PASSENGER TURTLE. 
187 
before they leave the nest, or are left by their pa- 
rents to seek their own food, are loaded with fat. 
This is frequently melted down in large quantities 
for culinary purposes, by those who are near enough 
to profit by the plunder of a breeding station of this 
remarkable bird. 
The form of the Passenger Turtle is graceful and 
elegant. The wings are long and acuminate, having 
the second quill-feather exceeding the others in 
length. The tail is greatly cuneiform or graduated, 
and consists of twelve tapering feathers. The bill is 
of a black colour, and similar in form to that of the 
turtle, and the legs, which are purplish-red, are short 
and strong. The iris is of a bright orange-red, the 
naked orbit purplish-red. The head and cheeks are 
pale bluish-grey, the fore-neck, the breast, and sides 
of a brownish-red, with a purplish tinge. The ab- 
domen and vent are white. The lower part and 
sides of the neck are of a purplish-crimson, reflect- 
ing tints of emerald green and gold. The upper 
plumage is of a deep bluish-grey, some of the scapu- 
lars and wing-coverts spotted with black. The greater 
coverts are grey, tipped with white. The quills are 
blackish-grey, with their exterior webs bluish- grey. 
Tail, with the two middle feathers, entirely black, 
the other five on each side grey at the base, with a 
black bar on the interior arch, and passing into white 
towards the extremities. The female is rather in- 
ferior in size, and has the coloure of her plumage 
