50 
PROCELLARIIFORMES 
The birds are well known to sailors and travellers under the name of 
'‘Mother Carey’s Chickens” and their appearance is said to presage a 
storm. In spite of their diminutive size they are met with far out at sea and 
are seldom seen by the longshoreman except in the vicinity of their breeding 
grounds. Even where they nest in numbers, they may remain unnoticed 
by the ordinary observer, owing to their nocturnal habits when breeding. 
Economic Status. The petrels though feeding on fish are too small and 
live too far from civilization to be of calculable economic importance. 
105. Fork- tailed Petrel, le petrel a queue fourchue. Oceanodroma furcata . 
L, 8-9. An ashy grey petrel, lighter below and on throat. Tail decidedly forked, outer 
feathers nearly an inch longer than the centre ones. 
Distinctions. Ashy grey coloration instead of smoky brown. A Pacific species. 
Field Marks. The ashy colour and lack of white rump patch. 
Distribution. North Pacific and adjacent Arctic Oceans. Breeds along the Pacific 
coast south to Oregon. Our only substantiated breeding records are from Queen Char- 
lotte Islands, but it is recorded as nesting both to the north and the south of our shores. 
106. Boreal Petrel, le petrel boreal. Oceanodroma leucorhoa. L, 8. A small, 
sooty brown petrel, very slightly paler below, with a white rump. Tail slightly forked, 
outer feathers three-quarters of an inch longer than centre ones. 
Distinctions. An Atlantic and Pacific species. Sooty brown coloration instead of 
ashy grey as the Fork-tailed Petrel. The only brown petrel of the west coast. On the east 
coast distinguished from Storm Petrel by forked tail and dark underwing surface; from 
Wilson's by black instead of yellow web feet and feet extending beyond tail. 
Field Marks. Sooty brown coloration and white rump, forked tail, and clock feet. 
Distribution. North Pacific and north Atlantic Oceans. In the former breeding 
south to Lower California. Our only ascertained breeding locality for this species in 
British Columbia is on Queen Charlotte Islands, and one is reported from Cape flattery 
in Washington. On the Atlantic side of the continent it nests from Maine to southern 
Labrador and in southern Greenland. 
SUBSF J ECIES. The new American Ornithological Union Check-List recognizes 
two subspecies on Canadian waters, Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa, Leach’s Petrel (le 
Petrel de Leach), of the Atlantic, and Oceanodroma leucorhoa beali, Beal's Petrel (le Petrel 
de Beal), on the Pacific side. A third form, Oceanodroma leucorhoa kaedingi, Kaeding’s 
Petrel, once attributed to Canada, is now restricted to Lower California and adjoining water, 
106. 2. Madeira Petrel, le petrel de madeire. Oceanodroma castro. L, 7-75. 
Evenly sooty brown with white rump like Leach’s Petrel, but tail only slightly or not 
evidently forked. 
Distinctions. Averaging slightly smaller than Leach’s Petrel which it resembles 
closely except for tail w'hich when closed is only slightly or not evidently forked, and the 
longer white rump feathers which are strongly and sharply tipped with black instead of 
being just clouded with brownish. Easily distinguished from the Storm Petrel by larger 
size and lack of whitish on underwing surface and from Wilson’s Petrel by much shorter 
legs, the tarsus being not longer than middle toe and claw. 
Field Marks. Too undistinctive and too rare in American waters to be reliably 
identified in life. 
Distribution. Breeds on Madeira, the Azores, and Cape Verde Islands, to St. Helena. 
Usually confined to the eastern side of the Atlantic. Only a very few American records. 
One bird was picked up in exhausted condition in the Rideau River near Ottawa, August 
28, 1933. 
104. Storm Petrel, mother caret's chicken, le petrel de temp£ste. Hydro- 
bates pelagicus. L, 5 ■ 75. The smallest of our petrels. Blackish brown with white rump. 
Distinctions. An Atlantic species. Like Leach’s or Wilson’s Petrels, but smaller. 
Separable from Leach’s by round or unforked tail and from Wilson’s by black w r ebs to feet. 
Field Marks. A small, dark petrel with some w r hite on under wing. 
Distribution. Eastern parts of north Atlantic Ocean. There is a single record for 
Canada — from northern Ungava. 
