ALBATROSSES 99 



day we watch them with quite as much ignorance 

 of how they contrive it as when the first mariner 

 saw and marvelled. So close to the water they 

 skim, so automatically they rise and fall, outlining 

 the unpredictable movements of waves, that they 

 seem to possess all the secrets of white shadows. 

 When we watch closely and less emotionally we be- 

 gin to see the part which wind plays in the support 

 of this relatively heavy mass of flesh and feathers, 

 throughout the tens of thousands of its miles of 

 progress. The albatross is never so supreme and 

 relaxed and effortless as when it is coasting up- 

 wind, but a breeze on the quarter is less sustaining, 

 and when flying with the wind, frequent circles and 

 intersecting spirals are necessary to attain and 

 sustain sufficient impetus and altitude. This is 

 the fame of the bird, and throughout history and 

 literature almost every mention of it has been 

 synonymous with supremacy in flight. 



Once seen and recognized, an albatross can 

 never again be mistaken for any other bird; its 

 great size, the unusual length and ribbon-like nar- 

 rowness of its wings, the large, yellow, hooked beak 

 — all these mark it even at a distance. The ease and 

 lack of effort of its flight are deceiving, and only 

 when it circles and encircles a fast-moving steamer 

 do we realize the terrific speed of which it is cap- 

 able. 



Albatrosses are usually classified as a family in 

 the order of birds known as Procellariiformes, or 

 oceanic swimming birds with the nostrils arranged 

 in two long tubes lying along the beak. Their 



