as holding a position intermediate between the Albatross and the Storm
Petrels. In this bird the plumage is deep chocolate-brown. The eye is
blackish brown; beak horn-grey, with red tip. The young bird is more
lightly coloured, and has a silvery white eye. The length of this species
is about two feet eight inches, and the spread of the wings from four feet
and a half to five feet.
The habitat of the Giant Petrel extends over the temperate and antarctic
zones of the southern hemisphere.
Captain Hutton tells us that "this bird breeds in the cliffs of Prince
Edward's Island and Kerguelen's Land, but the nests can be got at
occasionally. The young are at first covered with a beautiful, long,
light grey down; when fledged they are dark brown, mottled with white.
When a person approaches the nest, the old birds keep a short distance
away, while the young ones squirt a horribly-smelling oil out of their
mouths to the distance of six or eight feet. It is very voracious,
hovering over the sealers when engaged cutting up a seal, and devouring
the carcase the moment it is left, which the Albatross never does. It
sometimes chases the smaller species, but whether or not it can catch
birds possessed apparently of powers of flight superior to its own is
doubtful; but supposing one is killed, that it feeds only upon its heart
and liver, I can never believe, yet it is said to do so in the works of
many ornithologists."
[Illustration: THE FULMAR PETREL (_Procellaria glacialis_).]
THE FULMAR PETREL.
The FULMAR PETREL (_Procellaria glacialis_) is principally white, light
silvery grey upon the under side, and blueish grey upon the mantle. The
primary quills are black, the eye is brown, the beak along the culmen
pale horn-yellow, at its base greyish green. The foot is yellow, with a
shade of blue. In young birds the plumage on the under side of the body
is slightly blueish. The length of this species is eighteen or nineteen
inches, its breadth forty-one to forty-three inches, the length of its
wings twelve to thirteen inches, length of tail four inches and two-thirds.
The Fulmar Petrel lives in the Arctic Ocean, from which it rarely strays,
unless driven away by violent storms. In more southern seas it is
represented by a kindred species resembling it so closely that the two
were often mistaken for each other. The Island of St. Kilda, and Grünso
near Iceland, are looked upon as its most southern breeding-places. Like
all its kindred, it is an inhabitant of the wide sea, and, except during
its breeding season, only comes to dry land when lost and bewildered
by a fog, or wearied out by the long continuance of a storm. In North
Greenland it is said to be seen oftener than elsewhere upon the coasts,
and in the bays and harbours. Their specific name _glacialis_ has not been
very happily given to these birds, as they seem to avoid rather than seek
large accumulations of ice; indeed, all pilots hold their presence to be
a sure sign of open water. The flight of this Petrel very much resembles
that of the Ivory Gull. The sailor gazes with admiration as he sees it
with outspread, almost motionless wings, glide like a meteor over the
waves or battling with the storm for days together, apparently without
allowing itself the slightest repose. It seems to have not the slightest
fear of man; it approaches ships with the utmost confidence, and is rather
importunate in its visits to the whale-fishers, more especially should
they be engaged in cutting up a whale.
"The Fulmar," says Captain Scoresby, "is the constant companion of the
whale-fisher. It joins his ship immediately on passing the Shetland
Islands, and accompanies it through the trackless ocean to the highest
accessible latitudes. It keeps an eager watch for every thing thrown
overboard; the smallest particle of fatty substance can scarcely escape
it. Though few should be seen when a whale is about being captured, yet,
as soon as the flensing process commences, they rush in from all quarters
and frequently accumulate to many thousands in number. They then occupy
the greasy track of the ships; and, being audaciously greedy, fearlessly
advance within a few yards of the men employed in cutting up the whale.
It is highly amusing to see the voracity with which they seize the pieces
of fat that fall in their way; the size and quantity of the pieces they
take at a meal; the curious chuckling noise, which in their anxiety for
dispatch, they always make; and the jealousy with which they view, the
boldness with which they attack, any of their species that are engaged in
devouring the finest morsels. When carrion is scarce, the Fulmars follow
the living whale, and sometimes by their peculiar motions when hovering
at the surface of the water, point out to the fisher the position of
the animal of which he is in pursuit. They cannot, however, make much
impression on the dead whale until some more powerful animal tears away
the skin, for this is too tough for them to make their way through."
