The length of the bird is 18 inches; of the bill 2; of the wing, from the carpal joint to the end of the first quill feather, 13; of the tail 6; of the tarsi 2. Irides green silvery colour, pupil dark.
64. Larus fuscus?
65. Larus ridibundus?
66. Lestris catarrhactes?
67. Procellaria gigantea. A young bird.
68. Procellaria capensis.
This beautiful, but well-known petrel, was, of course, our constant companion on all occasions of our being at sea, and was particularly numerous off the entrance to the river Plata, feeding probably upon the exuviæ that drift out with the current. One being taken with the hook, was killed, and in its entrails several small fragments of granite were found mixed with the half-digested food. A remarkable instance of the natural habits of this bird has lately come to my knowledge, which deserves to be recorded. The late Mr. George Fairfowl, surgeon R.N., on his return from New South Wales, in the year 1831, caught one of these birds, and let it go, with a ribbon tied round the body, by which it was easily distinguished; the bird was thereby observed to follow the ship, from day to day, for the space of 5,000 miles.
69. Procellaria Berardi.
| 70. | Procellaria Wilsonii.—Prince of Musignano. Thalassidroma Wilsonnii—Vigors. |