LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 25 



below ; at this moment it offers so inviting a mark for the gunner, that it 

 often forfeits its life. 



The sooty albatross is known by the sailors as the " cape hen " or 

 " blue bird " ; it is also called " peearr " or "peeii " from its note. 

 It seem to be universally recognized as distinct from other dark 

 colored albatrosses and all writers agree that it is in a class b}^ 

 itself in appearance and flight. Dr. Edward A. Wilson (1907) has 

 thus characterized it: 



The sooty albatross is perhaps the most strik'ing bird of all in the Southern 

 Oceans, as it is the most sinister in expression and the best adapted by its 

 dusky plumage, and its interested manner, to form the basis of sailors' legends 

 and superstitions. 



Tliere is no bird in the south with which it is possible to confuse these birds. 

 The only other abundant large dark bird is Oasifraya, which, with its un- 

 gainly body and its enormous and pale yellow bill, in no way re.sembles the 

 dark-billed, close- feathered Phocbetrici. The 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. 



Since the above was written Messrs. Nichols and Murphy (191-1:) 

 have published a review of the genus Phoehetria, in which they have 

 shown that the American specimen of the sooty albatross belongs 

 to a new subspecies which they have named Phoehetria palpehrafa 

 auduhoni. As the earlier writers, from whom most of the above 

 quotations were taken, did not distinguish the two subspecies of 

 P. fusca and the three subspecies of P. palpehrcda^ it is practically 

 impossible to separate the references; it therefore seems best to let 

 the life history stand as first written. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — For the subspecies which belongs on the North 

 American List, Phoehetria palpehrata auduhoni, the breeding range 

 seems to be unknown. Other subspecies of palpehrata breed on 

 various islands in the South Atlantic (South Georgia), South 

 Pacific (near New Zealand), and South Indian Oceans (Kerguelen 

 Island). 



Range. — Southern portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian 

 Oceans, Weddell Sea, Australian and New Zealand seas. Ranges 

 of the subspecies of palpehrata and of fusca are much confused, but 

 the former ranges farther south. The latter is probably the breed- 

 ing bird about Australia and on Tristan da Cunha. 



Casual reco7'd. — One taken off the coast of Oregon (Audubon's 

 record). 



Egg dates. — South Georgia Island: Six records, October 8 and 

 10, December and January. Kerguelen Island : Three records, Octo- 

 ber 1 and December. Cape Horn : Three records, November. 