In high latitudes the Fulmars build their nests in every available
island, as far south as St. Kilda. Upon the Westmanoer, near Iceland, its
nests are more numerous than those of any other birds that breed in that
vicinity; some estimate of the numerous flocks in which it visits those
parts may be formed from the numbers killed, amounting annually, as Faber
informs us, to at least 20,000. Their numbers seem to be steadily on the
increase, in spite of the persecution to which they are subject. Their
nests are very generally placed beyond the reach of the bird-catchers,
notwithstanding that they are let down by ropes when in search of them,
and pursue them upon every ledge and in every crevice to which they can
possibly find access. The Fulmar Petrel begins to congregate around its
breeding-places in March, about the beginning of May, or sometimes towards
the middle of April; each pair lays a single egg, which is round, of a
pure white colour, either upon the bare surface of the rock, or in some
slight depression made or discovered in the scanty soil.
The Fulmar Petrel is only a rare visitor to England, but it frequents in
great numbers the islands of St. Kilda and Borrera; it is said also to
breed in some of the islands of the Hebrides.
Mr. John Macgillivray, who visited St. Kilda, its principal
breeding-place, in June, 1840, gives the following account:--
"This bird exists here in almost incredible numbers, and to the natives
is by far the most important of the productions of the island. It forms
one of the principal means of support to the inhabitants, who daily risk
their lives in its pursuit. The Fulmar breeds on the face of the highest
precipices, and only on such as are furnished with small grassy shelves,
every spot on which, above a few inches in extent, is occupied with
one or more of its nests. The nest is formed of herbage, seldom bulky,
generally a mere excavation in the turf, lined with dried grass, and the
withered tufts or the sea-pink, in which the bird deposits a single egg
of a pure white colour, when clean, which is seldom the case, and varying
in size from two inches seven lines to three inches one line in length,
by two inches in breadth. On the 30th of June, having partially descended
a nearly perpendicular precipice, six hundred feet in height, the whole
face of which was covered with the nests of the Fulmar, I enjoyed an
opportunity of watching the habits of this bird, and describing them
from personal observation. The nests had all been robbed about a month
before by the natives, who esteem the eggs of this species above all
others. Many of the nests contained each a young bird, a day or two old
at farthest, thickly covered with long white down. The birds were very
clamorous on being handled, and vomited a quantity of clear oil, with
which I sometimes observed the parent birds feeding them by disgorging
it. The old birds on being seized instantly vomit a quantity of clear
amber-coloured oil, which imparts to the whole bird, its nest, and young,
and even to the rock it frequents, a peculiar and very disagreeable odour.
Fulmar oil is the most valuable production of St. Kilda. The best is
obtained from the old bird, by surprising it at night upon the rock, and
tightly closing the bill until the fowler has secured the bird between
his knees, head downwards. By opening the bill the Fulmar is allowed to
disgorge about a tablespoonful of oil, or rather more, into the dried
gullet and stomach of a Solar Goose, used as a reservoir for that purpose.
These receptacles when filled are secured with a string and hung on cords
across the interior of the huts until required for use. Besides supplying
their lamps, this oil is used by the inhabitants of the island as a
medicine. In the beginning of August the natives descend the rocks for
young Fulmars, which are then nearly fledged, and, by boiling in water,
are made to furnish a large quantity of fat, which is skimmed off and
preserved in a solid form. The old Fulmar is much esteemed by the St.
Kildians, on account of its subcutaneous covering of fat, of which they
are immoderately fond."
THE CAPE PETREL.
The CAPE PETREL (_Procellaria_ or _Daption Capensis_) is another species
well known to mariners, as it has been recently killed in Europe. The
length of this bird is fourteen and its breadth thirty-two inches. Its
plumage may be described as white, variegated with black upon the mantle
in such a manner that without much stretch of fancy it might be compared
to the black and white squares of a chessboard; the greater part of the
upper surface is soot-black, or black speckled with white; the under
surface is white; the quills and tail-feathers tipped with black at their
extremities. The geographical distribution of these birds is remarkable.
