Nesth>(/ on Albatross Island. 415 



on the Snares on liigli rocks, and rose oft' their nests on l)eing 

 approached and circled high in the air ; but I think his in- 

 formant must have mistaken the bird, as this Albatross cannot 

 rise oft' its nest, unless under exceptional circumstances. 

 Those on this island took very little notice of a visitor, and 

 one could walk anywhere through the "rookery" without 

 disturbing them; it was only with considerable difticuity 

 and force that they could be made to leave their nests. A 

 far more suitable name would have been the " White-capped 

 Albatross," as the cap is pure white, marked off by the 

 dark shading on each side of the eye, and this feature is very 

 striking. 



On approaching very close to the birds they would partly 

 stand up on their nest (see figure, p. 417), leaning backwards 

 and apparently resting the tail on the edge of the nest, and 

 then facing the intruder. When one was within two feet 

 of them, they would utter a loud cackling noise, shaking 

 their heads up and down and opening and shutting their 

 beaks rapidly. A considerable noise was made by the 

 mandibles coming together, and at the same time a strong- 

 sraelling oily secretion was thrown up. In order to secure 

 an egg, the beak of the bird was caught hold of with one 

 hand and the egg taken up with the other, and on stepping 

 back the beak was let go again; the bird would sit or stand 

 on its nest for some time afterwards. 



The orange-coloured strip of bare skin which goes from 

 the corners of the mouth towards the back of the head was 

 noticed only when the bird was disturbed and opened its 

 beak wide to eject the oily substance. The use of it seems 

 to be to enable the bird to open its mouth much wider than 

 it otherwise could, for the purpose of letting the young 

 bird put its head well inside the mouth of the parent when 

 being fed. 



The birds often had difticuity in alighting on a particular 

 spot when the wind was blowing strongly on to their breeding- 

 grouud from the sea, as they always flew against the wind 

 when desiring to alight, and I have watched them sometimes 

 try seven or eight times before they could successfully 



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