HABITS. 699 



Habits. Eespecting the Gray Seal as an American animal 

 little or nothing seems to have been written. As an inhabitant of 

 Ireland, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the North and Baltic Seas, 

 and Iceland, its history is better known. As will be noticed 

 later, however, there are discrepant accounts respecting im- 

 portant points. Hallgrimsson has given a very interesting 

 notice of these animals as observed in Iceland by A. Thorlacius, 

 a trustworthy merchant and experienced hunter, of Stikkjis- 

 holm, Iceland, whose letter about them, as given by Hallgrims- 

 son, may be rendered as follows : 



"The Utsel is here very common in the Bredebugt, and 

 specially on the coast of Westland. When full-grown it is 

 four or five ells [8 to 10 feet] long ; the male is probably still 

 larger, and is always larger than the female. Its food consists 

 partly of various kinds of fishes, as haddock, flounders, catfish 

 (Cottus), etc., and partly of crustaceans and other lower animals, 

 as starfishes, etc., especially in winter, when the fishes mostly 

 seek the deep water. The animals here named I have myself 

 seen them eat, as they chance to bring them to the surface of 

 the water. Although this species of Seal occurs here in large 

 numbers, only a few fully grown ones are taken, because they 

 are not so easily killed here as the younger ones are, their strong 

 skulls being not easily penetrated by bullets, and there are also 

 very few expert marksmen here. Besides, they are very shy 

 and watchful. Three weeks before the beginning of winter * 

 [about October 1], the full-grown Utselur begin to come about 

 the rocks and islets near the land, where they bring forth their 

 young. They choose especially such rocks as are not covered 

 by the spring-tides, and also the lower islands that have not 

 too precipitous shores. Here the females have their young 

 about fourteen days before the commencement of winter [about 

 the second week of October]. The young are thickly covered 



species of Seal has hitherto been recognized or met with by those who for a 

 long series of years have been in the habit of seeing and taking these animals 

 iu this particular locality, I have now scarcely a doubt but that the whole of 

 the colony that has so long inhabited the Farn Islands belongs to this spe- 

 cies." Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. vi, 1841, p. 463. 



A little earlier than this (in 1837) Mr. Ball determined the large Seal of 

 the Irish coast, till then also supposed to be Phoca barbata, to be Halichoerus 

 grypus {Trans. Eoy. Irish Acad., vol. xviii, 1837, pp. 89-98), since which time 

 Phoca barbata, auct., has generally been excluded from the British Fauna. 



* Hallgrimsson says in a note of exijlanation, "According to the Icelandic 

 division of the year this falls between the 19th and 26th of October." 



