North Atlantic
Voyage from Liverpool to Boston - Gulf Stream waters.
1911.
Aug. 8
(No 5)
[August 8, 1911]

not unlike that of Puffinus major but rather lighter, swifter &
more direct, without obvious traces of the rhythmical upward swings in
which P. major [Puffinus major] indulges, less often & markedly, however, then P. anglorum [Puffinus anglorum].
I saw several of these birds to excellent advantage and within 200
yards or less. They seemed to me rather too small for P. auduboni [Puffinus auduboni]
but if not that I cannot imagine what they could have been.*

Bulweria bulweri

  Shortly after 7 P.M. when the calm sea was shining with opalescent
tints reflected from the sunset sky to the westward, I saw flying
as close to its surface as they could fly without striking the points
of their long, narrow wings, 5 birds which appeared to be unicolored
and almost if not quite black & about twice as long as Leach's
Petrels. They crossed our bows singly, at intervals of two or three
minutes & heading south-east and keeping straight on without the
slightest pause or marked change of course until out of sight. Their wings
were moved incessantly with long, deep, vigorous but easy strokes. Allen
thinks they may have been Bulwer's Petrels. I have never seen anything
at all like them before. [Afterwards (on Aug 11) I examined several specimens
of Bulwer's Petrel in Mus. Com. Zool. [Museum of Comparative Zoology] Without question it was the species I saw
on Aug. 8]

*P. affinis cf. note on p. 4 of Aug. 6 entry