THE STORMY PETREL. 253 



spoken of* as living in perpetual dread of another 

 of its own genus, the great Black Petrel (Procellaria 

 equinoctialis)', and well it may, for its sable enemies 

 are incessantly looking out for its heart and 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 skimming 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 appa- 

 rently so wild and solitary, if caught and taken 

 home, they will become so tame as to suffer them- 

 selves, 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 



* Macartney's Voyage ^ vol. i. 



