Abstract
As I have ascertained that the following fact is not well known, I send you this account in the hope that it may be of interest to naturalists and to the general public. Anyone who lives in the Western Hebrides will have often watched on a calm day the sea-birds feeding with noisy clamour in the sea-lochs and about the numerous islands. This is especially the case in August, when the shoals of small herring are very plentiful. Some years ago, when in a sailing-boat off the west coast of Mull, I caught with a hand-net a dishful of these small fry as they swam along the surface of the water. Last year, noticing from a steam-launch the birds congregated in great numbers at one spot, the idea struck me to steam to the place and try to get a share of the birds' repast. The idea was at once carried out. I stood on the prow with landing-net in hand, and the launch was steered towards the birds. As we drew near, the banqueters flew away with evident dissatisfaction at the interruption, a few of the more greedy making their last hasty dives. In another moment we were at the spot, and I saw, to my intense surprise, about 2 feet under the surface, a large reddish-brown ball, 2 to 3 feet in length and 2 feet in depth. I made a frantic swoop with the net into the ball, and brought on deck half a pailful of the sea-birds' dinner. Even as we passed we could see the great living ball sinking and breaking into pieces. This year I and others have tried the same spot with great success. Sometimes the ball has sunk too deep to be reached; some times there was no ball to be seen; but on the most successful day I filled a pailful in three hauls. In September we saw no ball, because, perhaps, the fish had grown too large for the birds to manage. As far as I can judge, the modus operandi is carried out by the divers, who surround a shoal and hem them in on all sides, so that the terrified fish huddle together in a vain effort to escape inevitable destruction. The divers work from below and other sea-birds feed from above; and, as in some cases after the birds had been at work for some time I saw no ball, I suppose not one fish is left to tell the tale. I must leave to naturalists the real explanation of the matter; but I may mention that, when disturbed by the boat, the divers seem to come to the surface in a great ring round the scene of their feast. I may also mention that once, when the boat was still 300 or 400 yards away, the birds suddenly rose and whirled about with frightened screams. I wondered what could be the cause, until I saw the round back of a porpoise rolling lazily round at the exact spot, and then rolling back again. When we steamed past there was no sign of a ball. What two delicious mouthfuls for the porpoise!
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COMPTON How Sea-Birds Dine. Nature 38, 618 (1888). https://doi.org/10.1038/038618a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/038618a0
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