[23] SEA BIRDS AS BAIT FOR CATCHING CODFISH. 333 



Petrels or mother caret's chickens (genera Gymochorea and 



Oceanites.) 



There are several varieties of the petrels commonly found in great 

 abundance on the fishing-banks from spring to fall. They usually make 

 their first appearance in April, the date varying somewhat with differ- 

 ent seasons — some springs, perhaps, being slightly warmer than otliers — 

 and remain until after the first snow-storms in the fall. Under date of 

 April 19, 1879, when on the eastern part of Banquereau, I noted that 

 " Petrels made their first appearance to-day. These birds generally 

 leave the bank late in October or early in November and come again 

 in April or May." 



Just how many species of petrels occur on the fishing-banks I am 

 unable to say, but I believe there are at least three, and possibly more. 

 Of these, I think Leach's petrel (C. leucorrhoa) is the most abundant 

 on the Grand Banks, while the Wilson petrel (0. oceanicus) is also nu- 

 merous. 



These birds are excessively fond of oily food, and may always be 

 seen in great numbers around a vessel or boat from which particles of 

 fish liver or other offal are being thrown out. In describing the hag- 

 don, mention has been made of certain peculiarities which the Carey 

 chickens exhibit in the matter of seeking and eating their food ; such, 

 for instance, as their supposed ability to follow up a scent, and the way 

 they work together in a united effort to tear into fragments a section of 

 liver which is so large that one bird cannot manage it. A favorite 

 method of feeding which the petrels exhibit is to dance upon the water's 

 surface, picking up any oily particles that may be floating thereon, 

 and which, though small in themselves, in the aggregate afford the 

 birds much food. To them these bits are particularly attractive. As 

 it frequently happens that fish oil, or other fatty particles are being 

 thrown out or washed from the deck of a fishing-vessel, one who may be 

 onboard has a very goodopi^ortunity of noting these habits of the petrels. 

 When caught, it almost invariably ejects an oily, strong-smelling sub- 

 stance, and the contents of its stomach are thrownout, as a rule,the instant 

 it is taken into a boat or on a vessel's deck. In a very few minutes after 

 being caught its appearance changes wonderfully; and, instead of its 

 feathers looking clean and sleek, they become, almost immediately, damp 

 and dirty, and have a decidedly bedraggled look. If, after being on a 

 vessel's deck for ten minutes or thereabouts, it is thrown overboard, the 

 probabilities are that the petrel cannot fly at all, and it is only with 

 the utmost difficulty that it can rise a few feet from the water, into 

 which it soon falls again. If the bird's strength is sufficient to sustain 

 it in a continuous effort to dry its wings and feathers, it at last succeeds 

 in supporting itself in the air. As soon, however, as it dares, it lights 

 on the water and proceeds to arrange its plumage. 



The natural position of the Carey chicken may be said to be that of 



