84 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
by surprise. It is given by both parents to the 
young. A captive Storm Petrel was fed for 
three months on oil alone. The amount of oil 
throughout the whole bird may be inferred 
from the fact that some islanders thread a wick 
through the dead body and use it as a lamp, 
“the excess of fat burning steadily until the 
whole is consumed.” 
The Storm Petrel’s nest hardly deserves the 
name; it is never more than a little mattress of 
dry grass. The single egg is laid (about the 
end of June in Scotland) in a hole among the 
rocks or among loose stones, or in a burrow, 
which may be a rabbit’s, or may be partly made 
by the bird’s own exertions, though one would 
not think that tunnelling was much in its line. 
There is a heavy musky smell about the hole. 
The parents seem to share in brooding, 
which lasts for about five weeks. During that 
time the birds are not seen coming or going, 
for they have become twilight birds, or dawn 
and dusk birds. We suppose one parent sits 
by day and the other by night. After the 
young bird is hatched out, it seems to be left 
to itself all the day long, while the parents 
collect oil for the heavy supper which their 
nestling makes and needs. It is not till the 
