proportionately short wings, and more or less rounded tail, composed
of twelve feathers. The beak is short, or of moderate length, and the
nostrils divided. The legs are large, broad-footed, and placed very far
backwards. The plumage is smooth and oily. The Puffins are eminently
aquatic birds, only visiting the land for the purpose of hatching and
rearing their young; nevertheless they often approach the shore or visit
harbours on the coast. They are generally met with in little flocks
consisting of from eight to twenty individuals, and employed in fishing
for food. During the breeding season, however, they assemble in such
vast numbers as almost to cover the rocks on which they build. Their
food consists principally of fishes and molluscous animals, which are
invariably caught by diving. The Puffins are distinguishable from all
their allies by the impetuosity of their flight. Sometimes they may be
seen swimming quietly upon the water and diving into the advancing waves;
generally, however, they are observed flying, and not only shooting over
but dashing through them. With outstretched wings they plunge into the
billows, urging their career with rapid strokes, twisting and turning in
the water, not only sideways but completely round, so that sometimes the
dark-coloured back, sometimes the shining white under surface becomes
visible; now they seem to follow the outline of the wave, climbing upon
one side of it and plunging down the other as they suddenly emerge from
the water, and, after rising ten or twelve feet into the air, once more
plunge obliquely into the sea, where they again dive, rowing themselves
along with feet and wings till, after making their way to a considerable
distance, they come up into the air, apparently simply to take breath, and
forthwith disappear in the same manner. The interest attaching to this
spectacle is considerably increased from the circumstance of so many of
the birds joining in these active evolutions, just as one plunges beneath
the surface another emerges, and as they are all busily employed, it is
difficult for the eye to follow their rapid evolutions.
Although the Puffins do not congregate around their breeding-places in
such vast multitudes as other water-fowl, they regularly visit St. Kilda
and other places among the Hebrides and Faroe Islands in very considerable
numbers, generally arriving in the night, during which they appear to be
even more active than in the daytime.
Like many other Divers, they dig, by means of their beak and claws,
holes in the greensward with which their breeding-place is generally
covered to the depth of two feet or even more; their excavations having
more the appearance of rabbit-holes than of nesting-places for a bird;
at the bottom they are slightly wider than elsewhere, and here they lay
their eggs, without making any nest. Occasionally, however, they collect
a few stalks of grass together, upon which their eggs are deposited.
Not unfrequently they merely take possession of the holes prepared in
preceding years. Their nesting-place being completed, each female lays
a solitary egg, which is of large size. Upon this egg the male and
female sit by turns for a very long period; how long has not yet been
ascertained, but it extends over several weeks; if disturbed during their
confinement, the parents become much excited, and defend their nests
vigorously, uttering cries which have been compared to the growling and
yelping of young dogs, at the same time spreading out their tails and
biting their opponent with their sharp bills. The young one when hatched
is clothed in down, but although abundantly provided with food by both
parents, its growth is anything but rapid; indeed, it is not until after
the lapse of several months that it is able to leave its home and make its
appearance on the surface of the sea. By this time it has been so well
fed that its breast is covered with a layer of fat fully an inch thick;
it is at this period that these birds are sought for and killed in great
numbers, affording a most acceptable addition to the scanty fare of the
inhabitants of the islands favoured by their presence.
THE MANX PUFFIN, OR SHEARWATER.
The MANX PUFFIN, or SHEARWATER (_Puffinus Anglorum_), is provided with
a beak of moderate length, but narrow and weak, the upper mandible of
which terminates in a sharp hook, which is received in a corresponding
depression of the lower jaw which bends down at its extremity. The plumage
of the adult bird is brownish black upon the upper parts of the body, and
pure white upon the under side; the sides of the neck are marked with
grey. The eye is brown, the beak grey, the foot greenish yellow. This
species is fourteen inches long, and from thirty to thirty-two inches
broad, the wing measures ten inches and the tail two inches and a half.
