Page:Territory in Bird Life by Henry Eliot Howard (London, John Murray edition).djvu/252

194 wander from land, were made by Lieut. B. R. Stewart during a number of voyages between various ports in Great Britain and Ireland and ports in North America, principally New York and Quebec. Thus, on the 24th March, large numbers were seen in lat. 55°&thinsp;N., long. 24°&thinsp; W., five hundred miles approximately from land, though on the following day—four hundred miles off Tory Island—they were not so plentiful. Again, on the 1st October, in lat. 53°&thinsp;N., long. 27&thinsp; W., seven hundred miles or so from land, one bird was seen, whilst on the following day, in lat. 52°&thinsp;N., long. 21°&thinsp;W., a single individual was washed on board by the heavy seas and seemed little the worse for the adventure. Within two hundred miles of the west coast of Ireland, he found them plentiful on various occasions. From this it is clear that the circumstances under which the bird lives for many months in succession must impose a considerable strain upon its constitution; and how it is able to withstand the buffeting of wind and water, to secure its food, and to endure, is a mystery. It is important, therefore, that the young bird should be properly nourished and protected from anything that might harm its constitution, and important, too, that the parents should be freed from any undue strain during the course of reproduction.

The conditions which the breeding station has to fulfil are threefold: in the first place, it must be in proximity to the food-supply; secondly, it must provide the necessary shelter