Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS

Fulmar Behaviour

In the Common Fulmar (F. glacialis) of the North Atlantic, the nasal tubes are distinctly dusky and the whole bill sometimes brownish, while in the remaining forms, which are confined mainly to the North Pacific, these tubes are light-colored, and the bill never dark.

In plumage they also exhibit a light and dark phase, in the first having the head, neck, and lower parts white and the upper parts bluish gray, while in the second the plumage is entirely smoky gray. The typical form (F. glacialis) is a very abundant bird throughout the Arctic and the sub-Arctic seas, often following the ships until they enter the pack ice. It possesses great powers of flight, is very graceful on the wing, and is usually seen in the air or rarely sitting on the water.

It is not especially gregarious except at the nesting season, but when a supply of food is encountered many thousands may congregate. It is very partial to the fat of the whale, and when one of these huge animals has been killed the Fulmars approach for their share, and not infrequently gorge themselves to such an extent as to be unable to fly.

They are ordinarily very tame and approach so closely as to be readily knocked over with a boat-hook or even taken in the hand, and they also take a baited hook freely, returning at once when liberated to be captured a second time. When taken in the hand they vomit a considerable quantity of clear, amber-colored oil, which possesses a peculiar and very disagreeable odor.

During the breeding season they nest in vast communities on rocks and cliffs, making but little attempt at a nest, indeed often laying the single large egg on the bare ground. The eggs are much esteemed for food, being regarded as even superior to those of the domestic Duck, and consequently the birds are frequently robbed. The Fulmars are particularly tame at this season, permitting themselves to be taken in the hand or knocked from the nest with a cane.

previous bird species next bird species