116 EDWARD A. WILSON. 



from tip to tip of tlie wings. They arrived always in greater num1)ers towards 

 evening, and on the evening of November 18th as many as sixteen were counted at 

 one time. Both the light and the dark phases were generally abundant, though on 

 November r2th, when we had eight together, they were all of the pale-backed 

 variety.* Tiie l)ird remained with us on November 16th and 17th as we entered 

 the outskirts of the pack ice (62° S., 140° E.). It appears to slum the immediate 

 neighbourhood of land, for on approaching and leaving the JMacquarie Islands, as 

 happened also when we approached and left Cape Town and New Zealand, we invariably 

 lost the bird about two days out, and picked it up again at about the same distance 

 when we left. Between New Zealand and the ice, at the latter end of December, we 

 saw several each day. Some of these were almost wliite on the back and breast. 

 On January 1st we saw one exceptionally white and another exceptionally dark. As 

 we entered the ice on January 3rd they left us at the outskirts. We did not see this bird 

 ap'ain until two years later when, on our voyage home, it was the first of the ocean birds 

 to meet us. This occurred on February 22nd even farther south than Coulman Island, 

 at 74° S. 170° E. It was one of the paler variety, probably PIi. cornicoides, which 

 Mr. Eagle Clarke tells me is a more Southern form than Pli. fuliginosa. AVe saw one 

 again on February 23rd, and three or four on February 27th, all of the paler variety. 

 Eight or ten appeared on February 29th, wdien we still had icebergs round us, and 

 Pivjodroma nivea, the ice-indicator, in alnmdance. On ]\larch 4th we saw several very 

 dark birds, and one at least almost white ujjon the back. Again both extremes 

 appeared together on March 8th and 14th. 



I have given for what they are worth the above occurrences of the two extremes 

 of colour together. We did not appear to pass from an area of the one phase to an 

 area of the other in any definite manner, but thougli there are innumerable 

 intermediate individuals, the white and the black varieties are certainly very noticeable 

 at sea, and it becomes a matter of interest to know what is their distribution in the 

 breeding season. 



There is no bird in the south with wliich it is possible to confuse these 

 birds. The only other abundant large dark bird is Ossifraga, which, with its 

 ungainly body and its enormous and pale yellow bill, in no way resembles the dark- 

 billed, close-feathered Phoehi'tria. Tlie latter, moreover, has an easy sailing flight, 

 which is perhaps more perfect than that of any other albatross, and many of us 

 considered it the most fascinating to watch of all the ocean birds on this account. 



* How many of the birds we saw were really Ph. cornicoides, and how many Ph. fuliginosa, I cannot say. 

 I am certain only concerning the specimen we captured, which Mr. Eagle Clarke has kindly identified forme from 

 a coloured drawing of the head, made immediately after capture. 



