I have closely questioned Vingoe on the subject ; and he is quite certain that he has scarcely observed any
variation in these large autumnal Petrels.” ‘« Penzance, October 23rd, 1867. The Puffinus ae (Greater
Shearwater) has turned up again in our bay this week. It is in the same state of plumage, the tips of the
dorsal feathers being broadly edged, like those I have before seen and obtained; the upper tail-coverts are
white ; the under portion of the belly, thighs, and vent broccoli-brown.”

Lord Lilford informs me that he has occasionally seen the Great Shearwater in the Mediterranean, but
never obtained a specimen, and adds:—‘‘I found the bird evidently breeding on some of the more
westerly islands of the Scilly group in July 1852; and Mr. Vingoe and I found a fine specimen dead on the
beach near Marazion in that month.”

The two birds figured by Mr. Yarrell were transmitted to him by the late D. W. Mitchell, Esq.,
accompanied by the following account of the appearance of the species on the same coast :—‘‘ In November
1839 a man brought me a Puffinus major alive, which he said he had found asleep in his boat when he went
to unmoor her preparatory to a fishing-expedition. I suppose this happened about three in the afternoon ;
and the bird had probably taken up its quarters at daylight. The moorings at Newlyn are from one
hundred to two hundred yards from the shore. There were great numbers of this species off Mount’s Bay
at that time ; and I soon after had two more brought to me which had been taken by hooks. One of them
is the light-coloured specimen in your collection ; the dark-coloured bird you have figured, was, I believe,
obtained in a similar manner about the same period in 1838. It is the only example in that state which I
met with during my residence in Cornwall. The adult bird appears pretty regularly every autumn, though
not always in equal numbers. It has long been in several collections at Plymouth, though it does not appear
to have been distinguished there from Puffinus anglorum until Dr. Moore published his ‘Catalogue of the Birds
of Devon.’ The latter is not a very common bird there, which may have been the cause of such a mistake.

“P. major is very well known to the Scillonians, by whom it is called Hackbolt. They inform me it is a
constant visitant in the latter part of autumn, and represent its manners on the water as resembling those of
P. anglorum. 1 recollect seeing four last year through a telescope in Mount’s Bay. It was late in
the afternoon, the wind blowing hard from 8.S8.W., which accounted for their being so far inshore ; they
are generally deep-sea-goers. They had exactly the flight of P. anglorum, and kept so close to the water as
almost to skim the tops of the waves. Mr. Clement Jackson told me last spring that some autumns they
appear off Looe and Polperro in thousands.”

To this account of the bird as seen on our shores, the notes by Mr. Thompson on those which
have occurred in Ireland will form an appropriate pendant. ‘‘ Our observation of this species as Irish
is chiefly due to Mr. Robert Davis, of Clonmel, who kindly furnished me with the particulars of two
examples, which he procured in different years. Mr. Davis remarked of the first specimen :—‘ This
was taken near Dungarvan, county of Waterford, and sent to me alive. It was apparently in good
health, but would not eat any thing, and died after being in my possession for about ten days or a
fortnight. It had an extremely rank, fishy, or oily smell at all times ; but I never saw any appearance of
oil being discharged from its mouth or nostrils. It seemed unable to walk, but scrambled along with its
breast about an inch from the ground. Although its wings were perfect and uninjured, it made no attempt
to fly, but, if let fall from a height, dropped heavily to the ground. It showed an inclination to climb, having
several times mounted up the handle of a long spade that rested against the wall of a yard in which it was
kept. It did not ramble about, nor care much for water, but, when put in a large tub, very dexterously pulled
itself up by the hooked bill until the claw got on the edge. When handled, it bit severely. ‘The second
specimen was captured one or two miles outside Dungarvan, by a person fishing for hake (Merlucius vulgaris),
with a hook and line, it having taken his bait. I kept it alive for about a week ; it was more lively than
the former one, and ran along with the breast about an inch from the ground. Having on one occasion
placed it on a roof, it seemed to be more at ease on the inclined plane afforded by that situation than on a
flat surface, and mounted rapidly to the top, though on reaching the edge no attempt was made to fly, and it
fell heavily to the ground. [t rarely stirred at all during the day, but kept itself as much out of view
as possible, and, if the body could not be concealed, would endeavour to hide its head. This species is
never seen near the shore, but only far out. The fishermen sometimes keep them for weeks about their
houses ; and in some instances they have become tame : they never attempt to fly. I cannot hear of this species
ever being shot or otherwise taken than on a hook. It is commonly known by the name of hagdown.’”

The egg of this species figured by Mr. Hewitson in the third edition of his ‘Coloured Illustrations
of the Eggs of British Birds’ was brought from the Desertas, a group of four sterile rocky islands
which lie about twenty miles south-east of the town of Funchal, in Madeira ; it is represented of a creamy
white, and nearly two inches and three quarters in length by two inches in breadth.

The figure is as near the size of life as may be.