detained by ice in Jacob's Bay, lat. 71, from the 24th of June to the 3d of July, Fulmars were passing in a continual stream to the northward, in number inferior only to the flight of the passenger pigeon in North America. In more southern latitudes the Fulmar is merely seen as an accidental straggler; there is, however, one place within the British dominions where it is known to breed, namely, the steep and rocky St. Kilda, one of the Western Isles of Scotland. Here numbers arrive in spring and take up their temporary abode in the holes and caverns of the rock. They constitute a source of emolument to the inhabitants, who eagerly venture, at the risk of life, to scale the tremendous and overhanging cliffs in search of the young, from whose bodies they obtain down and oil. Pennant observes that "no bird is of such use to the islanders as this; the Fulmar supplies them with oil for their lamps, down for their beds, a delicacy for their tables, a balm for their wounds, and a medicine for their distempers." He adds also, that it prognosticates the change of wind, no west wind following its visit, at least for some time, but the contrary if it returns and keeps out at sea. The Fulmar lays but one egg, white in colour, and very brittle. The young are fed with oil thrown up by the parents, and which is most probably the product of the food upon which they themselves subsist; this consists of the blubber of whales and seals, to obtain which multitudes follow in the track of whaling vessels, and are often observed to alight in flocks upon the dead or dying giant of the ocean, tearing up the skin with their hooked beaks, and gorging on the blubber to repletion. The Fulmar is also numerous off Newfoundland, and a constant attendant upon the fishing vessels, in order to gain the livers and offal of the codfish. The bill is bright yellow; head, neck, lower part of the back, and tail, with all the under parts, pure white; back and wing-coverts, black; quill-feathers, blackish gray; secondary quill-feathers, bluish gray; legs, yellow; length, sixteen inches. The young birds have the white of the adult tinged with ash colour, and the upper plumage brownish. The next genus is that termed Puffinus, in which the beak is longer than the head, slender and compressed, the nostrils opening through two contiguous tubes on the surface of the beak. The Petrel-Puffins, or Shearwaters, resemble the Fulmars in their food and general habits; their legs, however, are placed farther backwards, and the tarsi are longer and much compressed, so as to facilitate them in their practice of running along the surface of the waves in search of food. They feed more by night than by day, and are busy and alert in murky and tempestuous weather. They breed in the holes of rocks, rabbit-burrows, &c.; the egg is single, and white. The PETREL-PUFFIN, MANKS PUFFIN, or SHEARWATER, (Puffinus Anglorum,) is especially abundant in the Orkneys, where its eggs and young are an object of pursuit to the inhabitants, who scale the most awful precipices and rocks in order to obtain the booty. It arrives in March, and, after the breeding season, migrates to the southern shores of Europe. It was formerly abundant in the Isle of Man, but is now unknown there, though, in the time of Pennant, multitudes were taken and salted for food. Probably the havoc made among the birds, old and young, as well as their eggs, has led to the abandonment of the place. The Shearwater feeds on marine animal refuse of every kind, which it skims from the sea, as, half flying half running, it rapidly traverses the waves. feeds its young with oil, like the fulmar. It The Manks Shearwater does not appear to be very extensively spread. In Britain it is almost exclusively confined to our western coast; but is common on the coasts of Ireland, and is said to have been seen off Norway. It is rare on the shores of Holland or France. The whole of the upper plumage is deep grayish black, with a glossy lustre; sides of the neck and breast faintly barred with gray and white; under surface white, with a patch of black behind the thighs; bill, yellowish brown; tarsi, yellowish red; wings reach to the extremity of the tail, when folded. Length, thirteen inches. The third genus is that containing the Stormy Petrels, (Thalassidroma, Vig.) We here find the bill short, very compressed, and suddenly hooked at the point; the nostrils contained in one tube, but showing two distinct orifices in front; the tail square, or slightly forked; the tarsi long, slender, and almost as flexible as whalebone; the hind toe represented by a small, straight nail. The Stormy Petrels are closely allied to the shearwaters, from which, indeed, they differ principally in the form of the beak and tail, and the greater comparative length of the tarsi. They are birds of small size, but yet they brave the driving of the wind and lashing of the billows, as if gifted with a miraculous power. They are decidedly active during twilight, gloomy weather, when dark clouds obscure the sky, or at night. Their lurkingplaces by day are the holes of rocks, deserted burrows, &c. Their food consists of insects, small mollusca, and oily matter, of an animal nature, which floats on the sea. Their flight is so rapid, and their motions so abrupt and prompt, that the eye can scarcely follow them. Harbingers of the coming storm, they crowd around vessels at sea, and, buoyant as a feather, mount up the billow and descend into the trough with admirable alertness. It is seldom that they are seen at midday when the skies are clear. Their distribution is very wide, some being found in both hemispheres, and in every variety of climate. They breed in the crevices of rocks, and lay but one egg, which is white and comparatively large. As they fly, they utter a pleasing twittering note. We select, as our example, the COMMON STORMY PETREL, (Thalassidroma pelagica,) so well known to sailors under the name of " Mother Carey's Chicken.”— This interesting little bird, which seems to sport amidst the horrors of the tempest, is a native of our British shores, as well as of many parts of the continent; its range appears, indeed, to be very extensive, though it is more than probable that other species, closely resembling it, and requiring the examination of a naturalist to distinguish them, are commonly confounded with it. Temminck observes, that in the Southern Ocean a Petrel (Thalassidroma oceanica) is found a little larger than that of Europe, with wings and tarsi extremely long; and another species, the Fork-tailed Petrel, (Thalassidroma Leachii, TEM.) also larger than the common species, breeds annually at St. Kilda, and has been taken on the coast of Scotland and also near Bristol. In manners and habits all agree. The Stormy Petrels, when seen out at sea, are dreaded as the forerunners of a tempest. Invited from their lurking-places by the lowering atmosphere, which spreads a dull twilight over the deep, they spring forth, and with wings more rapid than the swallow's leave the shore behind. Up and down the waves they run, and the surge that threatens the vessel is no terror to them. That they should be seen by mariners in such weather only, is not surprising, it accords with their known habits; but that crowds should surround a ship, has been differently explained. Most naturalists have attributed the circumstance to their expectation of being somewhat shielded from the tempest; we are, however, inclined to agree with Mr. Selby, who considers their flying round a vessel, or following in its wake, to be apparently more for the purpose of picking up any food that may occasionally be thrown overboard, or from their natural food, the smaller marine insects, mollusca, &c. being brought within reach by the action of the vessel, than for shelter and protection," as the bird is observed "to brave the roughest seas, and even to amuse itself by skimming along the hollows of the waves or dashing over their summits with amazing velocity." The young of the Petrel are fed with oil by the parent birds, in the same manner as the young of the fulmar. The old birds, when about to commence their search for food in the evening, are very clamorous, making a shrill kind of whistle, but are silent during the day, which is their season of tranquil repose. So saturated with oil is this bird, from the food upon which it subsists, that the inhabitants of the Ferroe islands often convert it into a lamp, by merely drawing a wick of cotton through the body, which keeps absorbing the oil, and continues to burn till it becomes exhausted. The general plumage is black, with a white band across the upper tail-coverts. Length, five inches and a half. As an addition to this sketch of the history of the Stormy Petrel, no apology will be required for inserting the following beautiful poem by B. Cornwall. THE STORMY PETREL. A thousand miles from land are we, The hull which all earthly strength disdains, Up and down! up and down! From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, For her who lives on the wide wide sea, |