g aio.. ).
LEAST PETREL.
THALASSIDROMA PELAGICA, LEACH.
1'i.ATK (TOXL. Mill ASD FEMALE.
jjgiffi August 1830, being becalmed on the batiks of Newfoundland,
I obtained several individuals^! this species from a flock composed
chiefly of TAnlassidromà LmcUi, and Th. WilsmA. Thisi® smaller size;
and the mare rapid motions of their wings, rendered them ¿giite con-,
spicuous, and suggested tft^ idea 0 their being a new specie.«, although
a closer m<peetion showed them to belong to the present. In ¿heir
general manners. while' feeding, floating ón the water,. or rambling
round the boat in which I. went, in pursuits of them, thevr.diil not differ,
materially from the other speciess Their flight, however, was more
hurried and irregular, and none of them uttered any noti- or cry. even
when wounded and captured. I have been assured that this, bird breeds,
on the sandy beaches of Sable Island on; the coast .of Nova Scotia ;
but not having had an opportunity of visiting it, or any other breeding
places 1 here present you with Mr IIKWITSOS'S observations on
this subject,
" In an expursion," sajs this amiable and enterprising naturalist,
" through the; Shetland Islands during the present summer, in search of
rarities for this work (the Brrjifc Oology), I had the Wry great satisfaction
of seeing and taking many of these most interesting birds alive.;
they breed in great numbers on several of the islands, principally upon
Fonia, the north of Ilunst, and upon Papa, and Oxna, two small islands
in the Bay of Scalloway ; the last .if these 1 visited on the 31st of May
in hopes of procuring their eggs (it being the season in which most of
the sea-birds begin to lay) ; but in this I was disappointed ; the fishermen
who knew them well by the name of Swallows, assured me thaffj
tny search would be quite useless, that they had not yet. " cóme, up
from sea," and so it proved. Sixteen «iayS after this (June 16th and
three.following days) I was at Foula, but was alike unsuccessful, the
birds bad arrived at their breeding places, but had not y. t begun laying
their eggs ; numbers of them were Sitting in their holes, and were
easily caught ; one ntaB . brought me about a dozen tied up in an old
L E A S T PETREL. 811
stocking,-tw,, of which I kept alive..!» my room for nearly three days,
and derived' very great, pleasure from their, comfany ; during the day
they were mostly inactive, and after pacing abou,t the floor for a short
time, poking their head intSsSvery hole, ¡they hid themselves between
thesSeet of the talsle and the waH; I could not prevail upon them ttt
eat any thing, though I tried» •tempt them with fish and oil; their. ,
manner* of walking S very light ^ pleasing, and diSeang from that
ofevery^h&j- bird which I ha^e seelx; they earay-their'body so far
forward and so'nearly horizontal,- as to give them' the appearance of
'being out of equilibrium. ' In the evening, toward sun-set, they left
their hiding places, and for hours afterwards, never-ceased in their <mdeavours
to regain their liberty s flying round and r<?und the room, or
fluttering against the windows ; when flying, their length of wing,
and white above the tail, gives, them a good deal'the appearance of our
Jlirase-Martin. went.tojb.'d and watched. tli.em ,in their ppisoless
(light long ere I fell asleep, but in the morning they had disappeared;
one lmii fortunately made its-es.aipo through a broken pane in the window
which-ajM$wel should have occupied!- the other bad fallen%*»a
has», full of the yolks of eggs whieli I had b W blowing, and was
drowned. I regretted much the fate of a being so interesting, by its
vtey remarkable, wandering, Solitary, and harmless life. Before leaving
Shetland I again visited the island'of 'Oxna, and though so late as the
30th of' June, they were only just beginning to lay their eggs. In
®Ma they breed in the holes in the cliff, "M a great height above the
¿OSi;' but hero under stones which form the beach, at:a depth of three
or four feet, or more, according to that of the stones; as they go down
to the earth, beneath them, on which to lay their eggs. ' In walking
over tin; surface, I could hear them, *brv distinctly, singing in a sort
of warbling Shatter, a good deal like- swallows when fluttering above .
our chimneys, but harsher; and in this WayV-bf listening attentively,
was guidel to their retreat, and, after throwing out stones as large as
I could lift i«'BlI sides of me, seldom failed in-capturing two or three
seated on their ne'sts',' either under the lowest stone, or between two of
them. The nests, though of much the saine materials as the ground
on Which: they were placed, seem to have been made with care-; they
were of small bits of stalks of plants, and pieces of hard dry earth.
Like the rest of the genus, the Stormy Petrel lays invariably one egg
only. Dur ing the day-time they remain within their holes; and though