168 
PROCELLARIA PELAGICA. 
They fly ipith the ivinj^s forming- an almost straight hoP^ 
zontal line with the body, the legs extended behind, an® 
the feet partly seen stretching beyond the tail. Theif 
common note of weet, weet, is scarcely louder than tba* 
of a young duck ot a week old, and much reseniblin!' 
it. During the whole of a dark, wet, and boisteroU-'' 
night, which I spent on deck, they flew about 
after-rigging, making a singular hoarse chatterin?' 
which in sound resembled the syllables patret tu Ci‘^, 
cull tu tu, laying tbe accent strongly on the secon® 
syllable tret. Now and then I conje(dured .that thff 
alighted on the rigging, making then a lower curriu-l 
noise. 
Notwithstanding the superstitious fears of the 
men, who dreaded the vengeance of the survivors, ‘ 
shot fourteen of these birds one calm day in lat. 33°' 
eighty or ninety miles off the coast of Carolina, an® 
had the boat lowered to pick them up. These * 
examined with considerable attention, and found th® 
most perfect specimens as follow : 
Length, six inches and three (juarters, extent, thirtce" 
inches and a half; bill, black; nostrils, united in ® 
tubular projection, the upper mandible grooved fre®’. 
thence, and overhanging the lower like that of a bird 
prey ; head, back, and lower parts, brown sooty black i 
greater wing-coverts, pale brown, minutely tipt wit*’ 
white ; sides of the vent and whole tail-coverts, pnt® 
white ; wings and tail, deep black, the latter near!/ 
even at the tip, or very slightly forked; in some .spcci' 
mens two or three of the exterror tail-feathers wet® 
white for an inch or so at the root ; legs and naked 
part of the thighs, black ; feet, webbed, with the sliffb*' 
rudiments of a hind toe; the membrane of the foot i® 
marked with a spot of straw yellow, and finely serrated 
along the edges ; eyes, blade. Male and female dift'erin? 
nothing in colour. 
On opening these, I found the first stomach large> 
containing numerous round semitransparent substance* 
of an amber colour, which I at first suspected to be the 
spawn of some fish; but on a more close and carefu* 