In the Atlantic Ocean they are only to be met with beyond the tropic of
Capricorn, and it is a very rare occurrence to see one of them within the
limits of the torrid zone, or in any part of the northern hemisphere.
In the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, they are very common, more
especially upon the west coast of South America, as far north as the
equator. If captured in fine weather, when the sea is smooth, and they are
able to obtain their usual food, their stomach is found to contain little
except the remains of the marine animals upon which they feed, small
crustaceans, molluscs, and fishes; but during stormy weather, when they
are unable to obtain their ordinary nourishment, they become so voracious
that they will swallow almost anything. In the stomachs of individuals
captured by Tschudi during a continuance of bad weather, he found a most
miscellaneous collection both of eatable and uneatable substances--beans,
peas, and lentils, mutton bones, oakum, leather, slices of cabbage, leaves
and ship-biscuits, pieces of wood, and, in short, everything that had
accidentally fallen from the ship, or been intentionally thrown overboard.
In fine weather the Cape Petrels appear to be shy and distrustful; but
during a storm, driven apparently by hunger, they become positively
reckless, and are very easily captured. The way in which, under these
circumstances, they are caught by sailors is simple enough; a bent pin is
tied to the end of a strong string, to serve as a hook and line, a piece
of bread or bacon is used for bait, and no sooner is this thrown overboard
than it is seized upon by a bird, which, by a well-timed jerk of the
string, becomes hooked through the upper jaw, and is at once pulled on
board. In very stormy weather it naturally happens that so light a bait
never reaches the water, but is suspended fluttering in the wind; yet even
under these circumstances they will fly at it with the utmost avidity, and
if not caught by the hook, generally become so entangled by the string
that they are unable to escape. When drawn into the ship they defend
themselves valiantly with their beak, and moreover have an ugly trick of
squirting from their mouth right into the face of their enemy a loathsome,
stinking, oily fluid, which certainly to some extent avenges them for the
treatment they experience. When killed, they are skinned by the sailors,
and their skins made into weathercocks, the only use to which they seem to
be applicable.
[Illustration: THE CAPE PETREL (_Procellaria_ or _Daption Capensis_).
ONE-FOURTH NATURAL SIZE.]
"This Martin among the Petrels," says Gould, "swims lightly; but it rarely
exercises natatorial power except to procure food, in pursuit of which
it occasionally dives for a moment or two. Nothing can be more graceful
than its motions when on the wing, with the neck shortened and the legs
entirely hidden among the feathers of the under tail-covers. Like the
other Petrels it ejects when irritated an oily fluid from the mouth. Its
feeble note of 'Cac, cac, cac, cac,' is frequently uttered; the third,
according to Captain Hutton, being pronounced the quickest." We learn from
Tschudi and Gould that this species breeds on rocky islands at no great
distance from the shore; but with this exception we are without reliable
particulars respecting its nidification.
[Illustration: STORM PETRELS.]
THE BROAD-BILLED PRION, OR DUCK PETREL.
The BROAD-BILLED PRION, or DUCK PETREL (_Prion vittatus_), together with
another species, which like itself is peculiar to the southern hemisphere,
constitute a little family apart, to which the name of Duck Petrels would
not be inapplicable. The most distinctive character met with in this
bird is that the margin of the upper jaw is furnished with small, thin,
tooth-like processes, arranged in the same manner as in some species of
Ducks, and answering a similar purpose. The wings are long and strong, the
first quill being somewhat shorter than the second. The tail, composed of
twelve feathers, is broad and bluntly rounded, the two central feathers
being perceptibly longer than the rest. The colour of the plumage is light
greyish blue upon the back, and pearl-white on the under surface; the back
and shoulder-feathers are darker than the rest of the body. The border of
the wing and the points of the tail-feathers are black. The eye is brown,
the beak dark grey, and the foot dark greyish blue. The length is ten
inches and a quarter, breadth twenty-two inches, length of wing six inches
and one-third, length of tail three inches and a half.
