FIN WHALES, OR RORQUALS 1187 



figures, the action is termed "finning"; while, when the flukes alone are exposed, 

 as on the left side of the illustration, it is called " lob-tailing." 



Humpbacks are found in nearly all seas, and at present it appears 



impossible to distinguish more than a single species, although some 

 writers maintain that the one inhabiting the Persian Gulf is distinct from the com- 

 mon form. Although they are said to be not uncommon off the eastern coast of 

 Scotland during the summer, but few examples have been taken in the British seas. 

 One was, however, captured at Newcastle in 1839, a second at the mouth of the Dee 

 in 1863, a third in Wick bay, Caithness, in 1871, and a fourth in the Tay during 

 the winter of 1883-84. 



As regards the habits of the humpback, Captain Scammon states 



that this whale generally prefers ' ' to feed and perform its uncouth 

 gambols near extensive coasts or about the shores of islands, in all latitudes between 

 the Equator and the frozen oceans, both north and south. It is irregular in its 

 movements, seldom going a straight course for any considerable distance; at one 

 time moving about in large numbers, scattered over the sea as far as the eye can 

 discern from the masthead, at other times singly, seeming as much at home as if it 

 were surrounded by hundreds of its kind, performing at will the varied actions of 

 'breaching,' 'rolling,' 'finning,' 'lob-tailing,' or ' scooping,' or, on a calm sunny 

 day, perhaps lying motionless on the molten-looking surface, as though life were 

 extinct." On the coasts of Norway, although generally found in small numbers, 

 Mr. Collett states that it is occasionally very numerous so much so that in one 

 instance a steamer had to exercise great care in steering, in order to avoid coming 

 into collision with these whales. They were met with in great profusion by Captain 

 Gray in 1880 to the north of Ireland, accompanied by numbers of the lesser fin 

 whales. Two young are frequently produced at a birth. 



The amount of oil yielded by a humpback is very variable, a female 



with a large young one having scarcely any blubber. Captain 

 Scammon states that he has known the amount of oil taken from some individuals 

 not to exceed eight or ten barrels, while in others the yield has been as much as 

 seventy-five. 



FIN WHALES, OR RORQUALS 

 Genus Baltenoptera 



The remaining living representatives of the whalebone whales are known as 

 fin whales, or rorquals, or sometimes fin backs or razor backs, and include four well- 

 defined species. These whales are distinguished from the humpback by their more 

 elongated and slender form and proportionately-smaller head, which measures from 

 one-fifth to one-fourth the total length, and also by the comparative shortness of 

 their flippers. The latter are narrow and pointed, and vary from one-seventh to 

 one-eleventh of the total length. The small and recurved back fin is placed about 

 two-thirds of the distance from the head to the flukes, and the latter are smaller 

 than in the humpback. The whalebone is short and coarse, and the lateral line 



