AVES— PETREL. 657 



THE PETREL. 



The whole genus of petrels are known by having, instead of a back toe, 

 only a sharp spur or nail; they have also a faculty of spouting from their 

 bills, to a considerable distance, a large quantity of pure oil, which they do, 

 by way of defence, into the face of any person who attempts to take them. 



THE FULMAR PETREL* 



Is the largest of the kind which is known in Europe. It is superior to the 

 size of the common gull, being about fifteen inches in length, and in weight 

 seventeen ounces. The bill is very strong, yellow, and hooked at the end. 

 The head, neck, and all the under parts of the body, are white; the back 

 and wings ash-colored, the quills dusky, and the tail white. It feeds on the 

 blubber of whales, which supplies the reservoir, whence it spouts, with a 

 constant stock of ammunition. This oil is esteemed by the inhabitants of 

 the north, as a sovereign remedy in many complaints, both external and 

 internal. The flesh is also considered by them as a delicacy, and the bird 

 is therefore in great request at St Kilda. When a whale is taken, these 

 birds will, in defiance of all endeavors, light upon it, and pick out large 

 lumps of fat, even while it is alive. 



1 Procellaria glacialis, Lin. The genus Procellaria has the bill as long as, or longer 

 than the head, very hard, edged, depressed, and dilated at the base ; the tip compressed, 

 and arched, both mandibles channelled, and abruptly inflected towards the extremity ; 

 nostrils prominent at the surface of the bill, united, and concealed in a tube which either 

 forms a single opening, or exhibits two distinct openings ; legs middle sized, often long, 

 slender ; the tarsi compressed ; the three front toes entirely webbed and long, and the 

 hinder represented by a pointed claw ; wings long. 



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