868 
BIRD-LIFE. 
the smallest, as well as most graceful, of sea-fowl, and 
may, with truth, he called the Swallows of the ocean: 
they are unsurpassed in patience and endurance by any 
other bird that we have. They usually make their 
appearance on the wing, and for a long time it was 
thought that they never alighted swimming on the waters. 
I, for my part, have been lately informed, by a reliable 
informant, that he has seen them resting on the water 
for some length of time.* 
The size of the Petrels is about half as large again as 
that of our Swallow; and the smallest species—the 
Stormy Petrel, with which we are now occupied—is six 
inches in length by fourteen from wing to wing. Male 
and female are alike, and the young birds are scarcely 
distinguishable from the old ones. All the different 
species wear the same dark, sober dress of rusty brown, 
verging on black, relieved only by an occasional white 
spot, band, or feather, by way of decoration. They 
inhabit the larger oceans, and only frequent lesser seas, 
such as the Baltic or the Caspian, on rare occasions, 
when driven by stress of weather. On shore they are 
strangers. It is difficult to determine the exact geogra¬ 
phical range of each species, but it is not improbable that 
they are met with in all large ocean tracts. The main¬ 
land is only visited by these birds when seeking a nesting 
place for their single egg,—a safe home for the child of 
their affections; otherwise they live from year’s end to 
year’s end—day and night, by fair weather or foul, in 
sunshine or cloud—on the sea. 
It is highly probable that they are nocturnal birds, or 
* When on a voyage to Brazil, I saw a flock of these little creatures hovering 
round the stern of the ship when in the “ Doldrums,” on which occasion several of 
them alighted on the water. N.B.—The sea was as smooth as oil at the time, and 
we did not experience any foul weather subsequently to their visit.— W. J. 
