62 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Petrels. 



. 2035.— The Jackass Pksguin 

 (Sphatiscus denursui). This species inhabits the 

 same extent of range as the two preceding, and is 

 very abundant at the Falkland Islands, and the Cape 

 of Good Hope. Captain Fitz-Roy obe^^•ed it in 

 great abimdance at Noir Island. "Multitudes of 

 penguins," he observes, " were swarming together in 

 some parts of the island, among the bushes and 

 ' tussoc ' (thick rushy ^rass) near the shore, having 

 gone there lor the purposes of moulting and rearing 

 their young. Tliey were very valiant in self-defence, 

 and ran open-mouthed, by dozens, at any one who 

 invaded their territory, little knowing how soon a 

 stick would scatter them on the ground. The young 

 were good eating, but the others proved to be black 

 and tough when cooked. The manner in which 

 they feed their young is curious and rather amusing. 

 The old bird gets on a little eminence, and makes a 

 great noise (.between quacking and braying), hold- 

 ing its head up in the air, a.s if it were haranguing 

 the pcnguinneiy, while the young one stands close 

 to it, but a little lower. Tlie' old bird, having con- 

 tinued its clatter for about a minute, puts its head 

 down and opens its mouth widely, into which the 

 young one thrusts its head, and then appears to suck 

 from the throat of its mother for a minute or two, 

 after which the clatter is repeated, and the young 

 one is again fed ; this continues for about ten mi- 

 nutes. I observed some which were moulting make 

 the same noise, and then apparently swallow what 

 they thus supplied themselves with ; so in this way, 

 I suppose, they are furnished with subsistence 

 during the time they cannot seek it in the water." 

 (' Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle,' King.) 



Mr. Darwin, who found this bird at the Falkland 

 Islands, gives the following interesting account of 

 its courage and habits. "One day," he says, " hav- 

 ing placed myself between a penguin (Aptenodytes 

 demersa) and the water, I was much amused by 

 watching its habits. It was a brave bird ; and, till 

 reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me 

 backwards. Nothing less than heavy blows would 

 have stopped him ; every inch gained he firmly kept 

 .standing close before me, erect and determined. 

 When thus opposed, he continually rolled his head 

 from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the 

 power of vision only lay in the anterior and basal 

 part of each eye. This bird is commonly called the 

 jackass penguin, from its habit, while on shore, of 

 throwing its head backwards, and making a loud 

 strange noise, very like the braying of that animal ; 

 but while at sea and undisturbed, its note is very 

 deep and solemn, and is often heai-d in the night 

 time. In diving, its little plumeless wings are used 

 as fins; but on the land, as front legs. When crawl- 

 ing (it may be said on four legs) through the tussocks, 

 or on the side of a grassy clifF, it moved so very 

 quickly that it might readily have been mistaken for 

 a quadruped. When at sea, and fishing, it comes 

 to the surface, for the purpose of breathing, with 

 such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, 

 that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it is 

 not a fish leaping for sport." (' Voyages of the Ad- 

 venture and Beagle ;* Darwin, ' Researches m Geo- 

 logy and Natural History.') 



In this species the bill is compressed, straight, 

 and irregularly furrowed at the base ; the end of 

 the upper mandible is hooked, that of the lower 

 truncate. The upper surface, cheeks, and throat, 

 black ; the under parts, and a stripe above the eye, 

 white ; a black mark commencing on the chest runs 

 along each side. 



Other smaller species are known, of which one is 

 found in thousands on the shores of Australia : it 

 lays two eggs. 



Family PROCELLARID^ (PUFFINS, 

 PETRELS, &c.). 



Well known to seamen are these birds, which ap- 

 pear in multitudes far from land, wheeling and 

 skimming over the rolling billows of the ocean, on 

 the surface of which they rest when wearied, and 

 from which they derive their subsistence. With the 

 appearance of some, superstition has associated 

 storms and shipwreck, and many a weather-beaten 

 tar, who feared no mortal foe, has quailed at the 

 ominous presence of Mother Carey's chickens, which 

 seemed to have sprung at once from out of the 

 deep. 



In these birds the upper mandible, which is fur- 

 rowed into distinct segments, terminates in an arched 

 and abruptly hooked nail, or derlrum, and the under 

 mandible terminates also in a sort of hard distinct 

 nail. The nostrils are more or less decidedly tubu- 

 lar, and sometimes the tubes are united together. 

 The anterior toes are webbed ; the hind-toe is either 

 wanting or rudimentary. The flight very buoyant. 

 Many species eject a quantity of oil from the nos- 

 trils with considerable force, and this is their usual, 

 and perhaps only, mode of defence. Tlieir bodies 

 are, as it were, saturated with oil, from the nature 

 of the food on which they subsist. 



2036.— Thk Grebk Pktebl 

 {Pekamoides ririnatrix, Lac6pede). Haladroma 

 urinatrix, Illiger ; Procellaria urinatrix, Gmelin ; 

 Puffinura Garnoti, Lesson. 



