414 
LARIM. 
f Constantinople / — “ one reason why they have escaped the close 
attention of naturalists is, that no person is permitted to kill any 
bird upon the Bosphorus without incurring the displeasure of the 
Turks ;” and, as further stated by the Bishop of Norwich, “ an 
additional reason for the respect in which they are held by the 
Turks is, that, in consequence probably of their restless life, they 
are supposed to be bodies animated by condemned souls, thus 
doomed for ever to frequent the scenes of their former existence ;” 
— they are in fact called “ damned souls.” These shearwaters are 
fully treated of in the f Familiar History of Birds ' by this author, 
who, possessing a specimen, believed it to be the JProcellaria cine - 
rea, but on a later examination, since the genus became better 
known, it was said to be P. obscurus .* My friend Mr. H. E. 
Strickland, having noticed the bird of the Bosphorus as the P. an- 
glorum (Zoological Proceedings, 1836, p. 101), I wrote to know if 
he still considered it that species. He replied. Sept. 13th, 1850, 
“I have just re-examined the bird I shot on the Bosphorus in 
March 1836, and it is decidedly P. anglorum\ the beak measures 
If inches to the frontal feathers ; the wing 9 inches.” It is added, 
“ As both this and P. obscurus are known to inhabit the Mediter- 
ranean, I have no doubt that both frequently migrate up and 
down the Bosphorus, and as their mode of flight and general ap- 
pearance are similar, they have indiscriminately obtained the name 
of oiseaux damnes .” 
On several days in the middle of May 1841, I had the gratifi- 
cation of seeing in both the localities named, “ strings ” of these 
birds — for they all flew in single file — rapidly winging their 
way just above the surface of the water. Once or twice only did 
I see one touch that element, and then but for a moment, though 
flocks were in sight all day from an early hour of the morning. 
The singular feature, as it seems to me, connected with these 
birds, is, their flying in the manner described during the entire 
day, in bright as well as cloudy weather ; and not their being 
never seen to feed, for like the rest of their tribe, they are doubt- 
Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1843, p. 70. 
