should have been created. But it should always be recollected,
that in some other country perhaps it is an essential
member of society, or at some former period may have been
so. If America south of 37° should be sunk beneath the
waters of the ocean, the Synal/axis and Scytalopus might
continue to exist in central Chile for a long period, but it is
very improbable that their numbers would increase. We
should then see a case, which must inevitably have happened
with very many animals.
These southern seas are frequented by several species of
Petrels. The largest kind, Procdlaria gigantea, or nelly,
(quebrantahuesos, or break-bones, of the Spaniards) is a
common bird, both in the inland channels and on the open
sea. In its habits and manner of flight there is a very
close resemblance with the albatross, and as with the latter
bird, a person may watch it for hours together without seeing
on what it feeds, so is it with this petrel. The “ break-
bones” is, however, a rapacious bird,* for it was observed by
some of the officers at Port St. Antonio chasing a diver. The
bird tried to escape both by diving and flying, but was continually
struck down, and at last killed by a blow on its head.
At Port St. Julian, also, these great petrels were seen killing
and devouring young guUs.
A second species (Pujfinus cinereusf), which is common to
Europe, Cape Horn, and the coast of Peru, is of a much
smaller size than the gigantea, but, like it, of a dirty black
colour. It generally frequents the inland sounds in very large
flocks : I do not think I ever saw so many birds of any other
sort together, as I once saw of these behind the island of
Chiloe. Hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line, for
several hours in one direction. When part of the flock
settled on the water, the surface was blackened, and a noise
proceeded from them, as of human beings talking in the dis-
» T h e S p a n ia rd s w h o n am e d i t w e re p ro b a b ly aw a r e o f th is , fo r “ q u e b
r a n ta h u e so s ” m ean s p ro p e r ly a n o sp rey .
! I am in d e b te d to M r. G o u ld fo r n am in g th e s e b ird s , a n d fo r k in d ly
fu rn is h in g m e w ith m u ch in fo rm a tio n r e s p e c tin g th em .
tance. At this time the water was in parts coloured by
clouds of small Crustacea. At Port Famine, every morning
and evening, a long band of these liirds continued to fly, with
extreme rapidity, up and down the central parts of the
channel. I opened the stomach of one (which I shot with
some difficulty, for they were rather wary), and it contained a
small fish, and seven good-sized, prawn-like crabs.
There are several other species of petrels, but I will only
mention one other kind, the Puffinuria Berardii, which
offers one more example of those extraordinary cases, of
a bird evidently belonging to one well-marked family, yet
both in its habits and structure allied to a very distinct
tribe. This bird never leaves the quiet inland sounds. When
disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the surface,
with the same movement takes wing. After flying for
a space in a direct course, by the rapid movement of its
short wings, it drops, as if struck dead, and dives again.
The form of the beak and nostrils, length of foot, and even
colouring of the plumage, show that this bird is a petrel:
at the same time, its short wings and consequent little power
of flight, its form of body and shape of tail, its habits of
diving, and the absence of a hind toe to its foot, and its
choice of situation, make it doubtful whether its relationship
is not equally close with the auks as with the petrels. It
would undoubtedly be mistaken for one of the former, when
seen either on the wing, or when diving and quietly swimming
about the retired channels of Tierra del Fuego.
t