THE FULMAR PETREL 293 



the wall of rock. In many places, although the cliff is very 

 precipitous, it is covered with grass, sorrel, and other plants, 

 and a loose rich soil. It is in these places that the Fulmar 

 breeds in greatest abundance. 



I shall never forget the imposing effect of this noble 

 bird nursery. Just before I reached one of the shoulders of 

 Connacher (the highest summit in the group, on one side 

 falling to the sea in a majestic cliff twelve hundred feet high), 

 a few Fulmars were to be seen sailing lightly above the cliff, 

 then dropping down again into space out of sight. When I 

 reached the summit the scene was grand. To do justice to 

 it in a written description is in vain. Thousands and tens of 

 thousands of Fulmars were flying about in all directions, but 

 never by any chance soaring above the land. Backwards 

 and forwards along the face of the cliff the grand army of 

 fluttering birds passed to and fro, whilst the restless waves a 

 thousand feet below were thickly dotted with floating birds. 

 The silence of such an animated scene impressed me more 

 than words can describe. Xot a single Fulmar uttered a cry, 

 but lower down the cliffs the Kittiwakes were noisy enough. 

 In one vast ever-moving throng the silent Fulmars fluttered 

 by like big snowflakes whirled and tossed by the breeze. No 

 bird flies more gracefully than the Fulmar ; it seems to float 

 in the air without effort, often passing to and fro for minutes 

 together with no perceptible movement of its wings ; and I 

 repeatedly saw a bird, head to wind, quite motionless for 

 several seconds, the wind ruffling a few of its feathers. It is 

 remarkably tame, and flutters past the face of the cliffs 

 within a few feet of the observer, its bright black eye con- 

 trasting strongly with its snow-white dress. Sometimes it 

 hovers like a Kestrel, or turns completely round in the air as 

 if on a pivot. But let us leave the crowd of fluttering birds 

 and direct our attention to those sitting quietly on their nests. 

 In some parts of the cliff where the soil is loose and covered 



