24 BULLETIN 121, UZSTITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



is not absolute that these two birds liacl paired, although found so near to- 

 gether. 



He also says of the egg : 



Egg is single, broadly ovoidal, generally white, marked by a collection of 

 specks about the larger end, somewhat like the adventitious stains on the eggs 

 of D. exulans, but. as well as we can judge, less superficial. The shell is 

 compact in structure, rather thin for its size, and superficially smooth to the 

 touch. Under the lens, it is seen to be marked by minute pits and linear de- 

 pressions, being tlius decidedly different, both to tlie eye and to the touch, 

 from those of D. exulans. 



Eggs. — An egg of the sooty albatross, obtained by Captain Ar- 

 muson in the Crozette Islands, has been described .by Baird, Brewer, 

 and Ridgway (1884) as follows: 



It ii'.easured 4.20 inches by 2.60 [lOG.GS mm. by 66.04 nun.] and resembled 

 generally the egg of D. exulans, being clialky white, coarse to the touch, and 

 of squarely truncated form. It was also minutely pitted with reddish dots in 

 an indistinct band at the obtuse end." 



Sir Walter BuUer (1888) describes the egg as follows: 

 An egg of this species examined by me is of a narrow elliptical form, measur- 

 ing 4.2 inches [106.68 mm.] in length by 2.7 [68.59 mm.] in breadth; of a dingy 

 brownish white, splashed, dotted, and marked all over its larger pole with dull 

 blackish brown. Another of the same length, but somewhat narrower, is of a 

 clear greyish white, minutely and indistinctly spotted, and presenting a pretty 

 regular zone of sepia-brown near its larger end. 



Young. — Sir Walter Biiller (1888) has also described the downy 

 young as follows: 



Covered with very long and thick down of a pale sooty color ; on the forepart 

 and sides of the head feather-like and several shades darker in tint. A band 

 of feather-like down encircles the eyes," and extends forward to the base of 

 the bill ; having very much the appearance of a pair of spectacles. Bill black, 

 legs brownish-grey, claws lighter. 



Behavior. — Mr. John Treadwell Nichols writes to me : 

 The wedge-tailed sooty albatross comes frequently about vessels and does 

 not differ markedly in habits from the yellow-nosed species. Its flight is 

 similar but more graceful. Its wings not held so stiffly, are occasionally moved 

 ^eiightly, a tremor which it would be difficult to call either a flap or an adjust- 

 ment to the wind. It sometimes sails for long periods and circuitous distances 

 on set wings, even when the wind is but moderate. I have sometimes seen it 

 i?y higher than the other southern tubinares commonly do, higher than the 

 masts, passing directly over the ship. In my experience it is rather wary 

 of a baited hook. I have never seen it caught. 



Gould (1865) says of the flight of the sooty albatross: 



The cuneated form of the tail, which is peculiar to this species, together 

 with its slight and small legs and more delicate structure, clearly indicate 

 that it is the most aerial species of the genus; and accordingly we find that 

 In its actions and mode of flight it differs very considerably from all the 

 other species of albatross, its aerial evolutions being far more easy, its flight 

 much higher, and its stoops more rapid ; it is moreover the only species that 

 passes directly over the ship, which it frequently does in blowing weather, 

 often poising itself over the masthead, as if inquisitively viewing the scene 



