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THE FORKED-TAILED PETREL.
THALASSIDROMA LEACHII, BONAP.
PLATE CCLX. MALE AND FEMALE.
BEFORE describing the habits of this bird, I think it necessary to speak
of three distinct species which are at times found near our coasts, and of
which I have found two breeding within the Union. The present species
is the largest; that named after WILSON the next in size; and the one
called the Stormy Petrel the least. Until I had met with the whole of
these species near our coast, I, like others, thought that the last mentioned
kept nearer to Europe than it in reality does at certain seasons.
In August 1831, I was on board of the American packet-ship the Columbia,
commanded by my friend JOSEPH DELANO, Esq. who had promised
that, in case of a calm occurring, he would allow me to have a boat manned
to go in search of birds. The day is not given, because I never keep a journal
while crossing the Atlantic ; but as I had left England on the first of
the month, and was then on the banks of Newfoundland, it must have
been towards the latter part of it, when the weather suddenly became quite
calm and beautiful. " Mother Carey's Chickens" were by hundreds around
the noble ship, and although ill in consequence of the sickness which
never leaves me at sea, I asked for a boat and some hands to row me
about for an hour or so. This was granted, guns and ammunition were
placed in the yawl, and my assistant Mr HENRY" W A R D of London, an
officer, and two sailors, accompanied me. We had three guns which were
alternately loaded and handed to me. In the course of about an hour
twenty-five or thirty Petrels were shot, together with some Fulmars. Had
you been looking on, you might perhaps have laughed at me on seeing
that the moment after I fired, I was obliged to lean over the side of the
bark to relieve myself from the distressing state of my stomach. On returning
to the ship, my companions nimbly ascended the chains; but although
when on land I am pretty firm and active, I was now quite unfit
for service, and therefore was hoisted in a chair. Once on deck, I laid
myself down on a mattress, my wife attended to me, and I gradually became
relieved, as the ship stood, to use the words of my kind captain,
" as still as if on the stocks." There were the dead birds nicely arranged
FORKED-TAILED PETREL. 435
on a board by my side; the wounded ones were placed in a cage, and I
began to examine them all with care. To my great surprise, I found
among them all the three species mentioned above. Sixteen of these birds
were beautifully prepared by Mr WARD, and the rest were placed in
spirits, after I had made correct outlines of each species, and taken their
exact dimensions and weight. The drawings, however, I was unable to
finish on account of the giddiness, which seldom leaves me while at sea.
The calm continued the whole of the next day, and, laying myself down
on the top of the round-house, I had ample opportunities of observing the
habits of the three species, while thus at a distance from land.
My esteemed friend the Prince of Musignano has stated that the
Forked-tailed Petrel is less numerous near the American coast than the
species named after WILSON. It is true that it rarely goes so far south,
but in the vicinity of Massachusetts, and from thence to Newfoundland, it
is by far the most abundant of the two; and it breeds on all suitable places
from the Islands of Mount Desert to the last mentioned country.
The species of this genus with which I am acquainted all ramble over
the seas, both by night and by day, until the breeding season commences,
when they remain in their burrows, under rocks, or in their fissures, until
towards sunset, when they start off in search of food, returning to their
mates or young in the morning, and feeding them then. I feel pretty
confident that these birds, like Owls, can hold out against hunger for
many hours, and are satisfied with one abundant meal in the day. WILSON
was of a different opinion, but I believe he never found these birds
breeding.
The Forked-tailed Petrel emits its notes night and day, and at not
very long intervals, although it is less noisy than WILSON'S Petrel. They
resemble the syllables pewr-wit, pewr-wit. Its flight differs from that of
the other two species, it being performed in broader wheelings, and with
firmer flappings, in which respect it resembles that of the Night Hawk,
Caprivinlgus virg'mianus, while that bird is passing low over the meadows
or the waters. It is more shy than the other species, and when it
wheels oft' after having approached the stern of a ship, its wanderings are
much more extended before it returns. I have never seen it fly close
around a vessel, as the others are in the habit of doing, especially at the
approach of night; nor do I think that it ever alights on the rigging of
ships, but spends the hours of darkness either on the water, or on low
rocks or islands. It also less frequently alights on the water, or pats it
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