A WHALE DEVOURER. 
277 
head ; its general length is twenty inches. The head, neck, 
and lower parts are Vv^iite ; back and wings pale greyish 
blue ; the longer quills and wing coverts dark brown. It 
is remarkable for a curiously formed bill, having several 
protuberances on it ; the curved point is yellow, the sides 
horny white, and the superior ridge, investing the nostrils, 
greyish white. 
Arctic voyagers state that this Fulmar is extremely 
abundant in the icy seas, especially in Hudson's Bay, 
Davis's Straits, and Baffin's Bay. Various authors state 
that it occurs in Iceland, Faroe, Norway, and sometimes 
on the coasts of HoHand and France. According to 
Audubon, it extends on the eastern side of America as far 
south as Long Island. In Britain it is seldom met with 
elsewhere than at its only breeding place, the Island of St. 
Kilda, and there it occurs in prodigious numbers, being 
by far the most imj)ortant production of the island, 
and forming one of the principal means of support to 
the natives, who daily risk their lives in its pursuit. This 
bird builds upon the face of the highest precipices, 
wherever there are small grassy shelves, every spot on 
which, about a few inches in extent, is occupied by the 
nests, which are composed of herbage, seldom bulky, gene- 
rally a mere excavation in the turf, lined with dried grass 
and withered tufts of the sea pink. There is but a single 
egg in each, of a pure white colour when clean. The body 
yields a great deal of fat and oil, which, besides supplying 
the lamps, is used as medicine, acting as a cathartic. 
Captain Scoresby describes the Fulmar as the constant 
companion of the whale fisher. It joins the ship imme- 
diately on passing the Shetland Islands, and accompanies it 
through the trackless ocean to the highest accessible lati- 
tudes. It keeps an eager watch for everything thrown 
overboard ; the smallest particle of fatty substance can 
scarcely escape it. These birds are extremely greedy of 
the fat of the whale. Though few should be seen when a 
whale is about to be captured, yet as soon as the fleshing 
commences, they rush in from all quarters, and frequently 
accumulate to many thousands in number. 