At present it is uncertain how far the range of the Manx Puffin extends,
for such is the similarity of colour in the different species, that they
are doubtless frequently mistaken for each other by incompetent observers;
we are, however, sure that it is met with as far south as the coasts of
France and Spain, and has occasionally been seen on the shores of the
Mediterranean. In Germany it is very common, and also makes its appearance
in Heligoland every year with considerable regularity. It is also certain
that this bird breeds in Iceland, the Hebrides, Shetland, Scilly, and
Faroe Islands. A small island near the Calf of Man, although now deserted,
was formerly inhabited by this bird in great numbers; it is also abundant
on the coast of South Wales, in spring; occasionally it visits Iceland
and the east coast of England. The Manx Puffin arrives in Great Britain
about March, and departs in August, only resorting to the land during the
breeding season, and selecting for the purpose of incubation small islands
or rocky shores away from any haunts of man. At the commencement of this
century the capture of the eggs and young afforded an important means of
support to the poor and hardy inhabitants of the islands they principally
frequent; and Mr. Low gives us the following account of the manner in
which they were obtained:--"A man sitting on the brink of the rock with a
coil of rope made of hair on his arm, will let his neighbour many fathoms
over the steepest rocks, such as would make other people shudder to look
at, and yet these men think no more of it than an airing; and though
few years pass without some or other of them perishing, yet this never
deters the survivors. It is really dreadful to see people let over a rock
several hundred fathoms high, with the deep below them, supported only
by the single arm of their comrades, who have nothing to rest themselves
against. Sometimes, indeed, both slip together. In August the young are
fit for taking, and are very much sought after as delicacies by those who
love good cheer. They are indeed very fat, but are nauseously rank and
fishy-tasted; however, they sell pretty high, and are lucrative to the
captors. The country people salt them down for winter provision, and boil
them with cabbage. They likewise take the old ones in March, but these are
poor and not nearly so good as the young."
THE OAR-FOOTED SEA-FLIERS (_Steganopodes_).
THE members of this order present but a very distant resemblance to
the swimming birds described in the preceding pages, from which they
differ not only in the construction of their feet, but in their general
appearance and peculiar habits.
The birds belonging to this division are characterised by having their
body considerably elongated, their neck of moderate length, the head
small, and the wings long and rounded or very long and pointed. The tail
is variously constructed, but always peculiar and very pointed; and
invariably there is between the branches of the under jaw a naked, more
or less pouch-like, fold of skin. The tarsus is short and the toes long
in correspondence with the great size of the web which connects _all_
the toes with one another, a character whereby they are particularly
distinguishable. The general plumage is thick; in some instances compact
and stiff, but in others of silky softness. Its colour occasionally
differs in the two sexes, and varies much at different ages.
The oar-footed races may all be called inhabitants of the sea, although
but a single family is so decidedly oceanic that it never absents itself
from the water. All the others willingly prolong their flight far inland,
where many of them establish settlements; indeed, there are certain races
that only exceptionally visit the sea at all; nevertheless, when they
do find themselves in that element they are quite at home, and not only
care little for the land, but are able to dispense with fresh water.
Some of them at certain intervals come on shore to rest themselves or
to sleep on rocky islands and coasts; others prefer a shelving shore;
and others, whenever they get an opportunity, roost upon trees: certain
species, indeed, might almost be considered true forest birds. In northern
climates, as their breeding-time approaches, many of them migrate with
great regularity; but in low latitudes they only remove hither and
thither, northwards or southwards, following the windings of the sea-coast.
Their nests are generally built either upon trees or in fissures of
rocks, sometimes upon ledges of cliffs or on the tops of mountains; less
frequently on the little islands met with in marshes and swamps. Wherever
their breeding-place may be, they are generally indebted to other birds
for relieving them of a considerable share of the labour of nest-building,
often contenting themselves with adding materials to their deserted
domiciles. Some of them lay but a single egg, others two, others four;
the eggs are small, of elongated shape, and generally covered with a
calcareous deposit which obscures the markings on the shell. Both parents
assist in the work of incubation, and some species would seem frequently
to produce two broods in the course of the breeding season. Most of these
birds feed exclusively upon fishes; some will occasionally devour small
quadrupeds, molluscs, and worms, but fishes invariably constitute their
ordinary diet. Some of them catch their food by sailing over the water at
a little distance above the surface, whence they suddenly plunge into the
water beneath; some swim upon the sea like Ducks, and seize their prey in
shallow water by means of their long necks; whilst others again, after
the manner of the real divers, pursue their prey to a considerable depth.
They are terribly destructive to fishes, and are, consequently, everywhere
regarded and treated as enemies by all fishermen.
* * * * *
The TROPIC BIRDS (_Phaëton_), "Children of the Sun," as they were called
by Linnæus, always warn the mariner by their presence that he has entered
the precincts of the torrid zone, beyond which they seldom stray. The
characteristic features of these beautiful creatures are the small size
and compact build of their bodies. Their beak is about the same length
as the head, and compressed laterally--its upper surface slightly curved,
its apex acutely pointed, and its cutting edges finely denticulated. The
legs are small in proportion to the size of the body, and the hind toe
connected with the inner one by but a very narrow web. The wings are
long, and the tail composed of twelve or fourteen quills; the central
tail-feathers are remarkably prolonged, and present a structure that is
quite peculiar, owing to the laxity and sparseness of their barbs. Their
general plumage is thick and delicately tinted. "No one who sees the
Tropic Birds for the first time," says Pöpping, "would regard them as
inhabitants of the sea, but would rather imagine them to be land birds
that had strayed by accident far into the illimitable desert of the ocean.
