Oebeu TUBUSTARES.] 
FEEGETTA MEL ANO GASTEE. 
(BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL.) 
[Eam. peocellariida?. 
Procellaria grallaria, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 83 (1823). 
Thalassidroma melanogaster, Gould, Ann. N. H. xiii. p. o67 (1844). 
Fregetta melanogastra, Bonap. C. E-. xlii. p. /69 (1856). 
Procellaria melanogastra, Schl. Mus. Pays-Bas, Procell. p. 6 (1863). 
Thalassidroma melanogaster, Buller, Birds of New Zealand, 1st ed. p. 319 (1873). 
Ad. fuliginoso-brunneus, tectricibus alarum majoribus pallidius brunnesceutibus : gul4 albo vari^, plumis basaliter 
albis : corporis lateribus, supracaudalibus, subalaribus et axillaribus albis : subcaudalibus fubginosis albo 
terminals : rostro et pedibus nigris ; iride nigrCi. 
Adidt. General plumage sooty blaek, darker on the wings and tail ; sides of tlie body, flanks, and long upper 
tail-coverts pure white ; some of the under tail-eoverts on each side edged with white ; long inner wmg- 
coverts and axillary plumes pure white. Irides black; bill and legs black. Total length 9 inches; wing, 
from flexure, 6-5 ; tail 3 ; bill, along the ridge '75, along the edge of lower mandible '9 ; bare tibia 75 ; 
tarsus 1-5 ; middle toe and claw I'l. 
Occasional examples of this Storm-Petrel are recorded; and specimens are to be found in the 
Auckland, Nelson, and Canterbury Museums, all obtained on the adjacent coasts. Mr. Gould, who 
met with it in great abundance, in March 1840, between the eastern coast of Australia and New 
Zealand, observes It is a bird of powerful flight, and pats the surface of the rising waves more 
frequently than any other species that came under my notice ; or perhaps the great length of its legs 
rendered this action more conspicuous.” 
Dmin- stormy weather it often follows in the wake of the labouring vessel, and apparently for 
days together. I observed this myself, in 1856, during a severe gale, experienced off the Chatham 
Islands, which lasted nearly a fortnight. These Storm-Petrels followed us day and night ; and it was 
some relief to the extreme monotony and misery of our situation (for our vessel was a mere schooner 
of 80 tons) to watch the movements of these fairy-like beings as they danced among the surgmg 
billows, running with Huttering wings in the hollow of the waves, and then hovering over their foaming 
crests with the lightness of summer butterflies. I observed that the same individual bird often 
remained in our wake for considei-able distances, without ever resting on the water or changing its 
course for one moment, its powers of endurance being truly wonderful. I found, on inquiry, that 
seamen make no distinction between this species of Storm-Petrel and its congeners, calling them alt 
“ Mother Carey’s chickens,” and resenting as a positive sin any attempt to shoot or capture these 
“ spirits of departed sailors,” as they facetiously term them, to whom they profess to commit the 
destinies of the voyage. It is an interesting sight to watch this Petrel fluttering over the stormy 
ocean — alternately skimming over the rolling billows and treading, as it were, the trou,, o 
It is a pretty object when seen under these circumstances, and it is not surprising that r 
immemorial it has excited the sympathy of the hardy sailor. As the bird trips light y ovei 
w-aves the black and white plumage shows very clearly against the opaline blue of the 
Like the other members of the group, it subsists on small mollusks, medusm, and any in o greasy 
substance that may be floating on the water. 
VOL. II. 