These birds are met with upon the coast of Brazil; their range extends
from the tropic of Capricorn to the equator; the region that they frequent
abounding in rugged rocks and small islands, upon which they probably find
their breeding-places. They seem to be much more numerous in the Pacific
Ocean than in the Atlantic. According to Tschudi's observations they are
seldom seen swimming on the ocean, their flight being of a more sustained
character than that of the Petrels generally. According to Gould, this
species closely resembles the _P. Banksii_ in its powers of flight and
mode of life. Of this latter he says: "Sometimes it appeared in countless
multitudes, but more often thinly dispersed over the surface of the ocean.
During calms it flits over the glassy waters with a noiseless but easy
flight, often performing small circles and fluttering butterfly-like
over any oily substance thrown overboard, which it sips off the surface
without settling; occasionally, however, it rests its buoyant and fairy
little body on the waters, where it reposes at perfect ease, until hunger
again impels it to take wing in search of food. A more vigorous and active
action of the wing being necessary to sustain it during the raging of
the gale, it then moves with zigzag turns of great swiftness, ascending
the billows, topping their surgy summits, and descending into the gulf
between, where a momentary shelter enables it to gain fresh vigour and
seize from the slanting surface any molluscs that may present themselves,
and which from the disturbed state of the sea are apparently then more
abundant than at other times."
* * * * *
The STORM PETRELS (_Oceanides_) constitute a well-defined group,
distinguishable by the smallness of their dimensions, their slender body,
short neck, and moderately large head, as also by the long Swallow-like
formation of their wings, in which the second and third quills are longer
than the rest; their tail is of moderate length, composed of twelve
feathers, and either nearly straight or forked at its extremity; the
beak is small, weak, and straight, except at the extremity, where both
mandibles curve downwards, the end of the upper one being decidedly
hooked; the tarsus is long, slender, and feeble, and the foot furnished
with three strong toes, which are united by a broad and very complete web,
while the hind toe is nothing more than a wart-like rudiment. The plumage
is thick and fur-like, and the colour generally a dusky blackish brown,
more or less enlivened with white.
The Storm Petrels are met with in all parts of the world, with the
exception of very high southern or northern latitudes. Where one species
becomes scarce, another supplies its place, and occasionally two or more
species will be found inhabiting the same regions of the ocean. Thus four
or five at least occupy the vicinity of the coasts of Europe, and at least
double that number are to be met with near the shores of the American
continent, whilst in the Pacific Ocean they seem to be particularly
numerous. In their usual habitat, that is, in the wide sea, the Storm
Petrels live in a constant state of activity, and may be seen flying
about during the entire day, and heard throughout the night. Occasionally
they may be seen disporting themselves singly, but more generally they
make their appearance in small or more numerous companies, during fine
as well as in stormy weather. All day long they are occupied in flying
over the waves, the risings and fallings of which they exactly follow, or
in mounting high in the air like Swallows, whence they descend again, as
though about to plunge into the water, but rise again without touching it.
Sometimes again they settle down upon the water, and remain motionless,
as if unable to move from the same spot, though all around them is in
constant agitation and turmoil. When flying they make but few strokes with
their wings, but these are obviously very effective, and their action
much diversified. Sometimes they may be seen with their wings widely
expanded, and in this manner they sail along for minutes together, without
the slightest effort, then, suddenly bestirring themselves, a few quick
powerful strokes given after the manner of a Swift, raise them above the
waves, where they astonish the observer by the masterly precision of their
evolutions, as they shoot down obliquely over the billows, or mount up
again high into the air. Should they espy anything in the shape of food,
they at once hasten towards it, running upon the water, and, having seized
it with their beak, immediately resume their aerial pastime. As to their
powers of swimming, they seem so seldom to adopt that mode of locomotion,
that many careful observers declare that they never swim at all, but
that they only sit down, as it were, and float on the sea, without ever
using their legs as instruments of propulsion. Their strength of wing is
wonderful; they literally fly about all day long without resting at all.
