FULMAR. '55 



Seebohm has given a good account of the species, as 



follows :— ..•,,•, u 



" No bird is more thoroughly oceanic in its habits than the 

 Fulmar. It lives exclusively at sea, often at great distances 

 from land, and only visits some isolated ocean rock to rear 

 its young. It follows in the track of the whalers, even to the 

 limit of open water, to feast upon the scraps of blubber and 

 the oil floating on the sea. It is an almost constant attendant 

 upon the deep-sea fishing-boats, to prey upon the offal that 

 is cast overboard, and is often so eager in its search for food 

 as to allow itself to be caught by the hand. Large pieces of 

 food are eaten whilst the bird sits lightly on the water, and 

 tears them to pieces with its strong hook-shaped bill; but 

 small morsels are either eaten at once or carried off to some 

 distance, where they can be quietly devoured. The food of 

 the Fulmar is largely composed of molluscs, cuttle-fish, and 

 any garbage that it may find floating on the water, especially 

 such that is of an oily nature. It also eats large quantities 

 of sorrel ; and the blubber of the whale is eagerly sought 

 after. 



" The Fulmar has great power of wing. It flies in a very 

 similar manner to a Gull, and is generally mistaken for one 

 of those birds, which it also closely resembles in the colour 

 of its plumage. Parties of ten to twenty birds may often be 

 seen following in the wake of the Atlantic steamers to pick 

 up any food that may be thrown overboard from time to time. 

 They never seem to tire, but fly backwards and forwards, 

 crossing and recrossing the ship's stern, and often settling 

 down one by one on the surface of the water to feed on any- 

 thing eatable that they may descry floating on the waves. If 

 a piece of meat be thrown to them they often seize it before 

 it sinks, but instead of diving after it as a Duck or a 

 Guillemot would do, they alight on the surface feet first, and 

 in the most comical way let themselves sink down in the 

 water with uplifted wings. They are rather stupid birds, and 

 do not see half the food thrown out to them, but their power 

 of continued flight is very marvellous. They follow a steamer 

 going fifteen miles an hour against a head-wind of still greater 

 speed with such ease that only an occasional flap of their 

 wings is observable, and when the stern is reached they wheel 



