204 



THE COMMON FULMAR. 



""Procellaria glaciaeis, Linn. 

 PLATE CCCCLV.— Male. 



Though not a large bird, the Fulmar is possessed of considerable strength, 

 and has a powerful and sustained flight. In autumn and winter it is seen on 

 our eastern coasts, from which it retires earl} 7 ' in summer, to betake itself to 

 the northern retreats in which it rears its young. I have never seen it 

 farther south than Long Island, but I have often found it on the banks of 

 Newfoundland, and in the space intervening between them and our shores. 

 From the beginning of September to that of May it may be said to be pretty 

 common, especially around the banks, to which the cod-fishers resort, and 

 where it feeds chiefly on the rejected garbage. 



One calm day in August, when on a voyage from England to New York, 

 I procured several Fulmars. They came up and alighted near the boat, 

 whenever we threw any thing overboard, and did not seem to be in the least 

 alarmed by the report of a gun. In one instance I shot one on the water, 

 when it was so near that I could distinctly see the colour of its eye. A 

 great number of them were swimming in small detached flocks of eight or 

 ten, their colour at a distance appearing as if pure white, and contrasting 

 beautifully with the dark blue of the sea. They floated very buoyantly, 

 some swimming about with great ease, others to appearance sound asleep. 

 Most of them had the wing and tail feathers ragged, and some were much 

 soiled with greasy matter, which gave them an unpleasant appearance. 

 Those which were caught, on being wounded, emitted quantities of oily 

 matter by their nostrils, and disgorged much of the same substance; but did 

 not attempt to bite, which seemed strange in birds having the bill so power- 

 ful and hooked. They fly with less grace than the Shearwaters, proceeding 

 in a direct line, and at a small height, towards the objects on which they 

 feed. 



I was much disappointed at not finding the Fulmar along the rocky shores 

 of Labrador, where I had expected to meet with it, as it is regularly 

 observed in spring moving northward in files opposite the entrance of the 

 Straits of Belle Isle. Its passage towards the Arctic Regions has been 

 observed by Captain Sabine on the coast of Greenland. "Whilst the ships," 



