BIRDS OF THE OPEN SEA 25 
eommon with other petrels these feed their newly hatched 
young upon the dark oily fluid which they eject through 
their bills into the throats of the fledgelings, and this is 
undoubtedly the cause of the unpleasant smell that ever 
clings to their plumage. The male petrel takes a full 
share of the labors of incubation, and some authorities 
aver that, like the phalarope, he does it all. As soon 
as he is able to fly, the young petrel takes to the sea, 
108. AsHy PETREL. 
“ The playmate of the grim old sea.” 
never to come ashore until, a year or two later, he wants 
a wife and a burrow of his own. Think of it — day 
after day, week after week, eating, sleeping, resting on 
the boundless water! His only refuge from the storm 
is to fly above or beyond it; his only food is the drift he 
may pick up. Dancing on the crest of the wave, dashing 
through the salt spray, he is the ocean’s own darling, the 
playmate of the grim old sea. 
