160 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 
hesitating superiority it descends on its prey, though in the 
possession of another. Although not numerous, yet it is the 
general attendant on the whale-fisher whenever spoils are 
to be obtained. Then it hovers aver the scene of action, and 
having marked out its morsel, descends upon it and carries 
it off on the wing. On its descent, the most dainty pieces 
must be relinquished, though in the grasp of fulmar, snow-bird, 
or kittiwake. 
The larger parasitical or raptorial gulls (Lestris parasiticus, 
catarrhactes), are incapable of diving or plunging, their feathers 
being too large in proportion to their bulk. They are therefore 
obliged to live by the exertions of the lesser species, making 
them disgorge what they have eaten, and dexterously catching 
the rejected fish before it reaches the water. Thus we see the 
old feudal relations of baron and serf established as a natural 
institution among the gull-tribe. 
Although the sea-swallows and sea~-mews are endowed with 
great power of wing, yet the petrels 
and albatrosses alone deserve the 
name of oceanic birds, as they are 
almost always found on the high 
seas, at every distance from land, 
and only during breeding-time seek 
the solitary coasts and_ islands. 
Brose lpia eerel: Petrels are scattered over the whole 
extent of the ocean, but the petrels 
which inhabit the northern seas are different from those of the 
antarctic ocean, and between both are other species, that never 
forsake the intertropical waters. 
The Fulmar (Procellaria glaci- 
alis) is at home in the high north. 
As soon as the whale-fisher has 
passed the Shetland Islands, on his 
way to the Arctic Seas, this bird is 
sure to accompany his track, eagerly 
watching for anything thrown over- 
SS board. Walking awkwardly on land, 
Povk tailed petkal: the fulmar flies to windward in the 
most terrific storms. Many thousands 
frequently accumulate round a dead whale, rushing in from all 
