Okdee TUBINAEES.] 
[Fam. PROCELLAEIID^. 
CESTEELATA INCEETA. 
(DOUBTFUL PETREL.) 
Procellaria incerta, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, Procell. p. 9 (1863). 
^strelata incerta, Coues, Proc. Phil. Acad. 1866, p. 147. 
Ad. supr&, saturate fuliginoso-brunneus, alis obscurioribus : pileo colloque dorso concoloribus : subtus albus : sub- 
caudalibus apicaliter nigricanti-brunneis : rostro nigro : pedibus aurantiacis, digitis et membranis apicaliter 
nigricantibus : unguibus nigris. 
Adult. Head, neck all round, and all the upper surface dark sooty brown, deepening to brownish black on the 
wings and tail ; the feathers of the back and the small wing-coverts narrowly margined with pale brown ; 
in front of the eyes an obscure mark of black ; breast and abdomen pure white ; sides of the body stained 
with slaty grey ; inner lining of wings uniform blackish brown ; under tail-coA'erts, especially the longer 
ones, blackish brown in their apical portion. Bill black ; legs and feet orange-yellow, the outer toe and the 
interdigital webs, beyond the second joint, brownish black. Total length 19 inches j wing, from flexui'e, 
12'7o ; tail 5‘5 ; bill, along the ridge 1'9, along the edge of lower mandible 2 ; tarsus 1'75 ,- middle toe and 
claw 2‘5. 
This is a species that may with certainty be regarded as inhabiting the New-Zealand seas, although 
it may not be more plentiful than its near ally, CE. lessoni. 
Dr. Schlegel describes its range thus — “Southern Oceans: New Zealand, Australia, and New 
Caledonia ” ; and there is a specimen in the Leyden Museum labelled as having come from New 
Zealand. 
Dr. Coues thinks it likely that this bird will prove to be the young of CEstrelata lessoni ; but 
Mr. Salvin accepts it as a valid species, and the specimen in the British Museum from which I have 
taken my description appears to be a perfectly adult bird. 
This species has not often been recorded, but this is hardly surprising when one considers the 
nature of its habitat. After a voyage by sailing-vessel from N ew Zealand to London, Sir James 
Hector wrote to me : — “ I have been rather surprised at the small number of birds we have seen. 
For some days out from New Zealand we had Biomedea melano^hrys and another small species with 
a white head and mottled body. These were very common near the Bounty Islands, but w'ere not 
seen afterwards. The Mollymawks we had till we reached the South Tropic. It was not till we 
rounded the Horn that we saw any B. exulans or B. fuliginosa. The latter species I am positive 
we never saw . in the Pacific, as it is so easily recognized by the blue streak on the mandibles. It 
is very abundant between the Falkland Islands and latitude 30° S. Thalassidroma nereis followed us 
almost to the Horn ; but after entering the Atlantic T. melanogastra took its place, at first in 
large flocks, but since latitude 50° S. only a few stragglers have been seen. In the Pacific I saw 
one Lestris, and large flocks of ‘ Whale-birds,’ as the sailors call them, which were the Blue Billy 
{Prion turtur) ; but in the South Atlantic we met flocks of another but larger-sized grey bird, which 
they also called ‘Whale-birds.’ These w'ere evidently Procellaria glacialoides. We never saw a 
Cape-Pigeon during the voyage. Where can they be at this season — February to March ■? Only two 
Tropic-birds, one Frigate-bird, and a few Noddies were seen near St. Paul’s Eocks, and these com- 
plete the list of birds.” 
