DIOMEDEA EXULANS, 



19 



bowever, have confounded two different individuals when following it 

 with my eye, since the nest over which the one I shot was hoveriuj^ 

 proved to contain an unhatched egg;. Its mate flew up pretty soon from 

 the sea, alighted by the dead body, and seemed to try to arouse it, pok- 

 ing- at it with its bill. Failing in this, he presently crept on to the egg 

 himself, assuming his mate's place and function. It is by no means 

 uncommon to find a male petrel or albatross sitting, but I was not be- 

 fore aware that the practice was followed by terns. 



The nests are built not far from the sea, usually upon the slope of a 

 hillside, where drainage is good, and generally there are a good many 

 near together. Upon the approach of man, dog, or skua, a warning 

 scream is sounded, and the whole colony at once fly up and make com- 

 mou cause against the intruder. The skua is actually afraid of them, 

 and it is a steady-nerved man who will not dodge the vicious swoops 

 made from time to time at his head. So near do they come on these 

 occasions that most of my specimens were knocked down with stones 

 while flying. 



DIOMEDEA EXULANS, Linn. 



The Albatross. 



Diomedea exulans, Linn^us, Syst. Nat. i, 1766, p. 214, and of authors. 

 Diomedea spadicea, Gmelin, Sj^st. Nat. i, 1788, p. 568. 

 Diomedea albatrus, Paixas, Zoog. Rosso-As. ii, 1811, p. — 



FORSTER, Descr. Auini., ed. Licht. 1844, p. 27. 

 Diomedea adnata, Tschudi, J. f. O. 1856, p. 157. — G. 



List of specimens, ivith measurements. 



Bill white. Young of year ijinkish-white. 



Iris very dark-blue to purple. 



Body generally white in adult; some of wing primaries, secondaries, 

 and tertiaries being black, with fine, wavy, dark lines across parts of 

 wing-coverts and back. The amount of black marking is variable, but 

 appears to diminish with every moult. The young of the year are 



