THE 8T0UMY I'ETUEL.] BY FllCI-D, \\'()()1), AND WATlili. [tIII; UULL FAMILY. 



nml which has been aptly considered as an 

 emblem of ot(M"nity. Tlioro are, also, the 

 golilen yands of the pearly beach, which flitter 

 in the rays of the sun, or glance in the beams 

 of the moon, as the ocean rolls its melodies 

 over their surface; and there are the giant 

 rocks, wliich, for thousands of years, have 

 frowned defiance to the sea, and wliich, may- 

 hap, for thousands more, will present their grim 

 fronts to the tempest, whilst sheltering the gull 

 and the guillemot. These are all impressive ob- 

 jects ; and, in sea-fowl shooting, are to be taken 

 into the account, when estimating the amount 

 of pleasure which this pursuit may afford. 



THE STORMY PETREL. 



The ProceUaria Pellagica of Linnreus, is 

 about the size of the common swallow, and 

 the smallest web-footed bird known. AVhen 

 crossing tlie Atlantic, we ourselves can well 

 remember the ominous prognostications which 

 a flock of these birds would often draw from 

 the mariners, when the clouds were gathering 

 in darkening masses over us, and portending 

 storms collectiug their strength, as it were, 

 with no other object than to doom our ship, 

 and ours alone, to destruction. They are 

 heard generally at night, and are recognised by 

 their shrill and piercing cry. The following 

 description is taken from Loudon's Magazine 

 of Natural History : — " As the stormy petrel 

 is scarcely ever seen near the land, except in 

 verv boisterous weather, one of the natives of 

 tiie island of St. Hilda, for a trifling remunera- 

 tion, agreed to traverse the face of a huge 

 rock, and fetch me some petrels out of its 

 fissures. Accordingly, accoutred with a rope 

 of hemp and hog's bristles coiled over his 

 shoulders, he proceeded to the cliff. Having 

 made one end fast by means of a stake, he 

 threw the coil over the face of the rock, and 

 gradually lowered himself down, but with the 

 utmost caution and circumspection, carefully 

 pressing his foot hard upon the narrow ridges 

 before he at all loosened his firm grasp of the 

 ropo, which he never altogether abandoned. 

 I had previously thrown myself upon my 

 chest, to enable me to have a better view of 

 him by looking over the cliff; and certaiulv, 

 to see the dexterity and bravery with which 

 he threw himself from one aperture to another, 

 was truly grand. The trembling surface of the 



Atlantic was foaming many hundreds of feet 

 beneath, and dashing its curling, cream-like 

 surge against the dark baao of the clilf, in 

 sheets of the moat beautiful white; while the 

 heron and black-backed gulls, alternately 

 sweeping past him, so as to be almost within 

 reach of his arm, throw a wildness into the 

 scene by the discordant scream of the former, 

 and the laughing, oft-repeated bark of tho 

 latter. This, however, he ap[)eared entirely 

 to disregard ; and, continuing his search, re- 

 turned, in about half-an-hour, with seven or 

 eight of the stormy petrels, tied up in an old 

 stocking, and a pair of tho Manx pufBns, 

 together with their eggs. The birds, he told 

 me, he had no difficulty in capturing. The 

 eggs of the stormy petrel are surprisingly 

 large, considering the diminutive size of tho 

 bird — being as large as those of the thrush. 

 Tlie female lays two eggs, of a dirty or dingv 

 white, encircled at the larger end by a ring of 

 fine rust-coloured freckles. The birds merely 

 collect a few pieces of dried grass, with a 

 feather or two, barely sufficient to prevent the 

 eggs from rolling or moving on the rock." 

 The rope alluded to in this passage is of great 

 value to the St. Kildan. Indeed, he could 

 not pursue his vocation ■without it ; con- 

 sequently, it often makes the first article in 

 the testament of a father. Of the manner in 

 which it is used, Mr. Macauley gives the fol- 

 lowing instance, of which he was an eye- 

 witness: — "One of them fixed himself to a 

 craggy shelf; his companion descended about 

 sixty feet below, and having directed himself 

 away from the face of a most frightful rock 

 hanging over the sea, began to play his gam- 

 bols, lie swung merrily, and laughed very 

 heartily ; and, after some time, having afforded 

 all the entertainment he could, he returned in 

 triumph, full of his own merit, with a largo 

 string of birds about his neck, and a number 

 of eggs in his bosom. AVhen a fowler is 

 under the necessity of descending the rocks, 

 without any assistance from his fellows, he 

 drives a post sloping into the earth, and, bv 

 fastening the rope to it, lets himself down 

 thereby, without the help of any person what- 

 ever." 



TIIE GULL FAMILY. 

 It is maintained by some sportsmen that 

 there are eleven species belonging to this 



579 



