FORKED-TAILED PETREL. 
105 
Massachusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Breeds on the shores of Baffin’s 
Bay. 
Adult Male. 
Bill shorter than the head, slender, straight, with the tips curved, as broad 
as high at the base, extremely compressed at the end. Upper mandible with 
the nostrils forming a tube on its ridge at the base, beyond which the dorsal 
line is for a short space straight, then decurved, the ridge narrow and sepa- 
rated from the convex sides by a narrow groove, the edges sharp, inflected, 
the tip compressed, incurved. Lower mandible with the angle rather long, 
narrow and pointed, the dorsal line beyond it decurved, the sides erect, the 
edges sharp, the tip decurved. 
Head of ordinary size, roundish, anteriorly narrowed: Neck short. Body 
rather slender. Feet rather long, slender; tibia bare at its lower part; tarsus 
slender, reticulate all round. Hind toe minute, with a conical claw; anterior 
toes of moderate length, slender, scutellate above, connected by striated webs 
with concave margins ; the third and fourth toes longest, and about equal. 
Claws slender, arched, compressed, acute. 
Plumage very soft, blended, the feathers distinct only on the wings, which 
are very long ; primary quills tapering but rounded, the outer four a little 
incurved at theirextremiti.es, the second longest, the third almost equal, the 
first and fourth about the same length, the rest rapidly graduated ; outer 
secondaries incurved, obliquely rounded ; inner longer, tapering, straight. 
Tail deeply forked, of twelve broad, rounded feathers. 
Bill and feet black. Iris dark brown. The general colour of the plumage 
is dark greyish-brown, the quills and tail brownish-black, the smaller wing- 
coverts and inner secondaries light greyish-|)rown ; the rump, sides of the 
abdomen, and exterior lower tail-coverts, white. 
Length to end of tail 8 inches, to end of wings 82 ; extent of wings I82 ; 
wing from flexure 6 i ; tail 3 ; bill along the back ^ , along the edge of lower 
mandible If ; tarsus 1 ; middle toe jf, its claw f j. Weight If oz. 
The Female is exactly similar to the male. 
Vol. YIII.— 14 
