166 
PROCELL ARIA PELAGICA. 
own, point out the change in the atmosphere before it 
has become sensible to his grosser feelings ; and thus, 
in a certain degree, contribute to his security. And 
why should not those who navigate the ocean contem- 
plate the appearance of this unoffending little bird in 
like manner, instead of eyeing it with hatred and exe- 
cration ? As well might they curse the midnight light- 
house, that, star-like, guides them on their watery way, 
or the buoy, that warns them of the sunken rocks 
below, as this harmless wanderer, whose manner 
informs them of the approach of the storm, and thereby 
enables them to prepare for it. 
The stormy petrels, or Mother Carey’s chickens, breed 
in great numbers on the rocky shores of the Bahama 
and the Bermuda Islands, and in some places on the 
coast of East Florida and Cuba. They breed in com- 
munities, like the hank swallows, making their nests 
in the holes and cavities of the rocks above the sea, 
returning to feed their young only during the night, 
with the superabundant oily food from their stomachs, j 
At these times they may he heard making a continued 
cluttering sound like frogs during the whole night. In 
the day they are silent, and wander widely over the 
ocean. This easily accounts for the vast distance they 
are sometimes seen from land, even in the breeding i 
season. The rapidity of their flight is at least equal to 
the fleetness of our swallows. Calculating this at the 
rate of one mile per minute, twelve hours would be 
sufficient to waft them a distance of seven hundred and 
twenty miles ; but it is probable that the far greater 
part confine themselves much nearer land during that 
interesting period. 
In the month of July, while on a voyage from New 
Orleans to New York, I saw few or none of these 
birds in the Gulf of Mexico, although our ship was 
detained there by calms for twenty days, and carried 
by currents as far south as Cape Antonio, the western- 
most extremity of Cuba. On entering the Gulf stream, 
and passing along the coasts of Florida and the Caro- i 
linas^ these birds made their appearance in great 
