THE STORMY PETREL. 417 



liver, on which alone they feed, leaving the rest of the body 

 untouched. 



At night, therefore, only, they venture forth, but not with 

 much safety, for then a new danger awaits them, in the 

 shape of the seal-catchers, who attract them by torches, and 

 kill them in multitudes, for the sake of their oil. They 

 probably, however, prefer the darkness of night for other 

 reasons ; for our common Stormy Petrels, whose hearts and 

 livers are in no danger from enemies by day, are observed 

 by the people employed in the cod-fisheries of the north, to 

 come forth like the Bat at dusk, when they see them skim- 

 ming over the water, catching a glimpse of them only by 

 the white spots on their rumps, and the side feathers of 

 their tails. But though apparently so wild and solitary, if 

 caught and taken home, they will become so tame as to 

 suffer themselves, without the least fear, to be touched and 

 handled. One kept in a cage for some time was supported 

 by means of smearing the feathers of the breast with train 

 oil, which the bird afterwards sucked with its bill. When 

 the oil was placed in a saucer in the cage, it would dip its 

 feathers therein, and" then suck the oil from them. 



Sailors have a superstitious dislike to the Stormy Petrels, 

 or, as they are commonly called, Mother Carey's Chickens, 

 believing that their appearance forebodes storms, with which 

 they are in some way or other connected. That storms do 

 frequently occur when, or soon after, these birds are seen, is 

 certainly true ; but the cause probably is, that, instinctively 

 feeling the approach of a gale, they are disquieted, and are 

 anxiously awaiting its arrival, and, therefore, hover round 

 the ship, which they imagine may shelter them from its 

 fury ; for, unlike the Albatross, or Gull, they seem to dislike 

 the war of elements ; and to this dislike may probably be 

 attributed the otherwise unaccountable circumstance of their 

 being so often found even many miles inland. The fact 

 might be doubted, but for numberless recorded instances; 

 for there is scarcely a county in England in which they have 

 not been seen. 



In 1832 upwards of twenty instances occurred, and many 



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