NOTES ON CERTAIN LARIDHE AND PROCELLARII- 
DyE OF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. 
BY CAPT. J. W. COLLINS. 
In the second volume of ‘New England Bird Life,’ edited by 
Dr. Elliott Coues, statements are made concerning the habits of 
certain species of our sea-birds to which it seems desirable to call 
attention, since, as I am informed, similar statements, though 
erroneous, have generally been put forth as facts by the majority 
of American ornithologists. 
It is stated that the Greater Shearwater (Puffinus major )—the 
‘Hag’ or ‘Hagdon’ of the fishermen—and the ‘Black Hag’ ( P. 
fuliginosus') , both of which usually come and go together, are 
winter birds on our coast. Though it may appear egotistical 
for me to question such high authority, I am, nevertheless, com¬ 
pelled to say that these birds are not found with us in winter, 
unless, indeed, a stray specimen might be seen. In thirty years 
of sea-life off the coasts of New England and the British North 
American Provinces, I have never seen any ‘Hags’ in winter, nor 
have I learned of their occurrence at that season. They usually 
come in May, the time of arrival being slightly varied by the con¬ 
dition of the weather. In the spring of 1879 I saw the first 
‘Llagdon’ ( P. major ) on May 26, and three days later they were 
abundant, sitting on the water in large flocks, as is their habit 
when they first reach the fishing banks, or when they are about 
to depart in the fall, though at other times they rarely congre¬ 
gate except they may be attracted together by the presence of 
food. They usually leave the fishing grounds—from Cape Cod 
to the Grand Bank—in October and November ; the first snow 
starts off any of these birds which have remained behind their 
companions. 
I have no knowledge of where or when they breed. I have 
opened many hundreds (it would not, perhaps, be an exaggeration 
to say thousands), and I never found one with sexual organs in a 
condition which would indicate that the birds were breeding. 
CUA^r. t*8H. />/». 3. 3(=-X 37 . 
