1887. J LUCAS, Notes of a Bird Catcher. CJ 



make a smooth, oily spot, down will go every bird near, and 

 there the) - will sit for five, or even ten minutes gazing at one 

 another and apparently waiting, like Micawber, for something to 

 turn up. My note book says that in February, going east, we 

 saw no Cape Pigeons, the Petrels seen then being probably 

 (Estrelata, which, although following in our wake, kept at a 

 considerable distance. 



Last and least (in size at all events) is the busy Mother Carey's 

 Chicken, never at rest but perpetually fluttering over the water, 

 ever and anon pattering over the surface yet not even alighting 

 to feed. 



Once, and only once, did I observe these little birds take a 

 bait, and that was when a heavy gale of several days' duration had 

 apparentlv rendered them perfectly ravenous. * 



The following method can be vouched for as very successful in 

 capturing the Stormy Petrels. To one end of a spool of stout, 

 black thread fasten a bit of wood just large enough to make a 

 drag that will keep the thread taut when towed behind a vessel. 

 To this attach at intervals of from four to six feet threads with 

 a small hook or bent pin at the end^ graduating the length accord- 

 ing to the distance they will be from the drag. These will hang 

 from the main thread like droppers from a leader and the little 

 Petrels flying to and fro in the vessel's wake will sooner or later 

 strike some of the threads and become entangled. 



A few words in conclusion on the question as to whether or 

 not the birds seen in a ship's wake are the same clay after day. It 

 seems to me that Capt. Hutton is correct in his opinion that 

 while they may be it is doubtful if they are. In exceptional 

 cases, as, for example, the birds which followed the ship 'Cal- 

 houn' nearly to Acapulco, it would appear that the birds were 

 undoubtedly a small flock enticed beyond their usual range. 

 Personally, I can see no objection to the theory that the Albatross 

 and other birds can fly for several days in succession without 

 rest, the more that their easy sailing flight requires the minimum 

 of exertion. Moreover, I have on moonlight nights occasionally 

 observed birds circling around the ship, and on two occasions 

 birds were picked up on deck between 4 and S A. m. One of 

 these was a small Puffinus, the other an Occanodroma{}). I 



* This has been my own experience with these little birds, but Col. Goss tells me 

 that on the Grand Banks they will bite eagerly at a hook baited with a bit of cod liver. 



