OF THE DIABLOTIN IN DOMINICA. 
23 
Mr. Howard Saunders in his lately published Manual of British 
Birds thus refers to the occurrence of the species in Europe : — 
“ Iu the Museum at Boulogne there is a Capped Petrel said to have beeu 
shot near that town many years ago by its donor, a sportsman long since 
deceased ; and Mr. W. Eagle Clarke has identified a specimen in the Buda- 
Pesth Museum which, according to Dr. Madarasz was killed near Zoliuki in 
North Hungary iu 1870; but in neither case can the pedigree be considered 
quite satisfactory. No other occurrences are recorded from Europe, and in 
fact little is known of the distribution or head-quarters of this species. 
An example from Hayti is in the British Museum ; Paris has three, obtained 
by L’Herminier in the island of Guadeloupe, where, however, Mr. Ober 
failed to rediscover the bird : there is a fourth in Paris, and a fifth is in 
Leiden, from unknown localities; while in the United States a wounded 
individual was picked up on a salt lagoon on the east side of Florida in 18-H), 
and another was shot on Long Island in July 1850, after a severe storm. 
It is almost unnecessary to add that we have no information respecting the 
breeding-habits of this species, but it probably resorts to burrows 
in the mountains of tropical islands.” 
The proof that the Diablotin and the Capped Petrel are identical, 
rests chiefly on the evidence brought to bear on the subject by two 
French naturalists, L’Herminier, who resided in Guadeloupe 
fifty years ago, and who corresponded with and sent specimens to 
De Lafresnaye residing at Falaise in Normandy. 
That L’Herminier and Lafresnaye recognised the Diablotin 
of P6re Labat as inhabiting Guadeloupe is evident, for the latter 
writes in the 1 Revue Zoologique’ for 1 S44 (p. 1GS) as follows : — 
“Uue espece de Petrel, le Petrel Diable, du pere Labbat [*tc] Diablotiu 
a la Guadeloupe, Procellaria diabolica L'Herminier, qui y arrive vers la fin 
de septembre, y niche en decembrc dans les Falaises.” 
Lafresnaye’s collection contained three specimens of this Petrel 
(Nos. 8000 to 8002 of his lithographed catalogue) received no 
doubt from L’Herminier, which collection, after the death of 
Lafresnaye, was sold to the Natural History Society of Boston, 
Mass. The Museum of the University of Cambridge subsequently 
obtained in exchange one of these specimens, which, on the 
authority of Professor Newton, is undoubtedly ( Estrelata hcesitata, 
the Capped Petrel. 
During my residence in the West Indies, in the years 1888-89, 
I felt extremely desirous of exploring those localities in the island 
of Dominica which are known to have been formerly visited by 
