Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-08-19

sake OF sueh portions OF blnbber as Il
may get hold Of, and this impregnates
its body vith oil to such an extent tina,
it even uses it IS q weapon Of defense
and when captured, squirts it out in q
jet Of pure oily liquid over the person
who attempts to handleit. When shot
too, If it falls into the sea, q partial
calm arises from the oil which pours
fron its mouth. The capture Of q
whale always attracts a vast multitude
Of fulmars, who afford an endless fund
of amusement by their greedy fights
fopee the -2arssst- pieces Of b1nbh u
right to these is disputed with them By
the gull, the kittiwake, and the snow.
bird, of which the glaucous gull (Laru.
glaacas) is at once the most powerful
and rapacious, on account Of which
qualities it obtained the name of the
burgomaster from the Dutch, that be.
ing the name of their chief magistrate,
whose authority no one dares to dis.
pute. He does not take the trouble ia
search for food for himself, but hovers in
the air until he sees some smaller bird
in possession of some choice morsel
which appears unusually inviting to
him, when he at once descends and as.
serts his rights to the prize. When
suffering from extreme hunger, howev-
er, he will not scruple to devour whole
the smaller seabirds, and one shot by
Sir Edward Parry Immediately dis
gerged an aux or Greenland dove, and
when opened another was found undi-
gested in his stomach. His sovereign
ty is disputed, however, by the Arctic
gull (Lestris parasiticus), a most fear
less bird, which will not suffer the ap-
proach of an animal to its nest, even
keeping at bay hawks and eagles. The
kittiwake (Rissa tridaetyla) is great
herring catcher, and is easily distin-
guished from other gulls by the black
quill of its wings.
Prof. Newton appears to have omit
ted from his list the snowbird (Larus
eburneus), the gull whose lovely white
plumage attracts SO much admiration,
though why he does not consider it an
Arctic bird it is difficult to imagine.
Numerous species of both ducks and
geese abound throughout Greenland,
and of the former the eider-duck (Som-
atrid mollissima), which is the most
valuable on account of the down, is
common along all the coasts, but its
northern limits are unknown. All the
birds which traverse the frozen seas are
provided with lining of down beneath
their plumage, but that of the elder
duck far surpasses all the rest in fine
ness Of texture, and the softest Of this
is plucked out by the duck itself from
it's breast to line its nest with. The
Greenlander then waits until the duck
has laid its first eggs, which he removes,
and at the same time robs the nest of its
lining of down, when the bird immedi-
ately sets about refining its nest anew
preparatory to laying another set of
eggs. This may be repeated second
time, but If n third capture of eggs and
down is effected, the bird deserts the
place.
The eider-duck trains her ducklings
to the water by simply taking them out
on her back, and then by diving and
leaving them to their own devices, APP
pearing again at some distance off, to
which she leaves them to attempt to
swim. Some idea of the actual weight
of elder down may be gathered from the
fact that large bed quilt weighs only
five pounds and three ounces, of which
the linen weighs two pounds and a. half,
leaving two pounds eleven ounces for
the down itself.
Of the geese the brent goose is the
species most likely to be encountered in
the Polar Seas. This is the smallest
goose of the Arctic regions, and easily
distinguished by its black head and
neck, on each side Of which is n small
half moon Of white. The goose is not
so hardy bird as the duck, and there
fore is not found quite so far north as
a rule.
The Arctic tern is also common
species, so much so on the shores of
North America that an island has actu-
ally been called after it. This bird has
also been called the sea-swallow. from
its resemblance TO swallows in its long
ard pointed wings, forked tail, and short
feet, though in its motions it is very
different, moving with graceful glid-
ing movement instead of with the DART
ing, rapid action of the swallow. al
though it is provided with web feet, it
does not appear to swim at all, merely
descending to the water, the surface of
which it gently touches with its beak
in seizing its prey of small fish or in
sects.
The little raks or rotchies abound in
such large numbers that during the
voyage of the Fox under Sir Leopold
McClintock nearly 1000 of them were
shot. These are said to be excellent
eating, their average weight being four
ounces and a half, but when prepared
for the table they probably do net Weld
more than three ounces apiece. The
falcon is also said to be good Arctic
fare, Peterson declaring that it is s.the
best beef in the country, and the young
birds tender and white as chickens -
This was said cf the peregrine falcon.
which is hardly to be looked for up
Smith Sound, where the Greenland fal.
con only is likely to be seen.
'sThe most powerful and activeas well
as prompt and intrepid as a bird of
prey is the Iceland falcon (Faleo qsrfal-
COY which comes over in Winter to Ice
land in whole flights from Greenland
and the Arctic regions, where they pro-
baby breed and pass the Summer. as
Sir Edward Parry saw them there FIRE.
quensly in his last voyage.
They were always esteemed the best
for sport. both ON aecnunt of thar So