diameter. 

 When caught, these birds, as indeed most of the petrels, vomit a quantity of strong- 

 smelling oil, not as a means of offence, but out of fright; their cry is like a piece of 

 iron drawn along a very large-toothed comb. It is useless to describe these pretty 

 birds, — they are too well known : their proper habitat is from 27° S. to 41° S.,but they 

 often follow a ship as far as 24° S., and once oue followed the ship I was in as far as 

 17° S., but the thermometer was only 70° in the shade ; that day I saw Tropic birds, 

 flying fish and a Cape pigeon all together. There are a great many species of petrels 

 in those seas : I made out ten different species ; the names of some I do not know, and 

 I am certain that many more would be made out if one only had more facilities for 

 getting them. The sooty petrel (Puffinus major), called by the Australians "the mut- 

 ton bird," is common in July and August, but retires to breed in September; it makes 

 a burrow in the ground horizontally from two feet to as much as six yards, and lays one 

 cream-coloured egg at the end of it. The bird is brown above and white below, feet 

 yellow, beak blue ; its feathers fit very close and have a glossy appearance ; it is very 

 fond of diving, poising itself in the air at a height of 20 or 25 feet, it shuts its wings and 

 takes a header straight into the water, sometimes it stops under several minutes, and 

 when it comes up shakes the water off like a dog : they open their wings under water, 

 and use them very rapidly ; like all the other petrels they fly with their legs stretched 

 out behind them. Several of the petrels are very local: the whiteeheeked petrel (Pro- 

 cellaria cequinoctialis), for instance, is never found east of the Cape, but goes generally 

 farther north as far as 26° S., whilst several others are never seen to the west of it : 

 one of them is the longnosed petrel, — I do not know its name but there is an unnamed 

 specimen in the museum at Calcutta ; it is blackish brown, with black feet and a 



