^18 



PROCELLARIA. PETREL. 



Generic Character, 



Rostrum capite brevier, apice 

 valde compressum, inte- 

 grum; mandibulae apice 

 aduncae. 



Nares tubulo supra basin 

 rostri decumbente, trun- 

 cato-geminata. 



Pedes graciles; tarsi elon- 

 gati ; unguis posticus loco 

 pollice. 



BeaJc shorter than the head, 

 its tip greatly compressed, 

 entire ; both mandibles 

 hooked. 



Nostrils placed in a trun- 

 cated and geminated tube 

 above the base of the beak. 



Legs slender ; tarsi elon- 

 gated ; no hinder toe, but 

 a simple claw instead. 



PROCELLARIA Auctorum. 



iHE Petrels are the smallest birds of this group ; 

 they fly about in the tw^ilight, and delight in stormy 

 and cloudy weather ; their flight is astonishingly 

 rapid, and their movement so abrupt, that it is dif- 

 ficult to watch them for a long period : during fine 

 weather they seldom appear abroad, but take refuge 

 in the deserted hole of a rabbit, or in the cleft of a 

 rock, making their appearance towards evening, in 

 search of food, which consists of various insects and 

 vermes, and also pieces of blubber and fat, that float 

 about on the surface of the water. 



