June is the month to observe the nesting habits of the Fulmar. On the 

 St. Kilda group the greatest number of Fulmars breed, where the cliff, 

 although very precipitous, is broken up into grassy ledges covered with 

 loose rich soil and overgrown with sorrel, coarse grass, and other plants. 

 Here almost every available spot is a Fulmar's nest, and as you move about 

 the birds rise from every inequality in the turf. A slight excavation or 

 burrow is made in the loose rich soil, but seldom deep enough to conceal 

 the sitting bird. In some places a little grass is used as a lining to the nest, 

 but in others the nest cavity is quite bare. In Shetland I never saw a nest 

 with any sort of lining at all ; it was simply some convenient corner on a 

 rocky ledge in fact, just the sort of site which a Guillemot would select. I 

 noticed in this locality that a bird would get behind some stone on the cliff if 

 it could, as if it preferred the shelter. The mates of the sitting birds flew 

 backwards and forwards along the cliff face all day, with outstretched wings, 

 only giving a few beats every now and then. I noticed that the Fulmar 

 kept its wings absolutely stiff and straight while it glided along, not 

 like the Gull, whose wings are always slightly bent at the joints ; and the 

 Fulmars seemed to turn on a pivot in the centre of their bodies, often 

 describing a complete circle in the air without a movement of the wings. 



The Fulmar lays its single egg about the middle of May, sometimes 

 earlier and sometimes later, according to the season. It is pure white, and 

 rough and chalky in texture, without any gloss, and retains the peculiar 

 musky smell for many years after it is blown. They vary considerably in 

 size, and very soon become stained by contact with the birds' feet and the 

 soil on which they are laid. They vary in length from 3*25 to 27 inches, 

 and in breadth from 2' 15 to r8 inches. 



Young in down are sometimes pure white and sometimes a dirty brownish 

 grey with white breasts ; I have seen numbers of both on one cliff. The 

 old birds also seem to have a light and a dark phase, as is the case with 

 Richardson's Skua. In St. Kilda, when the young Fulmars are nearly able 

 to fly the Fulmar-harvest commences. This is the great event of the year 

 there; the bodies are salted and stored for use in the winter, and the feathers 

 are exported. 



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