British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

That a bird whose generic name is Puffinus should sometimes be called a 'Puffin' is not surprising; and the reader who meets with the name in books should satisfy himself whether the subject of his study be an Auk or a Shearwater, before he admits as facts any statements about the 'Puffin' which may fall in his way. Yarrell, for instance, gives the name of Puffin to the bird already described under the name of Fratercula Arctica, while by Montagu that bird is described under the name of 'Coulterneb', 'Puffin' being given as a synonym for the Shearwater. Off Cornwall it is called skiddeu and brew.

The Shearwater is so called from its mode of flight, in which it 'shears' or skims the water; and its distinctive name, Manx, it owes to its having been formerly very abundant in the Calf[60] of Man, a small island lying south of the Isle of Man.

The Manx Shearwater is, during the greater portion of the year, an ocean-bird, and only ventures on shore during the breeding season. It then repairs to some island, or portion of the coast little frequented by man, and in society with other birds of the same species there takes up its summer quarters. A sandy or light earthy soil, scantily furnished with vegetation, is preferred to any other station. Its nest is a hole in the ground, either the deserted burrow of a rabbit or a tunnel excavated by itself, or less frequently it lays its one egg in the crevice of a rock. During the day Shearwaters, for the most part, remain concealed in their holes, and lie so close that they will suffer themselves to be dug out with a spade and make no attempt to escape. Towards evening they quit their hiding-places, and paddle or fly out to sea in quest of food. This consists of small fish and other marine animals which swim near the surface, and are caught by the birds either while they are floating or 'shearing' the water. No nest ever contains more than one egg, but that one and the chick which it produces are objects of the greatest solicitude.

Unfortunately for the poor Shearwaters, their young, though fed on half-digested fish oil, are delicate eating; consequently, some of the stations of these birds have been quite depopulated, and in others their numbers have been greatly thinned.

Willughby tells us that in his time 'Puffins' were very numerous in the Calf of Man, and that fully fledged young birds, taken from the nests, were sold at the rate of ninepence a dozen. He adds, that in order to keep an accurate reckoning of the number taken, it was customary to cut off, and retain, one of each bird's legs. The consequence was that the state in which the birds were sent to market was supposed to be their natural condition, and the Puffin was popularly believed to be a 'monopod' (one-footed bird).

This station is now nearly, if not quite, deserted; but colonies still exist in Annet, one of the Scilly Islands, on the south coast of Wales, in the Orkneys, and in the Shetlands. In the Scilly Islands the Shearwater is called a Crew, from the harsh note uttered by the bird when its burrow is invaded; in the north, a Lyrie or Scrabe.

[60] 'Calf', on many parts of the coast, is a name given to the smaller of two rocks in proximity, of which the larger is called the 'Cow'.

THE STORM-PETREL
PROCELLARIA PELÁGICA

General plumage like the last; tail even at the extremity; legs moderate; membranes black. Length scarcely six inches. Eggs white.

Under the name of 'Mother Carey's Chickens' the Petrels must be known to all readers of voyages. According to the belief popular in the forecastle, these birds are invisible during calm or bright weather; but when the sky lowers, and a storm is impending, suddenly, no one knows whence, forth come these ill-omened heralds of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even by the hurricane which they are supposed to commence. In reality, the Petrels are scarcely birds of the day; they love to hide themselves in holes and behind stones. It is not, therefore, surprising that when the sea is calm, and the sun bright, they lurk in their hiding-places, if near enough to land; or, if on the open ocean, lie asleep on the surface of the water, unnoticed, because still and of small size. An overcast sky, however, awakes them as twilight would, and they leave their hiding-places, or rise from their watery bed, not because a storm is impending, but because the cloud which accompanies the storm brings them the desired gloom. When in motion they are more conspicuous than when at rest, and they follow the wake of a ship for the same reason that other sea-fowl do, for the sake of the offal thrown overboard. They will sometimes accompany a ship for days, showing that they have untiring power of wing, and to all but the superstitious greatly relieving the monotony of the voyage.