STORMY PETREL. 51 



to follow in the ship's wake at such times, and not, as some hu re ima- 

 gined, merely to seek shelter from the storm, the greatest violence of 

 which they seem to disregard. There is also the greasy dish-washings, 

 and other oily substances, thrown over by the cook, on which they feed 

 with avidity ; but with great good nature, their manners being so gentle, 

 that I never observed the slightest appearance of quarrelling or dispute 

 among them. 



One circumstance is worthy of being noticed, and shows the vast 

 range they take over the ocean. In firing at these birds, a quill feather 

 was broken in each wing of an individual, and hung fluttering in the 

 wind, which rendered it so conspicuous among the rest, as to be known 

 to all on board. This bird, notwithstanding its inconvenience, con- 

 tinued with us for nearly a week, during which we sailed a distance of 

 more than four hundred miles to the north. Flocks continued to follow 

 us until near Sandy Hook. 



The length of time these birds remain on wing is no less surprising. 

 As soon as it was light enough in the morning to perceive them, they 

 were found roaming about as usual ; and I have often sat in the even- 

 ing, in the boat which was suspended at the ship's stern, watching their 

 movements, until it was so dark that the eye could no longer follow 

 them, tliough I could still hear their low note of weet weet, as chev 

 approached near to the vessel below me. 



These birds are sometimes driven by violent storms to a considerable 

 distance inland. One was shot some years ago on the river Schuylkiii, 

 near Philadelphia ; and Bewick mentions their being found in various 

 quarters of the interior of England. From the nature of their food, 

 their flesh is rank and disagreeable ; though they sometimes become so 

 fat, that, as Mr. Pennant, on the authority of Brunnich, asserts, " the 

 inhabitants of the Feroe Isles make them serve the purposes of a candle, 

 by drawing a wick through the mouth and rump, which being lighted, 

 the flame is fed by the fat and oil of the body."* 



Note. — When this work was published, its author was not aware that 

 those birds observed by navigators in almost every quarter of the globe, 

 and known under the name of Stormy Petrels, formed several distinct 

 species ; consequently, relying on the labors of his predecessors, he did 

 not hesitate to name the subject of this chapter the Pelagica, believing 

 it to be identical with that of Europe. But the investigations of later 

 ornithologists having resulted in the conviction that Europe possessed at 

 least two species of those birds, it become a question whether or not 

 those which are common on the coasts of the United States would form 

 a third species ; and an inquiry has established the fact that the Ameri- 



* Brit. Zool. vol. ii., p. 434. 



