57 



Distribution. As a family, they are birds of the southern hemisphere, for it is there 

 that they reach their fullest develop nent in numbers of individuals and species. How- 

 ever, some inhabit the north far into the Arctics. 



The Tube-nosed Swimmers are essentially marine, using the land 

 only for breeding purposes. The whole ocean is their home and its lonely 

 waste is sufficient for all their needs except that of rearing their young. 

 They, therefore, as a class, rarely come into shallow water and are most 

 commonly seen by the deep water sailor, the offshore fisherman, or the 

 ocean voyageur. There are two families of the order: the Albatrosses, 

 Diomedeidce; and the Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels, Procellariidce; 

 that are here called for convenience the Lesser Tube-nosed Swimmers 

 owing to their inferior size. As there are no Albatrosses on our east coast 

 we are concerned only with the Procellariidce. 



Economic Status. Owing to their pelagic habitat they are of little if 

 any known economic interest. 



FAMILY PROCELLARIID,E. LESSER TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. FULMARS, 



SHEARWATERS, AND PETRELS. 



General Description. See previous description. 



Distinctions. Lesser Tube-nosed Swimmers are smaller than the Albatrosses and 

 are the only members of the order found on our eastern coast. 



Field Marks. General coloration and flight habits. Wings stiffly held straight out 

 from the body and long steady glides on motionless wings (Fulmars and Shearwaters), 

 or gently flitting close to the surface up one side of a wave and down the other with feet 

 occasionally paddling along as if running on the surface (Petrels). 



Distribution. The family is distributed over the oceans of the world from pole to pole. 

 Though many species are regularly confined to the southern hemisphere they are great 

 wanderers and the list of stragglers on our northern coasts is comparatively large. Of 

 many species very little is known and our knowledge of several of them is confined to 

 single or a few individual specimens that have found their way into collector's hands. 

 Other species than those here listed may be found on our coasts or even occasionally on 

 the Great Lakes in the interior, but their identification should be made with the greatest 

 caution. 



Economic Status. Though feeding almost entirely on fish and offal, 

 their deep sea habitat renders them of little economic importance. 



86. Fulmar. FR. LE FULMAR. Fulmarus glacialis. L, 19. A large bird of 

 gull-like coloration (light phase), or evenly dark, slaty grey (dark phase), and tube en- 

 cased nostrils. 



Distinctions. One of the larger of the Lesser Tube-noses, even grey or white and grey 

 gull-like coloration. 



Field Marks. Flight habits, stiffly-held outstretched wings, and long glides, together 

 with light or grey coloration instead of dark brown as in the Shearwaters which approach 

 the Fulmars in size, should usually render this species recognizable in life. 



The Fulmar occurs in allied subspecific form on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 

 The Atlantic Fulmar is the type form. 



Nesting. In large communities on ledges of rocky cliffs. 



Distribution. The Fulmar is a bird of the north Atlantic, breeding in high latitudes 

 and migrating to our southern coasts. 



More often seen by sealers and whalers, the offal of whose trade attracts 

 numbers of Fulmars. They are often seen by transatlantic travellers in 

 mid-ocean or near the shores. 



Economic Status. Of no economic importance. 



