THE BIRDS OF ST KILDA 247 



FuLMARUS HLAciALis, Fiilmar. — This is, and always 

 has been, the most important bird from the St Kildan's 

 point of view, for it furnishes them with the staple 

 item of their bill of fare. About 9600 young Fumlars, 

 just ready to take wing, and about six weeks old, 

 had been captured and salted down just prior to our 

 visits. Next to the Great Auk, it formerly held the 

 premier place among the St Kildan birds in the 

 eye of the ornithologist, for until some quarter of a 

 century, or a little more, ago, this group of islands 

 afforded the only nesting-haunts of this species in the 

 British seas. Martin (pp. 55-58) gives a quaint 

 account of this bird and the method adopted for its 

 capture in 1697. 



A very few young birds were still nestling on the 

 ledees of the gfreat cliffs on our arrival, but soon after 

 they were all on the wing. Thousands of old birds were 

 to be seen sailing along the faces of the breeding cliffs 

 down to the middle of September ; they were far less 

 numerous on the 25th, and all had gone out to sea by 

 the end of the month. Their object in leaving the 

 islands at this season is probably for the purpose of 

 moulting, for they return after a month's absence, and 

 remain all the winter in the immediate neio^hbourhood. 



We found these birds were inclined to be curious, for 

 they often flew within a foot or two of our heads when 

 we made an appearance in the vicinity of their haunts. 



There were numbers at sea between St Kilda and 

 the Flannan Isles in October 19 10 and 191 1. 



The northern form, known to the St Kildans as the 

 '' Blue Fulmar," has several times been captured, but is 

 rare. It was described to me as being ''blue" all over, 

 including the bill. Blue should probably be rendered 



