Petrels

98. Black-capped Petrel (Æstrelata hasitata). L. 15. Ads. Above sooty brown; back of neck and upper tail coverts white; base of tail white. Range.—Tropical Atlantic; irregular in United States (Florida, Virginia, New York, Kentucky, Vermont, and Ontario.) 103. Least Petrel (Halocyptena microsoma). L. 5.7. Ads. Sooty blackish brown, lighter below. Range.—"Coast of Lower California south to Panama." (A. O. U.) 105. Forked-tailed Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata). L. 8. 7. Ads. Tail forked; bluish gray, wings darker; a blackish space about eye. Range.—North Pacific; breeds in Aleutian Islands; recorded north to Bering Strait; winters south to California. 105.1. Kaeding Petrel (Oceanodroma kaedingi). W. 6. Ads. Similar to [O. leucorrhoa], but much smaller with much less deeply forked tail. (Anthony.) Range.—Pacific Ocean; (Socorro Islands, Lower California.) 108. Ashy Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa). L. 8.5. Ads. No white on rump; tail forked; sooty black above, browner below; wing coverts grayish. Range.—"Coast of California; breeds on the Santa Barbara and Farallone Islands." (A. O. U.)

104. Stormy Petrel; Mother Carey's Chicken (Procellaria pelagica). L. 5.5. Ads. Sooty black, browner below; upper tail coverts white, tipped with black. Range.—North Atlantic; winters south to western Africa and New Brunswick. 106. Leach Petrel; Stormy Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). L. 8., W. 6.2. Ads. Tail forked; above sooty brownish black; below browner; lesser wing coverts grayish brown; longer upper tail coverts not tipped with black. Notes. An elfin-like crow of eight notes. Range.—North Atlantic and North Pacific; breeds from Maine to Greenland and from Farallone to Aleutian Islands; winters south to Virginia and California. 106.1. Guadalupe Petrel (Oceanodroma macrodactyla). L. 8.4; W. 6.4; T. 3.9, fork 1 in. deep. Ads. Similar to [O. leucorhoa], but with much longer and more deeply forked tail, larger feet, shorter bill, and very broad dusky tips to the upper tail coverts. (Ridgw. in Cat. B. M.) Range.—Pacific Ocean; (Guadalupe Island, Lower California.) 107. Black Petrel (Oceanodroma melania.) L. 9. Ads. Sooty black, paler below; wing-coverts grayish, tail forked. Range.—South Pacific, north to Santa Barbara Islands; breeds on Coronados Islands, southern California. 108.1 Socorro Petrel (Oceanodroma socorroensis). W. 5.5. Ads. Similar to [No. 108], but wings longer; tail shorter and less deeply forked; sides of rump whitish; no white on under surface of wing. (Towns.) Range.—Pacific Ocean; (Socorro Island, southern California.) 109. Wilson Petrel; Stormy Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus). L. 7. Ads. Webs of feet with yellow patch: tail not forked; longer upper tail coverts not tipped with black. Notes. A weak weet, weet, and a hoarse chattering patret-tu-cuk-cuk-tu-tu. (Wilson.) Range.—Atlantic Ocean; breeds in Southern seas, (Kerguelen Island in February), and migrates north to Newfoundland, spending summer off coast of eastern United States.

Order IV. TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS.

STEGANOPODES.

Family 1.TROPIC BIRDS.Phaëthontidæ.2 species.
Family 2.GANNETS.Sulidæ.6 species.
Family 3.DARTERS.Anhingidæ.1 species.
Family 4.CORMORANTS.Phalacrocoracidæ.6 species, 5 subspecies.
Family 5.PELICANS.Pelecanidæ.3 species.
Family 6.MAN-O'-WAR-BIRDS.Fregatidæ.1 Species.

The members of this Order agree in having all four toes connected by webs, but in other respects they differ widely in structure and, consequently, in habit. The young of all the Steganopodes are born naked, unlike the young of most of the other water birds, which, as a rule, are hatched covered with feathers and can swim or run about soon after birth. The nests of the Steganopodes are, of necessity, therefore, more complex structures than those of birds whose nests are merely incubators and not cradles as well.

Tropic Birds resemble the larger Terns, when in the air, but their wing strokes are more rapid. They usually nest in holes in the face of cliffs, and lay one whitish egg, marked with chocolate.