380 PROCELLARIIM: : PETRELS. 



FAMILY PROCELLARIID^E: PETRELS. 



FULMAR PETREL. 



FULMARUS GLACIALIS (L.) Stepk. 



Chars. Tail 12-1 4- feathered ; bill straight, very stout, hooked at 

 end, obviously shorter than the tarsus. Adult white, the mantle 

 pale pearly-blue, frequently extending on the neck and tail ; quills 

 blackish-brown ; usually a dark spot before the eye ; bill yellow ; 

 feet the same, tinged with greenish. Young : smoky-gray, paler 

 below, the feathers of the back and wings dark-edged ; colors of 

 bill and feet obscured. Coloration thus much like 'one of the 

 Gull family. Length usually about 16.50, but from 15.00 to 18.00 ; 

 wing, 12.00-13.00 ; tail, 4.00-5.00 ; tarsus about 2.00 ; bill, 1.33- 

 1.67, about 0.75 deep and almost as wide at base ; nasal tubes 

 0.60. 



Leaving now the coasting Gulls and Terns, which 

 seldom venture far from land, we bear straight out 

 to sea, and are already among this interesting family of 

 oceanic birds, so little known to any but those who " go 

 down the sea in ships." Several species of the Procella- 

 riidce cultivate the " fisherman's farm " of New England ; 

 some of them so plentifully that they are themselves 

 objects of economic value. 



The first to be noticed is the Fulmar Petrel, one of 

 the largest of all, but not one of the most numerous. In 

 fact it is usually cited as a rare bird, and certainly 

 no such great gatherings of Fulmars as occur over 

 more northern and some European waters are known to 

 New Englanders. But Fulmars are common enough to 

 have received several names from sailors, who call them 

 " Noddies " and " Marble-headers." Of their breeding 