It is only after the long continuance of a storm that they seem to be
wearied, and yet even this fatigue is not produced by their exertions in
battling with the wind, but because, during the violence of the tempest,
they are unable to obtain their usual supply of food, and consequently
are exhausted for want of nourishment. Their voice is seldom heard in the
daytime, which in truth appears to be to them the season of repose; it is
in the evening, shortly after the sun has gone down, that they seem most
active and alert; at that time, should the wind permit, their call-note
may be frequently heard. In disposition they are particularly harmless,
living in perfect good-fellowship with each other, and appearing to care
little about other birds. Their food consists of all sorts of soft-bodied
animals, picked up from the surface of the ocean; but we are unable to
say more upon this subject. The stomachs of such as have been examined
invariably contained nothing but a fluid resembling train-oil, but never
the slightest trace of animal remains.
THE COMMON STORM PETREL.
The COMMON STORM PETREL (_Thalassidroma pelagica_) has the end of the
tail very slightly rounded. The general colour of this species is a sooty
brown; the upper part of the head is of a glossy black, becoming browner
towards the forehead, and the mantle blackish brown. The wing-covers have
white points, and the rump is likewise white. The eye is brown, beak
black, and foot reddish brown. This species is five inches and a quarter
long, and twelve inches and a half broad; the length of the wing is four
inches and a half, and tail two inches. The Storm Petrel, though not
generally distributed over the coast of Great Britain, is indigenous,
breeding in Shetland, the Orkneys, and the islets on the Irish coast.
During severe gales individuals have been shot as far inland as Berks,
Warwickshire, and Derbyshire.
Mr. Hewitson gives the following account of the breeding of the Petrels
in Shetland:--"On the 31st May these birds had not arrived on the
breeding-ground; to use the the phrase of the fishermen, 'Had not yet come
up from the sea.' Some eggs were deposited as late as the 30th June. In
Foula they breed in the holes in the cliff at a great height above the
sea; but here (in Oxna) under stones which form the beach, at a depth of
three or four feet or more, according to that of the stones, as they go
down to the earth beneath them, on which to lay their eggs. In walking
over the surface I could hear them very distinctly singing in a sort of
a warbling chitter, a good deal like Swallows, when fluttering above our
chimneys, but harsher; and in this way, by listening attentively, was
guided to their retreat; and, after throwing out stones as large as I
could lift on all sides of me, seldom failed in capturing two or three
seated on their nests, either under the lowest stone, or between two
of them. The nests, though of much the same materials as the ground on
which they were placed, seemed to have been made with ease. They were of
small bits of stalks of plants and pieces of hard dry earth." Like the
rest of the genus, the Storm Petrel lays invariably one egg only. During
the daytime they remain within their holes, and though the fishermen are
constantly passing over their heads, the beach under which they breed
being appropriated for the drying of fish, they are then seldom heard,
but towards night become extremely querulous, and when most other birds
are gone to rest issue forth in great numbers, spreading themselves far
over the surface of the sea. The fishermen then meet them numerously, and,
though they have not previously seen one, upon throwing pieces of fish
overboard are sure to be surrounded by them; the sharpness of their vision
enabling them to see food from afar, which, from the activity of their
movements, they are not long in appropriating.
[Illustration: THE COMMON STORM PETREL (_Thalassidroma pelagica_).
ONE-HALF NATURAL SIZE.]
LEACH'S STORM PETREL.
LEACH'S STORM PETREL (_Oceanodromus Leachii_) differs from the previous
species in having its tail deeply forked; it is, moreover, of much larger
size, its length being eight inches, and breadth nineteen inches; the wing
measures six inches and three-quarters, and tail three inches and a half.
The plumage is of a blackish brown on the head; the rump is white; and
the ends of the wing-covers fawn-colour. This species also occupies the
Atlantic Ocean, and precisely resembles the Common Petrel in its habits,
manners, nidification, and food.
* * * * *