294 OUR RARER BIRDS 



with turf the ground is almost white with sitting Fulmars. 

 Every available spot is a Fulmar's nest, and as you explore 

 the cliffs birds are continually flying out from places where 

 hitherto they had remained unseen. Far as the eye can 

 wander along the sides of this glorious cliff, the Fulmars may 

 be seen gradually dwindling into round white balls on the 

 green sward as the distance becomes too great to distinguish 

 their outline in detail. 



The Fulmar begins to lay about the middle of May, and 

 the young are able to fly in July. It very rarely burrows 

 deep enough into the ground to conceal itself, and in the 

 majority of cases only makes a hole large enough to half- 

 conceal itself ; whilst in a great many instances it is content 

 to lay its egg under some projecting tuft, or even on the bare 

 and exposed ledge of the cliff. I am of opinion that the 

 Fulmar makes a hole of some kind whenever it can ; but .as 

 the number of birds is so large many have to . make shift in 

 the bare situations. The Fulmar's nest is very slight, and in 

 many cases is dispensed with altogether. Some of the nests 

 I found in the bare rocks were very peculiar. They were 

 placed on the ledges and in the crevices, and were made 

 entirely of small bits of rock arranged very neatly. A little 

 dry grass is the usual material, and in some cases no nest 

 whatever is provided. The Fulmar lays only one egg, which 

 is white and spotless, rough in texture, and with a strong 

 offensive smell. Both birds assist in hatching this egg, as I 

 observed bare sitting spots on the bodies of males as well as 

 females. When the young are hatched they are fed on an 

 oily matter ejected from the parent's throat. Should the 

 Fulmar's egg be taken, as it often is, the female is said never 

 to lay again that season. 



The St. Kildans are very expert in catching the Fulmar. 

 All the men are great climbers and fowlers, for the birds that 

 breed here in such vast abundance are almost the only source 



