STORMY PETREI,. 
167 
and in all weathers, contributing much, by 
sprightly evolutions of wing, to enliven the scene, 
affording me every day several hours of amuse- 
It is indeed an interesting sight to observe 
I ®se little birds in a gale, coursing over the waves, 
““"'n the declivities, up the ascents of the foaming 
that threatens to burst over their heads, sweeping 
^long the hollow troughs of the sea, as in a sheltered 
ysllcy, and again mounting with the rising billow, and 
above its surface, occasionally dropping its feet, 
)'j'>ch, striking the water, throws it up again with 
^®ditional force, sometimes leaping, with both legs 
J“''allel, on the surface of the roughest waves for several 
f^fds at a time. Meanwhile it continues coursing 
f ®"a side to side of the ship’s wake, making excursions 
and wide, to the right and to the left, now a 
f^^at way aliead, and now shooting astern for several 
®®iulred yards, returning again to the ship as if she 
''^fe all tile while stationary, though perhaps running 
file rate of ten knots an hour. But the most sin- 
peculiarity of this bird is its faculty of standing, 
'‘ad even running, on the surface of the water, which it 
I*®fforms with apparent facility. When any greasy 
****tter is thrown overboard, these birds instantly collect 
^•’puiid it, and, facing to windward, with their long 
"’’tigs expanded, and their webbed feet patting the 
"ater, the lightness of their bodies, and the action 
the wind on their wings, enable them to do this 
"'itli case. In calm weather they perform the same 
"lanoeuvre, by keeping their wings just so much in 
"®tiou as to prevent their feet from sinking below the 
fi^hice. According to Buffon,* it is from this singular 
^abit that the whole genus liave obtained the name 
t etrel, from the apostle Peter, who,as Scripture informs 
'IS, also walked on the watei'. 
As these birds often come up immediately under the 
^isrn, one can examine their form and plumage with 
nearly as much accuracy as if they were iu the hand. 
* BerpoK, tome xxiii, p. 299. 
