Foula 1830 Storm Petrel

"In an excursion," says this amiable and enterprising naturalist, "through the Shetland Islands during the present summer, in search of rarities for this work, (the British Oology,) I had the very great satisfaction of seeing and taking many of these most interesting birds alive; they breed in great numbers on several of the islands, principally upon Foula, the north of Hunst, and upon Papa, and, Oxna, two small islands in the Bay of Scalloway; the last of these I visited on the 31st of May in hopes of procuring their eggs (it being the season in which most of the sea-birds begin to lay); but in this; I was disappointed; the fishermen, who knew them well by the name of Swallows, assured me that my search would be quite useless, that they had not yet "come up from sea," and so it proved.

Sixteen days after this (June 16th and three following days) I was at Foula, but was alike unsuccessful, the birds had arrived at their breeding places, but had not yet begun laying their eggs; numbers of them were sitting in their holes, and were easily caught: one man brought me about a dozen tied up in an old stocking, two of which I kept alive in my room for nearly three days, and derived very great pleasure from their company; during the day they were mostly inactive, and after pacing about the floor for a short time, poking their head into every hole, they hid themselves between the feet of the table and the wall; I could not prevail upon them to eat any thing, though I tried to tempt them with fish and oil; their manner of walking is very light and pleasing, and differing from that of every other bird which I have seen; they carry their body so far forward and so nearly horizontal, as to give them the appearance of being out of equilibrium. In the evening, toward sun-set, they left their hiding places, and for hours afterwards, never ceased in their endeavours to regain their liberty; flying round and round the room, or fluttering against the windows; when flying, their length of wing, and white above the tail, gives them a good deal the appearance of our House-Martin. I went to bed and watched them in their noiseless flight, long ere I fell asleep, but in the morning they had disappeared; one had fortunately make its escape through a broken pane in the window which a towel should have occupied, the other had fallen into a basin, full of the yolks of eggs which I had been blowing, and was drowned. I regretted much the fate of a being so interesting, by its very remarkable, wandering, solitary, and harmless life.

Before leaving Shetland I again visited the island of Oxna, and though so late as the 30th of June, they were only just beginning to lay their eggs. In Foula they breed in the holes in the cliff, at a great height above the sea; but here under stones which form the beach, at a depth of three or four feet, or more, according to that of the stones; as they go down to the earth, beneath them, on which to lay their eggs. In walking over the surface, I could hear them, very distinctly, singing in a sort of warbling chatter, a good deal like Swallows when fluttering above our chimneys, but harsher; and in this way, by listening attentively, was guided to their retreat, and, after throwing out stones as large as I could lift on all sides of me, seldom failed in capturing two or three seated on their nests, either under the lowest stone or between two of them. The nests, though of much the same materials as the ground on which they were placed, seem to have been made with care; they were of small bits of stalks of plants, and pieces of hard dry earth. Like the rest of the genus, the Stormy Petrel lays invariably one egg only. During the day-time they remain within their holes; and though the fishermen are constantly passing over their heads, (the beach under which they breed being appropriated for the drying of fish,) they are then seldom heard, but toward night become extremely querulous; and when most other birds are gone to rest, issue forth in great numbers, spreading themselves far over the surface of the sea. The fishermen then meet them very numerously; and though they have not previously seen one, are sure to be surrounded by them upon throwing pieces of fish overboard."