PROCELLARIA CCE RULEA, Gmel.
Blue Petrel.

Procellaria cerulea, Gmel. Edit. of Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 560.—Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. ii. p. 827.—Gould in

Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. xiii, p. 364.—List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Col
Blue Petrel, Lath. Gen. Syn., vol. vi. p. 415.—Forst. V
Another Blue Petrel, Cook’s Voy., vol. i. Diol:

l., part iii. p. 165.
oy., vol. i. p. 91.—Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. x. p. 196.

Procellaria similis, Forst. Draw., No. 86.
—_—— Forstert, Smith, Zool. of S. Africa, Birds, pl. 54.—Licht. Edit. of Forst. MSS., p. 59.

 

Tus bird may be distinguished from every other of the smaller Petrels by the conspicuous white tips of the
centre tail-feathers. It is a very powerful flier, and I observed it in every part of the ocean I traversed between
the 40th and 55th degrees of south latitude, both in the Atlantic and Pacific.

As much confusion exists respecting this species, I may state that it is the Procedlaria similis of Forster’s
Drawings, No. 86, and of Lichtenstein’s Edition of Forster’s MSS. p. 99; the Procellaria cerulea of Gmelin,
Latham and Kuhl; and the P. Forsteri of Smith, but not of Latham.

This, the least of the true Petrels, is generally seen in company with the fairy-like Prion Turtur, trom
which when on the wing it can scarcely be distinguished, unless it passes sufficiently near for the observer
to note the more square form, and the white tips of the tail, which as well as the silvery ends of the
secondaries and scapularies show very conspicuously. On my voyage to Australia I first observed it in
lat. 39° 23 S., long. 54° E.; as we proceeded it gradually increased in numbers, and was very plentiful
off the coast of Van Diemen’s Land; I also met with it in my voyages from Hobart Town to South Au-
stralia and Sydney; and on my return to England in the beginning of May 1840, I observed it to be very
abundant off the north-east coast of New Zealand ; tolerably numerous on the 20th of May near Cape Horn,
lat. 50° S., long. 90° W.; plentiful midway between Tristan d’Acunha and the coast of America; and in
the Atlantic Ocean on the 12th of June, lat. 41° S., long. 342° W., a few were still hovering round the
ship.

The sexes are precisely alike, and may be thus described :—

Forehead, lores, cheeks, throat, centre of the chest, and all the under surface white ; narrow space be-
neath the eye, shoulders, and the outer webs of the first primaries deep brownish black : back of the neck,
sides of the chest, back, rump, wings and tail grey; the secondaries, scapularies and six middle tail-feathers
tipped with white; the two outer tail-feathers almost wholly white, and the shafts of all black ; bill dull
blackish brown, with a stripe of blue-grey along the lower part of the under mandible ; tarsi and toes delicate
blue ; interdigital membrane flesh-white traversed by red veins.

The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size.

ee ee

Hi
j i}
Pi
'

j

'
;

}

if

'
:

;

iy
HT
| Hi
Wa
ait
’ He
"|

;
a
Hi)

 

 

bed Attihe.

* bee hd,

 

 

he tewirtal end MA Machibar hah sth hth