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iiP' 



372 



THE TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS — TUBINARES. 



other dead specimens on the beach both there and at San Diego, but not in a condi- 

 tion to be preserved. Ho has also seen them along the whole southern coast, and 

 jvt all seasons of the year, but always too far from the land to be shot, and very shy. 

 They very rarely enter bays, and when they do, are so constantly in motion tiiat 

 only by chance do they come within range ; and it is useless to pursue them. They 

 are usually seen in chase of the Gulls, obliging the latter to disgorge, when the 

 Fulmars seize the morsel before it reaches the water. ])r. Cooper has also seen this 

 bird picking up scraps in the neighborhood of whale-ships, near San Diego. 



Dr. Pickering mentions, in his Journal, that on the 29th of April, 1841, on the 

 coast of Oregon, several siieeimens were taken with hook and line. They were in an 

 ashy and somewhat mottled plumage, and were all young birds. One set at liberty 

 was quite unable to rise from the deck, and was destitute of the power of standing, 

 though it coidd run with the aid of its wings. In alighting in the water, it takes 

 the same care in folding and adjusting its wings, without wetting them, as the Alba- 

 tross. One was observed to seize a llialass'ub'oma violently, and to hold it under the 

 ■water as if for the purpose of drowning it ; but whether the attempt succeeded or not 

 was not noticed. The small Petrel did not appear to be afraid of this species. 



Rodgers' Fidmar Petrel, or Liqnis, as it is called by the natives, is an inhabitant 

 of the I'rybilof Islands, where it was found by Mr. H. W. Elliott. He states that it 

 is the only representative of the rrordlarimv that he saw on or about the islands. It 

 repairs to the cliffs, on the south and east shores of Saint George's, in great numbers, 

 coming up early in the season, and selecting some rocky shelf, secure from all enemies 

 save man, where, making no nest whatever, it lays a single large, white, oblong-oval 

 egg, and immediately begins sitting upon it. Of all the water fowls, this is the one 

 most devoted to its charge, for it cannot be scared from the egg by any demonstra- 

 tion that may be made in the way of throwing stones or shouting, and it will rather 

 die as it sits than take to flight. The Fulmar lays between the 1st and the 5th of 

 June ; the eggs .are very palatable, being fully equal to those of the domestic Duck, 

 and even better. The natives lower themselves over the cliffs, and gather a large 

 number of them every season. 



This species of Fulmar never flies in flocks, and pairs earlj'. It !■= then exceedingly 

 quiet, and is never heard to utter any sound, save a low droning croak when it is dis- 

 gorging food for its young. The chick comes out from the shell a perfect puff-li;ill 

 of white down, gaining its flrst plumage in about six weeks. This is a dull gray, 

 black at first, but by the end of the season it becomes like the parents' in coloration, 

 only much darker on the back and scainilaries. Its egg is naturally very similar to 

 that of Fulmarus r/laclalis. As a general nde it is more elongated than the egg of 

 the eastern bird ; but this difference is not very striking. The shell of the egg is 

 rougher, and filled with innumerable raised granulations and minute dei)ressioiis. 

 Its average measurement is I'.OO inches in length, and 1.90 in breadth. The color is 

 white, but liable to be stained, and soiled from various causes, with dirty yellow «y 

 brown discolorations. 



Specimens of the eggs of this bird were also obtained at St. George's by Captiiiu 

 Smith and by Mr. Dall. Their extreme length was 3.00 inches, and the least breadth 

 1.85. 



