354 CHONOS ATiCHiPELAGO. Jan. 1835. 



should have been created. But it should always be recol- 

 lected^ that in some other country perhaps it is an essential 

 member of society^ or at some former period may have been 

 so. If America south of 37° should be sunk beneath the 

 waters of the ocean^ the Sj/nal/axis and Scytalopus might 

 continue to exist in central Chile for a long period, but it is 

 very improbable that their numbers would increase. We 

 should then see a case, which must inevitably have happened 

 with very many animals. 



These southern seas are frequented by several species of 

 Petrels. The largest kind, Procellaria gigantea, or nelly, 

 (quebrantahuesos, or break-bones, of the Spaniards) is a 

 common bird, both in the inland channels and on the open 

 sea. In its habits and manner of flight there is a very 

 close resemblance with the albatross, and as with the latter 

 bird, a person may watch it for hours together without see- 

 ing on what it feeds, so is it with this petrel. The " break- 

 bones^^ is, however, a rapacious bird,* for it was observed by 

 some of the officers at Port St. Antonio chasing a diver. The 

 bird tried to escape both by diving and flying, but was con- 

 tinually struck down, and at last killed by a blow on its head. 

 At Port St. Julian, also, these great petrels were seen killing 

 and devouring young gulls. 



A second species [Puffinus cinereus-\), which is common to 

 Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast of Peru, is of a much 

 smaller size than the gigantea, but, like it, of a dirty black 

 colour. It generally frequents the inland sounds in very large 

 flocks : I do not think I ever saw so many birds of any other 

 sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island of 

 Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line, for 

 several hours in one direction. When part of the flock 

 settled on the water, the surface was blackened, and a noise 

 proceeded from them, as of human beings talking in the dis- 



* The Spaniards who named it were probably aware of this, for " que- 

 brantahuesos" means properly an osprey. 



f I am indebted to Mr. Gould for naming these birds, and for kindly 

 furnishing me with much information respecting them. 