In this genus, as in Procellaria, the bill is com- 

 posed of distinct pieces soldered together; the 

 nostrils are tubular, separated from each other by a 

 simple partition, and open above. Wings pointed ; 

 tail small. Tarsi moderate ; hind-toe wantmg. 



This species abounds in flocks on the coast of 

 Peru, where it was seen by M. Garnot. It flies 

 moderately well, skimming the waves in a precipi- 

 tous manner, but prefers to rest on the surface, and 

 like the grebes, or puffins, dives admirably in search 

 of its prey, which consists of small fishes and Crus- 

 tacea. In length this bird measures about nine 

 inches ; the upper surface is blackish brown, with a 

 slight glaze of blue on the top of the back ; the 

 throat and chest are of a lustrous white ; the sides 

 are greyish white. We liave no accounts of its 

 nidification. 



2037.— Thk Fulmar Petrel 

 (Procellaria glacialis). Fulmarius glacialis. Leach ; 

 le P6trel fulmar, ou de I'lsle de St. Kilda, of 

 Buffon ; Gwylaii y Graig of the ancient British. 



The character of the head and foot of the genus 

 Procellaria, or subgenus Fulmarius of Leach, are 

 well depicted in Fig. 2036. The nostrils are tu- 

 bular, the tube being elevated and opening by a 

 -single rounded orifice ; the tip is greatly hooked. 

 A sharp claw exists in the place of a hind-toe. 



The Fulmar Petrel is a native of the Arctic 

 regions, and abounds at all times in Davis's Straits 

 and Baffin's Bay. It is, however, migratory, and 

 Major Sabine states that during the time of the de- 

 tention of the ships by ice in Jacob's Bay, lat. 71", 

 from the 24th of June to the 3rd of July, fulmars 

 were passing in a continual stream to the northward, 

 in numbers inferior only to the flocks of the Pas- 

 senger Pigeon in North America. In more southern 

 latitudes the fulmar is only seen as a winter visitor, 

 extending its journey along the coast of Norway, 

 and appearing occasionally on those of Holland and 

 France ; yet there are certain spots within the limits 

 of the British Islands where it breeds in great abund- 

 ance, namely, the rocky and pr^'cinitous St. Kilda, 

 and others of the western isles oi Scotland ; and, 

 according to Mr. Gould, it also resorts to the 

 Orkneys, &c., though St. Kilda is its favourite re- 

 sidence. Here the fulmars take up their abode in 

 the holes and caverns of the rocks. The female 

 lays a single large white, and very brittle, egg ; and 

 the young, which are hatched in June, are fed with 

 oil disgorged by the parents. These birds consti- 

 tute a source of emolument to the inhabitants. As 

 soon as the young are fledged, the cragsmen, at the 

 risk of their lives, scale the precipitous cliffs, and 

 capture them in great numbers for the sake of the 

 down, feathers, and oil. ''No bird," says Pennant, 

 "is of such use to the islanders as this: the fulmar 

 supplies them with oil tor their lamps, down for their 

 beds, a delicacy for their table, a balm for their 

 wounds, and a medicine for their distempers. , The 

 fulmar is also a certain prognostication of the change 

 of wind ; for if it comes to land no west wind is ex- 

 pected for some time, and the contrary when it re- 

 turns and keeps the sea." 



The food of this species consists of the flesh and 

 blubber of dead whales, seals, and fishes, mollusks, 

 and Crustacea. According to Captain James Ross, 

 these birds are of great importance to the whale- 

 fishers, by guiding them to those places where the 

 whales are most numerous; and they give notice of 

 the first appearance of these animals at the surface 

 of the water, by crowding to the spot from all 

 quarters. They have been seen in multitudes on the 

 floating carcass of these giants of the ocean, tearing 

 up the skin with their hooked beaks, and gorging 

 on the delicious blubber. Off Newfoundland the 

 fulmar is a constant attendant upon the fishing 

 vessels, in order to obtain the livers and ofi'al of the 

 cod-fish. 



The fulmar measures sixteen inches in length. 

 The head, neck, all the lower parts, rump, and tail, 

 are pure white. Back and wings bluish ash ; quills 

 bright blackish grey. Bill yellow ; legs yellow, 

 tinged with grey. The young have the white tinged 

 with ash colour, and the upper plumage brownish. 



2039.— The Great Black Petrel 



{Procellaria equinoctinlis). P. gigantea, Gmelin. 



This species tenants the southern seas, and, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Darwin, is a common bird both in 

 the inland channels of the Chonos Archipelago (off 

 the west coast of Patiisronia south of Chiloe Island), 

 and out in the open ocean. It is termed by the 

 I Spaniards Quebrantahuesos, or Break-bones, the 

 name for the csprey, and in its habits and manner 

 ! of flight it clo.-iely resembles the albatross. " As 

 i with the latter bird a person may watch it for hours 

 ij without seeing on what it feeds." "The Break- 



bones, however, is a rapacious bird, for it was ob- 

 served by some of the officers at Port St. Antonio 

 chasing a diver ; the bird tried to escape both by 

 diving and flying, and was at last killed by a blow 

 on its head. At Port St. Julian also these great 

 petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls." 