In strength of wing they are unrivalled. Without moving their pinions in
the slightest degree, or turning the body, they mount quickly to a great
altitude, and there seem to repose upon the air, as if it were a solid
support. Only when engaged in fishing, or when they perceive a ship, do
they exchange this state of luxurious repose for active exertion. On such
occasions down they come from the skies with astonishing speed, and never
seem tired of circling round the vessel, as though narrowly watching
all that may be passing on board. Frequently they soar so high as to be
completely invisible except to a practised eye, but they are very rarely
seen to swim."
THE WHITE-TAILED TROPIC BIRD.
The WHITE-TAILED TROPIC BIRD (_Phaëton æthereus_) is strikingly beautiful.
Its head, neck, and under parts of the body are pure white, delicately
tinged with red; the face is marked about the eyes with a broad stripe of
black; the back and mantle are white, marked with a crooked dark line; the
wings are black, bordered with white. The eye is brown, beak coral-red,
foot dusky yellow. The length of this bird is two feet five inches, of
this one foot five inches belongs to the centre tail-feathers; the breadth
is three feet four inches. The White-tailed Tropic Birds are commonly
met with upon the Atlantic Ocean, and, according to Latham, are found
in abundance in the South Sea Islands, but are especially numerous in
Palmerston Island, where the trees are frequently loaded with them. Ellis
tells us that in the latter island they are so tame as to allow themselves
to be taken from the branches with the hand. "These," says Bennett, "are
amongst the most beautiful of all the oceanic birds, and excite admiration
as the rays of a bright sun shine upon their chaste and delicate satin
plumage; they are as gentle in manner as graceful in flight, and it is
pleasing to watch their evolutions, for when soaring to a great elevation
the action of their wings is slow, accompanied by a jerking motion, rising
and falling in the air, at the same time uttering their peculiar, shrill
notes. Sometimes they are resting on the surface of the water, and in calm
weather occasionally seat themselves on the backs of turtles as they float
along in lazy enjoyment."
Sailors formerly believed that the appearance of Tropic Birds indicated
the contiguity of land; this idea, however, is erroneous, as they are
frequently seen at a great distance from shore. According to Bennett this
species has been seen 1,000 miles from the coast. The long tail-feathers
of this beautiful bird are in great request.
THE RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD.
The RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD (_Phaëton phœnicurus_) has, like the preceding
species, white plumage tinged with rose-colour; a broad, black, transverse
band, which commences in front of the eyes, is prolonged towards the back
of the head into a point; the centre of the secondary quills, and the
feathers on the sides are deep black; the shafts of the primary quills are
black nearly to the tips. The middle tail-feathers are white towards their
base, but elsewhere bright red with black shafts. The eye is blackish
brown, beak scarlet, with a pale blue stripe at its base, and the tarsus
faint blue; the feet are black. The length of this species is two feet
four inches, breadth three feet; the longest tail-feathers are fifteen
inches, and the rest five inches. The Red-tailed Tropic Bird is met with
throughout the warm and temperate parts of the South Seas and Indian
Ocean; during August and September it retires to breed upon the islands.
The following description of the eggs and young was given to Mr. Gould by
Macgillivray:--
"The eggs of the _P. Phœnicurus_ are blotched and speckled with brownish
red on a pale reddish grey ground, and are two inches and three-eighths
long, by one inch four-eighths and a half broad. The contents of the
stomach consisted of the remnants of cuttle-fishes."
[Illustration: THE WHITE-TAILED TROPIC BIRD (_Phaëton æthereus_).
ONE-FOURTH NATURAL SIZE.]
Latham states that these birds are found in great numbers in the Island
of Mauritius, where they make their nests on the ground under trees.
According to Bennett, "The nestlings have a singular appearance,
resembling powder-puffs, being round as a ball and of a delicate
snow-white colour; the plumage of the first year is white speckled with
black, and they are deficient in the red shafts projecting from the tail,
which do not make their appearance till the second year, when on the young
bird moulting, the splendid and delicate roseate plumage is displayed."
* * * * *
The GANNETS (_Sula_) are larger but more slenderly built than the Tropic
Birds. Their bill is longer than the head, and the upper mandible looks as
though it were divided posteriorly into an upper and an under portion, so
that the beak has the appearance of consisting of three parts. The tarsi
are diminutive but strong; the wings unusually long, with the first quill
the longest; the tail consists of twelve feathers, and terminates in a
wedge-like point. The face and throat are naked.
The Gannets inhabit the northern hemisphere, and are met with in all seas
from 70° north latitude to the tropics; further southward their absence
is supplied by other species. They are abundant in Iceland, and the Faroe
Islands, the Orkneys, and the Hebrides; upon the coast of Norway they are
less frequent, but plentiful on the American shores, both of the Pacific
and Atlantic. In Great Britain Gannets breed in great numbers on the Bass
Rock, Souliskerry, St. Kilda, Ailsa, and Skellig Islands. They betake
themselves to the open sea during the winter, pursuing the herrings,
pilchards, and other fishes, upon which they dart nearly vertically.
