THE NORTH SEA. 
335 
the Capella till far past mid-ocean—indeed, up till 
within an hour or two of our sighting the Cheviots, 
rising from the grey sea. Yet the Fulmar is all but 
unknown on the Northumbrian coast. How narrowly 
do birds observe their appointed limits ! 
Sept. 25th .—Homeward from Trondhjem. Guille¬ 
mots noticed up to fifty, and Shearwaters at one 
hundred miles out. Gulls observed, in twos and threes, 
persistently beating against a slight wind towards S.W., 
flying low on the water, and in very different style to 
the desultory flight of other gulls that followed the 
ship. A few ducks (probably wigeon), one finch, a 
sandpiper (? sp.), Richardson’s Skuas, and Fulmars 
observed. Next day (Sept. 26th), gulls still beating to 
windward (S.W.) in small parties. Ducks, Skuas, Ful¬ 
mars, and a finner-whale seen spouting. During the last 
week of September the Grey-lag Geese are beginning 
to move southwards: but, though one sees them almost 
daily in Norway at that period, I have never happened 
to observe them crossing the North Sea. Perhaps none 
do cross it. 
Oct. 8 th .—Homeward - bound from Bergen. A 
single Starling took passage towards dusk, and several 
packs of diving ducks (probably scaup or goldeneye) 
passed our ship, the Ragnvald Jarl , flying very low on 
the water, and mostly across our course. Next day, in 
mid-sea, a Pomatorhine Skua flew alongside, keeping 
company for some time, possibly influenced by the 
crowd of gulls which followed us. We saw neither 
ducks nor fulmars on October 9th, but the common 
seafowl—gannets, gulls, guillemots, etc., abounded all 
the way across. 
