Page 67 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

PETRELS AND SHEARWATERS
Order Procellariiformes Family Procellariidae Species Fulmarus glacialis
Fulmar yellowish white head “tubed” nostrils
(white on juvenile)
hooked bill
grey wingtips
short, thick neck
pale patch all-grey; lacks
Herring Gull’s
mottled grey white patch
upperwings
fade browner

stiff, straight
wings
ADULT
weak legs
(unable to stand)
IN FLIGHT pale grey rump ADULT
and tail
liding very low over the open sea or along FLIGHT: direct, on narrow, stiff, flat wings; gliding
Gclifftops, the Fulmar is a strong flier. Superficially in wind, flapping heavily in calm weather low over sea.
gull-like, it is a “tubenose” (having large, raised nasal
tubes) more closely related to albatrosses. Some
Fulmars spend much of the year visiting breeding
cliffs, even in winter, and can be viewed at close range
as they sail by on the wind currents.Their real home,
however, is over the wildest, windswept seas of the
North Atlantic. Large flocks, often mixed with
Gannets, gulls, and skuas, follow fishing fleets: Fulmar
numbers have increased in the past century with far
more food made available from these vessels.
VOICE Loud, harsh, SWIMMING IN SEA
throaty cackling. Drinking saltwater, while swimming
NESTING On rocky or in the sea, is normal for “tube-
earth ledge, rarely ledges noses” such as the Fulmar. Excess
on buildings; 1 egg; salt is excreted through the nostrils.
1 brood;April–June.
FEEDING Feeds mostly BREEDING
on fish offal from The Fulmar breeds in loose colonies
trawlers, small fish, on ledges on steep coastal cliffs or
jellyfish, squid, and other in burrows on inaccessible slopes,
marine organisms. but also locally on buildings.
SIMILAR SPECIES
OCCURRENCE
contrasted white CORY’S SHEARWATER Breeds in NW Europe on cliffs,
tail and black see p.66 earth ledges, and even buildings
wingtips darker
browner head or, where abundant, on grassy
above banks, usually close to sea. Out on
open sea, sometimes mouths of
estuaries or smaller bays.
HERRING GULL
see p.209 Seen in the UK
J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 45–50cm (18–20in) Wingspan 1–1.12m (3 1 ⁄4 –3 3 ⁄4ft) Weight 700–900g (25–32oz)
Social Flocks Lifespan 20–30 years Status Secure
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