The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene.
Fulmar
A northern fulmar in flight
A tail-piece wood engraving in Thomas Bewick's A History of British Birds, Volume 2: Water Birds, 1804
The catch of fulmars on St Kilda; George Washington Wilson, August 1884
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes, which also includes the albatrosses and the storm petrels.
Procellariidae
The flight of giant petrels is aided by a shoulder-lock that holds their wing out without effort.
To take off this Christmas shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) must face into a strong wind. In calm conditions it must run in order to obtain a high airspeed.
Million-strong flocks of shearwaters migrate from New Zealand to Alaska every year.