A BIRDLOVER'S YEAR 



hollow of the ground, in which is laid one 

 dirty- white egg. 



The gull-like Fulmar petrel (Fulmarus 

 glacialis) is found in the Arctic regions and 

 other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, 

 and breeds in the boreal regions of both the 

 Old World and the New. The island of 

 St. Kilda is a well-known British breeding 

 station of these birds, and the natives there 

 collect the eggs as an article of food. In 

 habits the fulmar petrels are swift and easy 

 on the wing, and may be seen resting on 

 the water in tremendous seas ; during a 

 gale they fly low, skimming along the surface 

 of the water. The silver-grey petrel (Thalas- 

 sceca glacialoides) is allied to the fulmar. 

 This bird is found in the Pacific and Southern 

 Atlantic, extending as far south as the 

 Antarctic pack-ice, where its place is taken 

 by the snowy petrel (Pagodroma nivea). 

 The Cape-hen and the spectacled petrel 

 are both large southern species, whilst the 

 numerous group of middle-sized, dark- 

 coloured petrels known as shearwaters (genus 

 Puffinus) are characterized by long, slender 

 beaks, long and pointed wings, and a 

 graduated tail of twelve feathers, and their 

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