THE STORMY PETREL is not larger than a swallow; and its colour is entirely black, except the coverts of the tail, the tail itself, and the vent-feathers, which are white: its legs are slender. Ranging over the expanse of the ocean, and frequently at a vast distance from the land, this bird is able to brave the utmost fury of the storms. Even in the most tempestuous weather it is frequently observed by the mariners skimming with almost incredible velocity along the billows, and sometimes over their summits. They often follow vessels in great flocks, to pick up anything that is thrown overboard; but their appearance is looked upon by the sailors as the sure presage of stormy weather in the course of a few hours. It seems to seek protection from the fury of the wind in the wake of the vessels; and it is probable that for the same reason it often flies between two surges. The nest of this bird is found in the Orkney Islands, under loose stones, in the months of June and July. It lives chiefly on small fish; and although mute by day, it is very clamorous by night. The young of this bird are fed with an oily matter or chyle, which is ejected from the stomachs of the parents. Mudie, in his very entertaining work on British Birds, says that they are called Petrels, or “little Petrels,” because they move along the surface as if they were literally walking on the water. He also informs us that they are at times very full of oil, and that the Faroese, taking advantage of this circumstance, convert them into lamps, by fixing them in an upright position and drawing a wick through their bodies, which they light at the mouth. [Illustration: THE FULMAR, (_Procellaria glacialis_,)] IS a larger kind of Petrel, which is found not uncommonly on the British coasts, and is exceeding abundant in the Arctic seas. Here it is a regular attendant upon the whale-fishers when they are engaged in cutting up a whale. Any fragments of blubber that happen to fall into the water are immediately snapped by these greedy birds, which clamour and squabble over the feast with so little regard to the vicinity of the sailors, that they may be knocked on the head with a boat-hook. They are in high estimation in the countries they inhabit, on account of the large amount of oil they contain. It is only rarely they are seen in England, nor do they regularly frequent any part of Great Britain, except a few of the northernmost islands of Scotland. Like the other Petrels, they feed their young with a sort of oil, which they have the power of exuding at will. [Illustration: THE ALBATROSS, (_Diomedea exulans_,)]