38 
FULMARS AND SHEARWATERS 
107. Oceanodroma melania ( Bonap .). Black Petrel. 
Upper parts sooty black with grayish brown on wing coverts; under 
parts brownish black, without white or light colored patches. Wing: 6.80, 
tail 3.90, forked for about 1.20, tarsus 1.20. 
Distribution. — From the Pacific coast of Mexico north to southern 
California. 
Mr. Grinnell thinks the black petrels are probably more or less 
common residents off the southern California coast. Mr. Nelson 
found them the most abundant of the petrels of the Tres Marias 
Islands, Mexico. He saw little that was remarkable about their 
habits, but says they circled about the vessel in all directions and 
were quick to see fragments of food that were thrown overboard. 
108. Oceanodroma homoehroa ( Coues ). Ashy Petrel. 
Plumage mainly smoky gray or plumbeous ; quills and tail dusky ; upper 
wing coverts brownish, under coverts with light patch. Wing: 5.30-5.40, 
tail 3.30-3.50, forked for .70-.90, tarsus, .80-.90. 
Distribution. — Coast of California. 
Egg. — Dull creamy white, finely dotted with red around the larger 
end ; placed in a natural cavity. 
Mr. Loomis, writing of his visit to South Farallone Island in July, 
1896, gives some interesting notes on the habits of the ashy petrel. 
“Although these petrels were breeding abundantly in all parts of 
the island,” he says, “every portion of it might have been passed 
over in daylight without a single individual being discovered, for 
apparently only brooding birds occurred, concealed in loose piles 
of stone, in stone walls, and under driftwood. After nightfall the 
petrels became active. They were especially conspicuous during 
the early morning hours of the 14th, when the auklets held their 
concert. As I stood in the dooryard of a keeper’s house, every few 
moments one or more would pass silently by, disappearing in the 
darkness. Their flight recalled that of a goatsucker. 
“The strong musky odor of the petrels renders their discovery 
in the rock piles easy. It is only necessary to insert the nose into 
likely crevices to find them. With little practice one may become 
very expert in this kind of hunting, readily determining whether it 
is an auklet or a petrel that has its residence in any particular 
cranny. ... It seemed strange to find these birds of the ocean rear¬ 
ing their young near the dwellings and within several rods of the 
siren. None of the feathered inhabitants of the island appeared to 
be alarmed at the blast of this signal, repeated every forty-five 
seconds when the fog settled down.” 
108.1. Oceanodroma socorroensis Townsend. Socorro Petrel. 
Similar to homoehroa but slightly larger and darker colored ; under wing 
