THE PETRELS. 
117 
a back toe only a sharp spur or nail ; they have also a fa- 
culty of spouting from their bills, to a considerable distance, 
a large quantity of pure oil, which they do by way of defence, 
lr >to the face of any person who attempts to take them. 
i’lie fulmar is the largest of the kind which is known in 
jhese climates. It is superior to the size of the common gull, 
being about fifteen inches in length, and in weight seventeen 
°unces. The bill is very strong, yellow, and hooked at the 
en d. The head, neck, and all the under parts of the body 
ai 'e white ; the back and wings ash-coloured, the quills 
dusky and the tail white. It feeds on the blubber of 
'vhales, which supplies the reservoir, whence it spouts, with 
? constant stock of ammunition. This oil is esteemed by the 
'uhabitants of the North as a sovereign remedy in many 
complaints both external and internal. The flesh is also 
Considered by them as a delicacy, and the bird is therefore 
! n great request at St. Kilda. It is said, that when a whale 
I s taken, these birds will, in defiance of all endeavours, 
'gbt upon it, and pick out large lumps of fat even while it 
ls alive. 
. A he shearwater, or manks puffin , as it is called by Wil- 
°Ughhy, is something smaller than the preceding, lhe 
head, and all the upper part of the body, are of a sooty 
slackness ; and the under part and inner coverts of the 
wings white. These birds are found in the Call of Man, 
a . n d the Sicilly Isles. In February they take a short posses- 
s [°n of the rabbit burrows, and then disappear till April ; 
Jbey l a y one egg, and in a short time the young are fit to 
} e taken. They are then salted and barrelled. During the 
i y they keep at sea fishing, and towards evening return to 
' (! *r young, whom they feed by discharging the contents of 
'u stomach into their mouths. 
’in b e stormy petrel is about the size of a house swallow. 
be general colour of the plumage is black, except about 
1 le r Um p, which is white. They sometimes hover over the 
Water like swallows, and 'Sometimes appear to run on the 
'’P °f it: they are also excellent divers, lhey ate very 
^amorous, and are called by the sailors Mother Cary s 
'ieketis, who observe that they never settle or sit upon the 
Water, but when stormy weather is to be expected, lhey 
? le found in most parts of the world; and in the harro 
I lln ds the inhabitants draw a wick through the body of 
le bird, from the mouth to the rump, which serves them 
f . a candle, bein^ fed by the vast proportion of oil which 
>s little animal contains. _ _ . . 
i • ~bere are about, twenty species of foreign birds of this 
ln< A- In the high southern latitudes one is found, which is 
O 
