LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 31 



It was observed by some of the officers at Port St. Antonio chasing a diver, 

 which tried to escape by diving and tiying, but was continually struck down 

 and at last killed by a blow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great 

 petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. 



Winter.— Mr. W. Eagle Clarke (1907) says: 



That at the close of the southern summer numbers of giant petrels (Ossi- 

 fraga gigantca) cross the Antarctic Circle and sojourn among the polar ice ere 

 they retreat northwards to pass the winter in more genial oceanic resorts. It 

 is possible, however, that some of these visitors to the far south are non- 

 breeding birds, and, if so, they may have spent the entire summer there. The 

 Tubinares are, as is well known, great wanderers, but these very remarkable 

 southern incursions are, perhaps, to be explained by the extraordinary abund- 

 ance of food to be found in the waters of the far south in the sunmier and 

 autumn, which allures some of the birds farther and farther toward the pole, 

 until the ice barrier which almost girdles the Antarctic Continent, arrests 

 further progress, since at its base the food supply entirely ceases. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — South Atlantic Ocean (South Orkney, South 

 Shetland, South Georgia, Falkland, and Gough Islands) ; South 

 Pacific Ocean (Macquarie, Campbell, Graham, Antipodes, Chatham, 

 and Snares Islands) ; South Indian Ocean (Kerguelen and Crozet 

 Islands) ; and on the Antarctic continent. 



Range. — Southern portions of Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

 North in the Atlantic Ocean to 31° South; and probably farther 

 north in the Pacific. South to the Antarctic continent or the edge 

 of the Antarctic ice, at least as far south as 78°. 



Casual record. — Once taken off the coast of Oregon (Audubon's 

 record) . 



Egg dates. — South Georgia Island: Thirteen records, December 1 

 to January 13; seven records, December. Falkland Islands: Two 

 records, October 19 and November 8. 



FULMARUS GLACIALIS GLACIALIS (Linnaeus). 

 FULMAR. 



HABITS. 



The fulmar is a distinctly pelagic species of arctic seas, where it 

 is ever associated with drifting icebergs and floating pack ice. Like 

 the albatross it spends much of its time on the wing and is particu- 

 larly active in rough and stormy weather. It is the constant com- 

 panion of the arctic whalers and is well known to the hardy ex- 

 plorers who risk their lives in dangerous northern seas, where it 

 follows the ships to gorge itself on what scraps it can pick up, rests 

 to digest its unsavory food on some rugged block of ice and retires 

 to some lonely crag to rear its young. There is little that is attrac- 