It would seem as if these birds entertained a sort of affection for
certain islands, or particular localities upon the coast. When they have
an opportunity of doing so, they like to pass the night on dry land,
generally preferring high precipitous cliffs that rise abruptly from the
sea, and from which they can see the waves breaking perpetually before
them. Their choice in this particular is somewhat fanciful, at all events
they are always to be seen on certain rocks, and seem as constantly to
avoid others apparently just as well suited to their purpose.
The power of flight possessed by these birds is very great; they appear
to swim only while they give themselves a little rest upon the water,
and are never seen upon dry land except during the breeding season,
or when, as has been said, they come on shore to sleep. When trying
to stand upon their feet they are very helpless, and their walk is
hardly more than a waddle. Neither is their power of swimming of much
avail; they allow themselves to be blown along by the wind without any
exertion of their own, and, indeed, never use their legs except when
compelled to do so. When they employ their wings, however, they make up
for these deficiencies; their flight is, perhaps, inferior to that of
the Petrels, but it is exceedingly swift and strong. After a few rapid
strokes of the wings, apparently to give it the necessary impulse, the
Gannet glides through the air like an arrow, wheeling round and turning
with the greatest ease, at one time sailing close to the surface of the
sea, at another rising high into the air, and guiding its course by the
simple sloping of its wings. Its voice consists of a succession of harsh
croakings, while that of the young birds is a disagreeable screech.
Whoever has visited the localities where these birds breed, will have
little difficulty in understanding the beds of guano which of late
years have been so profitably turned to account. They congregate upon
the islands selected as their nesting-places by hundreds of thousands,
and by millions, insomuch that, using the words in their literal sense,
the air all around is filled with them; "their multitudes shut out the
light of the sun, and their voices deafen any visitor." Towards the end
of April they first make their appearance upon these islands, and leave
them again about October. Their nests are placed so close together, that
it is difficult for a man to walk between them. Those first built are of
tolerably large dimensions, those made at a later period considerably
smaller, while those constructed by the last comers must necessarily
be placed on any little unoccupied spaces that can be sought out. The
nest itself consists of a mere heap of land or sea plants, on which the
female deposits her single egg. The eggs are of moderate size, with
chalky-looking shells that are at first white, but soon become of a dirty
yellowish brown. The young birds are not hatched till the beginning of
June, and by the end of July are about half grown, but still clad in a
yellowish white dress of short down.
"In the year 1821," says Faber, "I visited one of the little islands upon
which these birds had built their nests. As soon as I had landed, both
young and old greeted my arrival with a burst of most discordant music,
consisting of one harsh shrieking sound. Not one of them, however, stirred
from the spot where they sat, so that I might have readily helped myself
to as many of them as I chose. The nests lay crowded close together, but
the ground was so slippery with all sorts of filth, that in walking
amongst them I should have run the risk of falling from the craggy cliffs
into the sea. It was a wonderful sight to see the multitudes below fishing
for food, which, as soon as they had collected enough, they brought with
flagging wings to the top of the rock and laid it before their young ones.
Towards the end of August, the nestlings are fully fledged, and at that
time if they are not larger they are at least fatter than their parents.
In this condition the country people catch as many of them as they can,
and salt them for food."
In St. Kilda every year there is a regular massacre of young Gannets,
which, as they are killed, are thrown down from the rocks into the
sea, and there collected into boats; great quantities are then sent to
Edinburgh and other places and brought to market.
THE COMMON GANNET.
The COMMON GANNET (_Sula alba_) is altogether white, except the primary
quills, which are brownish black; the upper part of the head and hinder
part of the neck are tinged with yellow. The plumage of the young is
blackish brown upon the upper parts of the body, speckled with white;
the under surface is light brown spotted with a darker shade. The eye is
yellow, the beak blueish, the foot green, and the bare skin of the throat
black. This species is from thirty to thirty-three inches long, and from
seventy-two to seventy-four broad; the wing measures twenty-one, and the
tail ten inches. The female is somewhat smaller than her mate.
These birds are constant residents on the shores of Great Britain,
changing their locality, however, according to the varying seasons of the
year. The principal breeding-places are, Lundy Island, the Skellig Isles
on the coast of Kerry; and in Scotland, the Isle of Ailsa, St. Kilda,
Souliskerry (Orkney), and the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. This latter
rock, where Macgillivray made some observations which we will detail, is
about a mile in circumference, and of an oblong form, with precipitous
cliffs, in some places perpendicular, and in others overhanging, except
in one narrow part, where a less abrupt projection forms the only
landing-place.