1883.] 403 [Brewster. 



the first two days of the voyage between Capes Arm and Sable. 

 Over this extent of ocean they were constantly in sight, skim- 

 ming close to the waves and pursuing no definite course, but wan- 

 dering aimlessly in irregular lines, sometimes turning back and 

 repassing once or twice over a particular spot, oftener gliding on 

 until hidden in some fog wreath or lost in the distance. Every 

 now and then one would make directly for our vessel and wheel- 

 ing over her wake follow for a mile or two, keeping a sharp look- 

 out for any chance scraps that might be thrown overboard. Occa- 

 sionally numbers collected about some spot where food had been 

 discovered, and where, for a few moments, the water would be 

 crowded with their dusky forms. Their manner of picking up a 

 floating object is peculiar. The bird does not actualty alight, but 

 simply drops its legs and walks on the surface with outstretched 

 wings the bill meanwhile being busily employed. Ordinarily it 

 takes only a few steps and the wings are not appreciably moved ; 

 but sometimes, especially when the feast proves abundant, it stands 

 perfectly still for several minutes at a time, maintaining its posi- 

 tion by a tremulous, butterfly-like flapping. On other occasions 

 its flight is easy, graceful, and strongly suggestive of that of a 

 Swallow, to which in general shape also it bears a striking resem- 

 blance. It feeds chiefly on the table refuse thrown overboard from 

 steamers and sailing vessels ; but one which I shot disgorged a 

 perfect shrimp of large size, showing that the bird still avails itself 

 of the natural products of the sea. 



I was unable to discover when or where these Petrels sleep. We 

 rarely saw one sitting on the water, and long after dark I have 

 detected their shadowy forms flitting over the vessel's wake. The 

 sailors say that they fly all night, and one of our men told me that 

 he had known them strike against the rigging and fall helplessly 

 on deck, an incident which did not happen, however, during our 

 cruise. 



But a still greater mystery is that which envelopes the breed- 

 ing of Wilson's Petrel. I am not aware that any one has ever 

 identified its egg or even certainly found it nesting ; yet it spends 

 the entire summer along our coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 to Cape Henry, Virginia, and over much of this area is even more 

 numerous than Leach's Petrel. Why then have its breeding 

 grounds remained undiscovered while those of Leach's Petrel are 



