Storm-Petrel.
Procelktriti pelagu*, Lma- Faua. Suec., p. 50.
Hydrobeitt ptlagica, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 552.
P#rrce*H*u, Brehm, V^g. DeatschL, p. 803.
Thnhim-^iv.is pelagica, Vig. ZooL ¿trarn., vol. it. p. 405.
melitensis, Schemb, Cut, del Gruppo di Malta, p. 118.
T h o s e p e r s o n s , imbued with a taste for nature, wbo have crossed the Atlantic from England to America,
or made the more extended passage, via the Cane of Good Hope, to India or Australia, or voyaged round our
globe, m u s t have bee« • “lighted with the numerous o c e a n i c birds which came under their notice as soon
as the ship had ent«?red u p o n the blue water o f t h e o p e n sea. Petrels, in-lieu o f Gulls and Terns, are
certain to have been met with ; perchance the present species, or some other member of the genus Tha-
lassidromu, a Fulmar, a Shearwater, or one of the many species of Albatros has attracted their attention
out o f the »tore than fifty species o f birds constituting the family Procellaridce that are now k n o w n ,
among which much diversity o f size and structure is found to exist, the Albatros (Diomedea exulans) being
the largest, and the iitrU Storm-Petrel ( Thalassidromapelagica) the smallest. Assuming that the great Albatros
usually weighs about fifteen pounds and the Storm-Petrel an ounce, t h e former is 240 times as heavy as the
latter. Petrels, o f one kind or other, frequent every portion o f the great waters, except those near the poles.
They are, almost without exception, truly dwellers on the surface of the mighty deep, seldom, if ever, coming
to land except for the purpose o f incubation, and then only resorting to the rocky islands and headlands
nearest to their ocean homes. Some o f the species, particularly the Albatroses, make huge nests near the
summits of precipitous mountains, such as occur at Tristan d’Acunha; hut by far the greater number incubate
iu the holes of rocks, under stones, or so deep down in the ground that without a knowledge o f the
nocturnal habits of these birds the inhabitants o f the neighbourhood, and certainly the casual visitor, would
not be aware that the ground on which they are treading conceals the sitting Petrel. In the evening, during
twilight, they sally forth from their holes aud go out to sea for the purpose o f procuring food for themselves
and their young ; as morning approaches, the passing to and fro ceases, aud all is quiet again for the day.
The above remarks apply to the Procellaridce generally; let me now say something about our little favourite,
the Storm-Petrel,—favourite, however, only with some; for superstition has induced the wealyrniinded
mariners to regard it with *we m the presager o f storms, while the pretty bird they see fluttering round
?f«' ship is simply engaged to searching for its natural food, or seeking the temporary shelter the lee side of
the feiwel afford* Wliea a fierce gale occurs, or a raging storm is at its height, the wing-powers of the
Petrel strained to the ota&ost, aud, during its flight, it performs many beautiful evolutions, which call forth
nur adtmifiition: at o»te the bird is under the lee o f a great wave, at the next overtopping its crest,
descending into die succeeding hollow, all the while scanning the sides o f the billows for any floating
QMdkisk or other marine animal, which it takes trom the surface, at the same time patting the water with its
litv;t- ■{+■<-. Here, night arid day, during the raging o f the gale, the Petrel must keep on the wing and make
the best o f if .' til a calm sets in, when the bird again assumes its light butterfly-like actions, or rests on the
placid snr&oe until hunger prompts is to resume its search for that food best adapted to maintain the muscular
power mjuissir Cw the great exertion it is so often called upon to perform.
At moat sea.v.- . s the Starra-Petrcl, if looked for, may be found in every part o f the seas surrounding our
coasts. On the approach »if spring, the Channel is visited by Storm-Petrels in considerable numbers ; aud so
true are they to the tiotfe of tlieir arrival that, Mr. C. Moufort informs me, “ they always appear off Worthing
»bout the end o f April, ami gradually become more abundant until the middle o f May. Those that first arrive
ape mostly males, very tew fematfes being among them. At the end o f May they begin to decrease; and although
ii«* males always preponderate, a greater number o f females are now to he seen than earlier in the season.
A sew remain till about the middle o f Jum*.”
fhe r a w of this species o f Petrel extends southwards as tar as Madeira; the bird is also found all over
tW MeditctvwneaUi the northern parts of Europe, aud in similar latitudes on the eastern coast of America.
ft doe» wot cross the line appears to be certain; for 1 did not meet with it in the seas to the southward
of it, -r, so as I apt aware, has any observer recorded its being fonnd there.
i’Vsiv' the ikiify Islands to the extreme north o f Scotland, Ireland, and the Hebrides, in almost every
rugged ©romowfcwrv, numbers of Storm-Petrel# breed; but, as before mentioned, the mere passer-by has no
eonceptTc o f !$H*r existence To find them, the particular situations must be examined, and the evening