 The plumage of this species is blackish. 



2040. — The Pintado Petrel, or Cape Pigeox 

 (Daption Capensis). Procellaria Capensis, Linn. 



This species is spread over the whole of the 

 southern nemisphere. "From the meridian of the 

 island of Tristan d'Acunha to that of the island of 

 St. Paul's," says Captain King, ''on about the pa- 

 rallel of 40° south latitude, we were daily surrounded 

 by a multitude of oceanic birds : of the Petrel tribe 

 the Cape Pigeon (Pr. Capensis, Linn.) was most 

 abundant ; but the Proc. vittata (vel coerulea) fre- 

 quently was observed, as was also a small black 

 petrel, which I do not recollect to have seen before." 

 (' Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1834, p. 128.) In iU habits this 

 species resembles the rest of its race. Its plumage 

 is variegated with brown and white. Total length 

 about thirteen inches ; that of the tube of the nostrils 

 half an inch. 



2041. — The Manks Shearwater 

 {Piiffinus Anijlorwn). Shearwater; Shearwater 

 Petrel. The genus Puffinus is characterized by the 

 length and slenderness of the bill, and by the tubu- 

 lar nostrils having two distinct truncated openings. 

 The wings are long. Hind-toe represented by a 

 straight nail. 



The Manks Shearwater in the time of Willughby 

 and Pennant was abundant in the Isle of Man, or 

 rather on that islet termed the Calf of Man, at the 

 south end of the island, and divided from it by a 

 naiTow channel. In the present day it is almost 

 entirely deserted by these birds, which still resort to 

 the Orkneys, arriving in February or March, and 

 leaving with their young in August for the coast of 

 Spain, the Mediten-anean, &c. They breed in holes 

 scratched in the earth, among outcropping rocks, 

 on bold headlands ; and also make use of deserted 

 rabbit burrows, and deep crevices in the rocks. The 

 female lays a single white egg of a rounded form. 

 During the day the shearwaters remain quiet in 

 their burrows, whence they emerge when evening 

 twilight approaches, and, sailing out to sea, procure 

 food for themselves and their young. They feed on 

 all kinds of marine animal substances in a state of 

 decomposition, and of an oleaginous quality, and 

 nourish their young by disgorging oil into their 

 throat. When captured they annoy their assailant 

 by ejecting quantities of oil from their tubular 

 nostrils. 



According to Mr. Gould the shearwater is abund- 

 ant during the summer on the coast of South Wales, 

 whence he received on one occasion four dozens, all 

 apparently captured by the hand. It is rare in 

 Norway, but common on the banks of Newfound- 

 land. 



The shearwater flies rapidly, skimming over the 

 surface of the sea, whence it picks up whatever 

 offers for food. While thus engaged it uses its 

 feet as a support on the water, and while skimming 

 along strikes the water with them, to aid the impetus 

 required for cutting through the curling crests of 

 the waves. The limbs have a very backward po- 

 sition. 



Formerly thousands of the young of this species 

 were taken in the Calf of Man. for the purpose of 

 supplying the table ; they were salted and barrelled, 

 but the flesh was rank and fishy. The feathers 

 were valued. In the Orkneys, according to Low, 

 it is the main object of pursuit with the rock-men, 

 who endanger their lives in climbing the most awful 

 precipices for the eggs and young of the sea- fowl. 

 Pennant states that in his time they were salted in 

 these islands for winter provision, and boiled with 

 cabbage. The Manks shearwater is about thirteen 

 inches long. All the upper parts are glossy black ; 

 the lower parts pure white. Bill blackish brown ; 

 legs brown ; webs yellowish. The tarsi, as in the 

 true petrels, are very much compressed, a form 

 which, doubtless, greatly facilitates their practice of 

 half running along, half flying over, the surface of 

 the waves while in quest of food. 



2042.— The Stormy Petrel 



(Thalassidroma pelagica). Petrel Tempete, Tem- ^ 

 minck; Kleinster Sturmvogel of Meyer; Accello 

 delle "Tempeste of the Italians ; Cas gan Longwr 

 of the ancient British ; Mother Carey's Chicken, 

 Stormfinch, Spency, Mitty, Witch, &c., of the 

 English. 



In the genus Thalassidroma the bill is rather short, 

 compressed, and hooked in front of the tubular 

 nostrils ; the wings are long and pointed ; the tarsi 

 are rather long, slender, and compressed ; the hind- 

 toe is reduced to a minute nail. The Stormy Petrels 

 are the smallest of the web-footed race of birds, and 

 are distributed over every part of the ocean. 



