THE STORMY PETREL, OR MOTHER CARY’S CHICKEN. (Thalassidroma pelagica.)
“O’er the deep! o’er the deep!
Where the whale, and the shark, and the sword-fish sleep,
Outflying the blast and the driving rain,
The petrel telleth her tale in vain;
For the mariner curseth the warning bird,
Who bringeth him news of the storm unheard!
Oh! thus does the prophet, of good or ill,
Meet hate from creatures he serveth still;
Yet he ne’er falters:—So, Petrel! spring
Once more o’er the waves on thy stormy wing.” Procter.
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.