Storm-Petrel.
Procellaria pelagica, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 50.
Hydrobates pelagica, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 562.
— Feerrceensis, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl., p. 803.
Thalassidroma pelagica, Yig. Zool. Journ., vol. ii. p. 405.
—--------------- melitensis, Schemb. Cat., del Gruppo di Malta, p. 118.
Those persons, imbued with a taste for nature, who have crossed the Atlantic from England to America,
or made the more extended passage, via the Cape o f Good Hope, to India or Australia, or voyaged round our
globe, must have been delighted with the numerous oceanic birds which came under their notice as soon
as the ship had entered upon the blue water o f the open sea. Petrels, in lieu of Gulls and Terns, are
certain to have been met with ; perchance the present species, or some other member of the genus Tha-
lassidroma, a Fulmar, a Shearwater, or one o f the many species of Albatros has attracted their attention
out o f the more than fifty species o f birds constituting the family Procellaridce that are now known,
among which much diversity of size and structure is found to exist, the Albatros ( Diomedea exulans) being
the largest, and the little Storm-Petrel (Thalassidromapelagicd) the smallest. Assuming that the great Albatros
usually weighs about fifteen pounds and the Storin-Petrel an ounce, the former is 240 times as heavy as the
latter. Petrels, of one kind or other, frequent every portion of 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 of 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 o f precipitous mountains, such as occur at Tristan d’Acunha; but by far the greater number incubate
in the holes of rocks, under stones, or so deep down in the ground that without a knowledge of the
nocturnal habits of these birds the inhabitants of 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 and 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, and 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 weak-minded
mariners to regard it with awe as the presager o f storms, while the pretty bird they see fluttering round
the ship is simply engaged in searching for its natural food, or seeking the temporary shelter the lee side of
the vessel affords. When a fierce gale occurs, or a raging storm is at its height, the wing-powers of the
Petrel are strained to the utmost, and, during its flight, it performs many beautiful evolutions, which call forth
our adm ira tion a t one moment the bird is under the lee o f a great wave, at the next overtopping its crest,
and descending into the succeeding hollow, all the while scanning the sides o f the billows for any floating
mollusk or other marine animal, which it takes from the surface, at the same time patting the water with its
little feet. Here, night and day, during the raging o f the gale, the Petrel must keep on the wing and make
the best of it until a calm sets in, when the bird again assumes its light butterfly-like actions, or rests on the
placid surface until hunger prompts it to resume its search for that food best adapted to maintain the muscular
power requisite for the great exertion it is so often called upon to perform.
At most seasons the Storm-Petrel, if looked for, may be found in every part of the seas surrounding our
coasts. On the approach o f spring, the Channel is visited by Storm-Petrels in considerable numbers ; and so
true are they to the time o f their arrival that, Mr. C. Monfort informs me, “ they always appear off Worthing
about the end o f April, and gradually become more abundant until the middle o f May. Those that first arrive
are mostly males, very few'females being among them. At the end o f May they begin to decrease; and although
the males always preponderate, a greater number of females are now to be seen than earlier in the season.
A few remain till about the middle of June.”
The range of this species o f Petrel extends southwards as far as Madeira; the bird is also found all over
the Mediterranean, the northern parts o f Europe, and in similar latitudes on the eastern coast of America.
That it does not cross the line appears to be certain; for I did not meet with it in the seas to the southward
oft it, nor, so far as I am aware, has any observer recorded its being found there.
From the Scilly Islands to the extreme north o f Scotland, Ireland, and the Hebrides, in almost every
rugged promontory, numbers o f Storm-Petrels breed; but, as before mentioned, the mere passer-by has no
conception o f their existence. To find them, the particular situations must be examined, and the evening