622 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
to our southern coast.” I have, however, myself 
found this bird on the still more southern coast of 
South Devon. Yarrell says it has been shot in 
Cornwall, and sometimes, but not often, on the coast 
of Wales. Montagu restricts it more to the coast of 
Wales, as he says, “It is not frequently seen on our 
southern coasts: we never remember but one in- 
b 
stance, and that was in South Wales.” ‘These occa- 
sional visits to the coast of South Wales, however, 
bring it nearer to our own coast than either Devon 
or Cornwall. It is not uncommon on the more 
northern coast of England and Scotland, and breeds 
in some of the islands off that coast, making its 
nest on the grassy shelves of the highest precipices. 
The nest itself is formed of herbage, seldom bulky, 
generally a mere shallow excavation in the turf, 
lined with dry grass and the withered tufts of the 
sea-pink.* 
The food of the Fulmar appears to consist princi- 
pally of whale-blubber, in order to obtain which 
these birds follow the whaling vessels for great 
distances. Yarrell, quoting the Rev. W. Scoresby, 
says, “ ‘l'hese birds follow the whaling ships, joining 
the ship on its passing the Shetland Islands, and 
ory 
accompanying it to the highest latitude, and keeping 
an eager watch for anything thrown overboard—the 
smallest particle of fatty substance can scarcely 
* Yarrell, vol. ii., p. 639. 
