The Dark-bodied Shearwater 



Taken near Santa Barbara 



DARK-BODIED SHEARWATERS: A FURY OF EXERTION 



Photo by the Author 



that the anchovies had all been eaten up, and that the birds were leaving. 

 Hastily chartering a fisherman's launch, we gave orders to head south- 

 west, whither by now the last birds had disappeared. The sea was 

 a bit choppy, and our course lay broadwise to the swells; hardly an ideal 

 condition for a race with Shearwaters. Nevertheless, a mile or so out 

 we succeeded in picking them up in the offing; and as we approached, large 

 numbers rose from the surface of the water and sped away. It looked 

 discouraging, but glancing down wind and sun toward Miramar, we made 

 out several dark shoals of birds. Heading toward them we found to our 

 delight that they would drive down wind instead of rising. We first 

 tried drifting, but fell into the trough of the waves and could not snap 

 to advantage. Also the birds washed along as fast as we did. Backing 

 fared no better, because we lost control of the boat. So finally we took 

 to driving straight at them, then sheered and circled before they were 

 too much disturbed. We soon found that the birds had to face the wind 

 and kick vigorously in order to rise at all. So by driving down wind, 

 we repeatedly got right among them. In this predicament they either 

 dived or swam desperately or floundered down wind. The minute we 

 were past them of course they rose and made off. Twice the whole 

 flock, numbering 2000 or 3000 birds, settled within quarter of a mile and 

 allowed us to repeat our hectoring tactics. Many ensemble pictures 

 were secured of the birds both sitting and rising, but the roughness of 



2004 



