274 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



and one of the latest authentic occurrences was 

 that of a female accompanied by a young one, 

 which entered the harbour of St. Sebastian. 

 The average length of this species is between 

 forty and fifty feet, and in colour it is almost 

 a uniform black. 



The third of the British whales is the Hump- 

 backed, characterized by a dorsal fin and by 

 a number of longitudinal folds running along 

 the throat and belly. The head is comparatively 

 small, and the flippers extraordinarily large, the 

 latter in some cases measuring nearly a third of 

 the whole body. The Whalers call this species 

 the "Bermuda" Whale, and here, together 

 with its young, it may be seen from March to 

 May. Although not uncommon off the coasts 

 of Greenland in summer, not one is to be seen in 

 winter, as at this time it often wanders south. 



Of the few which have actually occurred on 

 our home coasts, one at least is remarkable. 

 This was a female cast ashore near Newcastle, 

 measuring about twenty-six feet in length. The 

 contents of its stomach consisted of six Cormo- 

 rants, whilst a seventh stuck in its throat. Only 

 a few weeks before a fifty-eight feet Whale had 

 been washed ashore on Holy Island, but unfor- 



