ALCIN^. 
341 
469. 3. Thalassidroma pelagica^ Linn. Least Petrel. — - 
Mother Carey’s Chicken, 
Plate CCXI, 
Tail slightly rounded ; bill and feet black ; general colour of the 
upper parts greyish-black, with a tinge of brown ; lower parts sooty- 
brown ; secondary coverts margined externally with dull greyish- 
white j feathers of rump and upper tail-coverts white, with the shafts 
black, the tail-coverts broadly tipped with black. 
Male, 6 1, 13^. 
Not uncommon on the Banks of Newfoundland. Not observed to 
breed on the American coast. 
Stormy Petrel, Thalassidroma pelagica, Nutt. Man, v. ii. p. 327. 
Teast Petrel, Thalassidroma pelagica, Aud, Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 310, 
FAMILY XLIV. ALCIN^F. AUKS. 
Bill not longer than the head, much compressed, gene- 
rally very high, in the species approaching the next family 
rather slender. Nostrils small, linear, basal, and submar- 
ginal. Head large, broadly ovate, anteriorly narrowed ; 
neck short and thick ; body full, compact, ovate, or some- 
what elongated. Feet short, rather stout, placed far be- 
hind ; tibia bare for a short space ; tarsus very short, com- 
pressed, anteriorly scutellate ; toes three, of moderate length, 
scutellate, webbed. Claws strong, arched, acute. Plumage 
dense, blended, soft. Wings small, narrow, pointed. Tail 
very short. Tongue slender, trigonal; oesophagus very 
wide, within the thorax extremely dilated ; stomach rather 
large, muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudi- 
nally rugous ; intestine long and wide ; coeca of moderate 
size. Trachea simple, with a single pair of inferior laryn- 
geal muscles. Egg generally single. 
