At Eight, The Weather Cleared
Up, And The Wind Came To W.S.W., With Which We Made All The Sail We Could
To The South; Having Never Less Than Ten Or Twelve Islands Of Ice In Sight.
Next day we had the wind at S.W. and S.S.W., a gentle gale, with now and
then showers of snow and hail.
In the morning, being in the latitude of 55 deg.
20' S., and longitude 31 deg. 30' E., we hoisted out a boat to see if there was
any current, but found none. Mr Forster, who went in the boat, shot some of
the small grey birds before-mentioned, which were of the peterel tribe, and
about the size of a small pigeon. Their back, and upper side of their
wings, their feet and bills, are of a blue-grey colour. Their bellies, and
under side of their wings are white, a little tinged with blue. The upper
side of their quill feathers is a dark-blue tinged with black. A streak is
formed by feathers nearly of this colour, along the upper parts of the
wings, and crossing the back a little above the tail. The end of the tail
feathers is also of the same colour. Their bills are much broader than any
I have seen of the same tribe; and their tongues are remarkably broad.
These blue peterels, as I shall call them, are seen no where but in the
southern hemisphere, from about the latitude of 28 deg., and upwards.
Thermometer at 33 deg.
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