386 STORMY PETREL. 



sit, as to be with difficulty discovered unless after a close 

 search. 



The sheerwater leaves our shores soon after his young are 

 fit for the journey. He is found on various coasts of Asia, 

 as well as America, residing principally near the tropics, and 

 migrating into the temperate regions of the globe only for the 

 purpose of rearing his young. He is rarely or never seen far 

 out at sea ; and must not be mistaken for another bird of the 

 same name, a species of petrel,* which is met with on every 

 part of the ocean, skimming with bended wings along the 

 summits, declivities, and hollows of the waves. 



STORMY PETREL. {Procellaria pelagica.) 



PLATE LX.— Fig. 6. 



Arct. Zool. No. 464.— Le Petrel, ou l'Oiseaux Tempete, PL enl. 993.— Bewick, ii. 

 223.— PeaWs Museum, No. 3034. 



THALASIDROMA WILSONII.— Bonaparte. t 



Thalasidroma Wilsonii, Bonap. Synop. p. 367.— Procellaria Wilsonii, Steph. Cont. 

 Sh. Zool. xiii. p. 224. — Procellaria Wilsonii, Orel's reprint of Wils. p. 94. — 

 Journ. of the Acad, of N. S. of Philad. iii. p. 231, pi. is.. 



There are few persons who have crossed the Atlantic, or 

 traversed much of the ocean, who have not observed these 



* Procellaria pvffinus, the sheerwater petrel. 



t This species, confounded (and with little wonder, from its near 

 alliance) by Wilson with the P. pelasgica, has been named as above 

 by the Prince of Musignano, another tribute to the memory of our 

 American ornithologist, and he has added the following differences and 

 distinctive characters. Bonaparte has also added the T. Bullockii to 

 the American list. 



The smaller petrels of other countries are much allied to these ; they 

 amount to a considerable number, many of which are yet undetermined, 

 and are confused with each other, in the want of proper distinguishing 

 characters being assigned to each. It is from this tbat the P. pelasgica 

 has been assigned a distribution so extensive. Some species are found 

 in most latitudes, and from their similarity most observers seem to be 



