Robert E. Gill Jr. 1977 <p><span>While conducting an offshore bird census from the sea beach at Nelson Lagoon, Alaska Peninsula (56°00'N, 161°10'W) at 1700 on 17 September 1976 1 saw a Fork-tailed Storm Petrel (</span><i>Oceanodroma f.</i> <i>furcata</i><span>) feeding on the beached remains of an adult gray whale (</span><i>Eschrichtius robustus</i><span>) that had been trapped by ice and died the previous April. I watched it for about 15 min. The sky was overcast with a 25-knot offshore wind, gusting to 35 knots. Seas were running from 3 to 4 m, and the tide was high. This observation is of note because it provides direct evidence of a terrestrial (i.e. nonpelagic) foraging capability by </span><i>O. furcata</i><span>. It also furthers the scant knowledge on the use of beached marine mammals for food by pelagic and inshore avifauna, especially during adverse weather when normal foraging habits might be inhibited.</span></p> application/pdf en American Ornithological Society Unusual foraging by a fork-tailed storm-petrel article