Cassell's book of birds; vol. 4Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 4
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
Captain Hutton tells us that "this bird breeds in the cliffs of Prince
Edward's Island and Kerguelen's Land, but the nests can be got at
occasionally. The young are at first covered with a beautiful, long,
light grey down; when fledged they are dark brown, mottled with white.
When a person approaches the nest, the old birds keep a short distance
away, while the young ones squirt a horribly-smelling oil out of their
mouths to the distance of six or eight feet. It is very voracious,
hovering over the sealers when engaged cutting up a seal, and devouring
the carcase the moment it is left, which the Albatross never does. It
sometimes chases the smaller species, but whether or not it can catch
birds possessed apparently of powers of flight superior to its own is
doubtful; but supposing one is killed, that it feeds only upon its heart
and liver, I can never believe, yet it is said to do so in the works of
many ornithologists."
[Illustration: THE FULMAR PETREL (_Procellaria glacialis_).]
THE FULMAR PETREL.
The FULMAR PETREL (_Procellaria glacialis_) is principally white, light
silvery grey upon the under side, and blueish grey upon the mantle. The
primary quills are black, the eye is brown, the beak along the culmen
pale horn-yellow, at its base greyish green. The foot is yellow, with a
shade of blue. In young birds the plumage on the under side of the body
is slightly blueish. The length of this species is eighteen or nineteen
inches, its breadth forty-one to forty-three inches, the length of its
wings twelve to thirteen inches, length of tail four inches and two-thirds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account