P. yelkouan of Acerbi, and the * Ame damnée ’ of the Bosphorus,
so often mentioned hy travellers. Krüper and
others have called it P. obscurus, thereby augmenting the
confusion regarding the Shearwaters, but there is no evidence
to show that the true Dusky Shearwater has ever occurred in
the Mediterranean.
In the adult bird the bill is blackish-brown, but lighter
brown at the base ; irides hazel ; head, back of the neck,
back, wings, and tail uniform brownish-black ; chin, and
neck in front white ; sides of the neck varied with dark
grey and white in transverse bars ; breast, belly, and under
tail-coverts white ; behind the thighs a patch of brownish-
black ; legs, toes, and their membranes yellowish flesh-
colour.
The whole length of the bird is fourteen inches ; from the
anterior bend of the wing to the end of the longest quill-
feather, nine inches and a half.
In the first plumage the upper parts are of a more sooty-
brown than in the adult ; the throat and breast are mottled
with brownisli-grey ; flanks, abdomen and under tail-coverts
brown ; legs and feet brownish, membranes pale yellow.
This description is taken from a male in the collection of
the Editor, shot off Malaga on the 30th of January.
TV BIN A REtS. PROOELLA RIIDÆ.
P u f f in u s o b sc u r u s (Gmelin*).
THE DUSKY SHEARWATER.
Puffinus obscurus.
The interesting Shearwater figured above was brought to
the Author by Mr. B. Blackburn, of Yalentia Harbour, in
the county of Kerry; who afterwards sent him the following
note of its occurrence :—
£C The Petrel which I left with you this morning flew on
board a small sloop off the island of Yalentia, on the southwest
coast of Ireland, late in the evening of the lltli of
May, 1858. Mrs. Blackburn had never observed it before
on our coast, and we concluded it to be the Puffinus obscurus
of Temminck and Gould. It made no attempt either to
run or fly away, and suffered itself to be handled without
exhibiting alarm ; and though apparently strong and vigorous,
manifested quite an oriental resignation to its fate.”
This specimen was exhibited at a meeting of the Linnean
* Procellcir!a obscura, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p 559 (1788).