248 Ferguson, Observations on Albatrosses at Sea. \ ^^^ 



April 



in the change of coloration of the bill before the fully adult 

 yellow culmen is reached. This bird, however, appeared to be 

 fully adult otherwise, and it may be worth noting that among 

 Australian birds I have never observed one with the culmen 

 reddish-orange. In the Durban Museum there were two speci- 

 mens of T. chlororhynchus ; one, marked male, had the culmen 

 reddish-orange, while the other, which was marked female, had 

 the culmen yellow. It is possible, therefore, that the colour 

 difference is sexual, and distinctive of the South African sub- 

 species. 



Diomedella cauta, Gould {Diomedea caiita, Gould). 



Mr. Mathews has also separated this bird sub-generically from 

 Thalassogeron, and distinguishes three sub-species — 



D. cauta cauta, Gould : Eastern Austraha. 



D. cauta salvini, Rothschild : New Zealand. 



D. cauta layardi, Salvin : Cape seas. 

 . I believe that I have seen D. c. salvini off the New Zealand 

 coast, and a specimen observed on the present voyage, off the 

 Cape of Good Hope, was probably referable to D. c. layardi. My 

 notes on this species, however, are chiefly of the Australian and 

 typical form. It is common in Bass Strait, and does not seem to 

 come much further up the eastern coast than Cape Everard. though 

 on one occasion I saw a single specimen not far south of Sydney. 

 On our westward voyage we lost this species about the division 

 between Victoria and South Australia. I have also seen this 

 species to the south of Tasmania. As its name indicates, this 

 Albatross is somewhat shyer than the other species, rarely fol- 

 lowing the vessel, but it frequently approaches close enough to 

 be recognized, and even at a distance it is distinguishable by the 

 colour of the under surface of the wings, these appearing all white 

 except for a black tip. The bill is more whitish in the Australian 

 forms than is shown in Mr. Mathews's figure ; possibly it darkens 

 after death. 



When off the Cape of Good Hope an Albatross was seen which 

 I cannot refer with any certainty to this species. The head was 

 smoky-grey, and the under wings white with black tip, but the 

 bill could not be seen. The specimen which I refer to D. c. layardi 

 was seen on the afternoon of the same day, and had a white 

 head. 



Phoebetria fusca, Hilsenberg {Phabetria fuliginosa, Gmelin). 



As shown l)y Mr. Mathews, P. fuliginosa, Gmelin, does not apply 

 to this bird, but to P. palpehrata, Forster. Mathews divides the 

 species tentatively into two sub-species — 



- P. fusca fusca, Hilsen. : South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. 

 P. fusca campbelli, Mathews : Australian seas. 

 I saw this species on numerous occasions, and was able to see 

 clearly the distinctive yellow mark on the mandible. On the 



