Northern Fulmar
Fulmar, Northern
The northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis, family Procellariidae, order Procellariiformes), medium-sized, tube-nosed seabird, about 50 cm long, related to the albatrosses. Birds from warmer parts of the Atlantic are usually white with greyish wings, while those from colder parts are brown all over; the opposite holds in the Pacific.
Originally, the northern fulmar was an arctic bird, but around 1820 it began to spread southward into the eastern Atlantic, perhaps scavenging from the fisheries. As a breeding bird it reached Atlantic Canada around 1970, and a few pairs now nest in Newfoundland. Most Canadian fulmars, about 400 000 pairs, breed in the eastern Arctic, above 67° north latitude. Alaskan migrants visit BC waters; birds from Greenland and the eastern Atlantic winter off Newfoundland.
Fulmars breed on steep cliffs, laying a single, whitish egg on bare ledges. They defend their nests by vomiting a stinking oil over any intruder.
Northern Fulmar
Author R.G.B. BROWN
Links to Other Sites
All About Birds
Search this online bird identification guide for information on specific bird species found in North America. Click on the dynamic map of eBird sightings for a magnified view. From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in the US.
Canadian Biodiversity Website
A great information source for all budding biologists. Learn about biodiversity theory, natural history, and conservation issues. From McGill’s Redpath Museum.
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