PETREL (Fr. pOre(, front • Petrellus.
diminutive of Lat. Pct rim Peter; so called in allusion to its walking on the ,ea, like the Apostle Peter). A 'ea-bird of the family Proven:1H id:e, containing several genera. and distinguished by having the bill hooked at the tip, and hard. and the nostrils united into a tube along the oilmen. and the hind toe merely rudimentary. Petrels have very long and pointed wings, and the tail square or slightly forked. They resse-_, grea t power of wing, and are among the most strictly oceanic of birds. Among the 70 species of the Procellaribbe are reck oned the fulmars and shea rwaters ( qq.v. 1 , be sides the many petrels proper, of which the stormy petrel is an ex ample. They run along the surface of the waves in a remarkable manner, and with great rapidity —particularly when the is stormy and the mollusks and other animals that form their food come in abundance to the surface. From the frequency with which flocks of these birds are seen in windy weather, or as heralds of a storm, they are superstitiously re garded by sailors. They are to be seen in the sea, of all parts of the world. but are more alma thutt in the Southern than the Northern hemi sphere.
The names 'stormy petrel' and 'Mother Carey's chicken' are sometimes more particularly given to Procrllaria pclagica, a bird scarcely larger than a lark. inches long, and the smallest web-footed bird known. It is sooty Idaek inn color, with a little white on the wings and near the tail. Two other species of petrel are of frequent occurrence in the North Atlantie, Leach's petrel h uturrl«nt I and the better known Wilson's petrel Mown( t, s rjeCt7 11 if' UN)- The former may be reeognized by its larger size (eight inches long) and its forked tail. It breeds among the islands in the I:ay of
Fundy. and in similar places in the North Pa cific. The Wilson's petrel. on the other hand, is a bird of the Antarctic regions, and migrate.. during its winter (our summer) into the North ern Ilemisphere. It is easily by its small size (seven inches long), the yellow on the welv; of the feet, and the white upper tail coverts. Besides these three species, no less than a dozen other- have been recorded from the con-(s or inland. water• of the United State,. Of these, one is n common Pacific Una-4 specie,. two are known only from the coast of southern Cali fornia. while the remaining nine are stragglers from the southern Hemisphere. The 'cape pig eon (Paption Carensis). or 'pint:1410S is a very large species. well known to voyagers about the rape of Good ]lope: and in the Indian ocean and about the shores of Australia oeetirs the giant of the family. the huge 'hone-bren ken' rtigunten), which sailors call 'stinkpot.' and be other names referring to its vile odor. Petrels generally breed in and clefts of rock. or -se cluded voasts. and arc likely to visit their nests (except when the female is sitting) only at night. Only a single egg is laid. as a rule, which is white. or with a few tine reddish dots. See Col ored Plate of EGGs Amlitue.kx WATER AND