P. Jiuffinus, Lin. &c. P. cinerea, Gmel. Lath. Puffin or Cinereous Petrel. Bill depressed at the base, channel led above, compressed and turgid at the tip ; nostrils con sisting of two openings under a common sheath ; bill two inches long ; tarsi one inch and ten lines ; tail conical. Eighteen inches long. Till lately this species had been blended with the following. It inhabits almost all seas, is not unfrequent in the Mediterranean, and is met with on the southern coast of Spain. The individuals killed in Senegal, and at the Cape of Good Hope, coincide, in all respects, with those found in Provence.
P. dnglorum, Tern. English or ?flanks Petrel, Prov. planks Puffin, Skrabe, Shear-water, Lyrie, Lyre, Lyar, &c. Bill very slender, one inch and seven or eight lines in length ; tail rounded, the wings projecting a little be yond its extremity. Length of the tarsus one inch nine lines. About the size of a pigeon, thirteen inches long, and weighing sixteen or seventeen ounces. Inhabits the southern and arctic seas, occurring plentifully in St. Kilda, the Isle of Man, the Orkneys, &c. roaming in winter along the coast of England and Ireland, but is not observ ed on the Baltic, and rarely on the shores of Holland or France. In the Atlantic it is every where common from the Channel to the coast of America. In its flight, it often skims along for a great length of time without any per ceptible motion of its wings. In the the Orkneys its breeding haunts are said to be limited to the precipitous headlands of Hoy, and to one or two similar places in the island of Eda. The female takes possession of a rabbit's burrow or other hole, and lays one white egg, blunt at both ends, and which is hatched in August. Though the flesh is rank and fishy, it is relished by some, so that consider able quantities are killed and barrelled with salt, to be af terwards boiled and eaten with potatoes. The young are particularly fat, and in great request.
P. pelagica, Lin. &c. Stormy Petrel, Storm Finch, Mother C'arey's Chickens, Prov. dssilag, SJzency, dllamotti, Sea Swallow, &c. Tail square, extremity of the wings a very little exceeding its tip ; length of the tarsus ten lines. Head, back, wings, and tail, dull black ; under parts sooty ; a broad transverse and pure white band on the rump ; scapulars, and secondary wing-quills, tipped with white ; bill and legs black ; iris brown. Length five inches and a half, about the size of a swallow, and not unlike that bird in its general appearance. The sooty hues of the young are less deep. Although more common in the American than in the European seas, this species occurs on the coast of the Faroe Isles, Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, and occasionally on the shores of Scotland and England, but is seldom seen on land, except in the breeding season. It is capable of flying at the rate
of a mile in a minute, and is usually met with at a very con siderable distance from land. Although sailors allege that its appearance portends a storm, it is no infallible indica tion of any change of weather ; and it certainly braves the most violent tempests, skimming along the hollows of the waves, or rising on their summits. By some it is alleged to dive with great facility ; but as it chiefly picks its food front the surface of the water, and is not constructed like the diving tribes, the fact seems to be at least questionable. It breeds in Shetland, St. Kilda, &c. in holes of the rocks, rabbit burrows, the deserted nests of rats, &c. and lays one purely white and nearly round egg. The species seems to be liable to some epidemical disorder in October and November, when many of them are found dead, either near to, or remote from, the shore. When one of them is caught alive, and carried home, it soon becomes so tame as to allow itself to be touched, without expressing any alarm. The flesh has a very disagreeable flavour. The Faroese draw a wick through the fat body of this bird, and use it as a candle. During the breeding season the fe males cater for themselves and their young in the day time, and return to their hole with a plentiful supply in the evening, when they are very clamorous, and croak like frogs. In the southern and Pacific Seas, there occurs a nearly allied species, which chiefly differs from the pre sent in being uniformly of a somewhat larger size.
P. gigantea, Lath. &c. Giant, or Osprey Petrel, or Break-bones. Brownish, spotted with white above, white beneath. Shoulders, wings, and tail, brown ; bill and legs yellow ; a naked, wrinkled, yellow membrane at the cor ners of the mouth. Larger than a goose ; length forty inches ; extent of the wings seven feet. Common in the high southern latitudes, and sometimes, though more rare ly, found in the northern seas. It often sails with the wings expanded, and close to the surface of the water, yet with out appeal ing to move them. On the beach, at Christ mas Harbour, Kerguelin's Land, &.c. they were so tame that they suffered themselves to be knocked on the head with a stick. Many of the sailors confound them with the albatross ; but others call them Mother Carey's Geese. They are reckoned no unpalatable food.