THE WANDEKIXG ALBATROSS. 10,9 



From October 17th to November 7th, Ijirds which were Ijrowii all over, but with 

 a paler head. 



On November 16th we were close outside the ice pack, and saw oue adult. Also 

 the following day oue adult aud oue immature, aud au adult on November 19th. 



At the Macquarie Islands we saw both young and old on November 22ud. The 

 species becatne more and more abundant as we neared the New Zealand coast, and at 

 the end of November both young and old were exceptionally abundant. 



After leaving New Zealand we saw many more on Deceml)er 25th, both youug 

 aud old being quite abundant each day onwards as we went south until January 2ud, 

 when we came in sight of ice. This was the last that we saw of the bird, for it left 

 us as soon as we entered the ice pack, and although it has been recorded oft" Eoss's 

 Great Ice Barrier, we ourselves did not see it farther south than G5° S. 



On our return journey to New Zealand we saw every common form of Albatross 

 except Diomedea exulans as soon as, or even before, we had left the immediate 

 neighbourhood of ice, but although in December that bird had been abundant in the 

 same seas, in March we saw very few indeed. In going north the first was seen on 

 March 9th, 1904 (60" S. 177° E.) — a second-year's bird with a brown cap. March 10th 

 and 11th each showed oue bird. The 12th showed many more, two of which were 

 mottled brown all over, a very young phase. On this day we saw five or six together, 

 sometimes settled on the water. On March 14th nearly all that we saw were youug 

 and mottled, and we came close in to the Auckland Islands. 



On June 10th we left New Zealand on our homeward voyage by way of the 

 Magellan Straits. We saw several examples of Diomedea exidans between June 12th 

 and 19th (chiefly third-year birds with brown caps). After this it absolutely 

 disappeared until we had passed through the Magellan Straits aud had entered the 

 South Atlantic Ocean. Even then we reached the Falkland Islands without seeing a 

 single example, and it was not until July 23rd (48° W. 46° S.) that the bird again 

 appeared. On the 29th we saw one adult and one yearling, aud an adult on July 31 

 (29° S. 27° W.), after which we saw no more. 



When on the wing the feet are held folded together at full length uuder the tail, 

 and, extending well beyond its longest feathers, give the impression of a markedly 

 wedge-shaped tail with a white terminal border. This, of course, is not the case, for 

 the tail is bordered by black at the extremity, and the appearance of white beyond 

 the Ijlack is due to the whitish feet. 



Diomedea exidans was by no means so devoid of shyness as some of the other 

 albatrosses. Diuinedea re<jia and chionoptera were the most shy of all, exulans 

 occasionally found courage to come closer to our wake, sometimes quite close, but 

 the most friendly aud familiar of all were D. mekmophri/s, Phvehdria fidujinosa, aud 

 llialassogeron cidmlnatus. 



Diomedea exulans is known to breed freely on Kerguelen Island, where a large 

 number of nests are built on the grassy slopes 700 or 800 feet above the sea, 



