BuLLER. — Observations on an Ocean Voyage. 185 



■waters to dispute over its possession, manifesting their eager- 

 ness by a twittering or squeaking cry. About noon (lat. 

 51° 54' S., long. 150° 34' W.) a single Albatros appeared 

 among these Petrels, and later on another, and then a third. 

 A large Black Petrel with a white bill (apparently Majaqxieus 

 jjarkinsoni) joined the company for a short time, its dark 

 plumage making it a conspicuous object among the lighter- 

 coloured birds. About 2 p.m. my White Albatros came up 

 to us again, and coursed about in wide circles as before, but 

 disappeared long before nightfall. 



8th March. — There was a heavy south-easterly gale during 

 the night, lasting four hours. It had abated somewhat in the 

 morning, but I did not expect to see the "White Albatros 

 again. However, he overtook us once more about 2 p.m., 

 and, after a circuit fully a mile in extent, he vanished in the 

 wide expanse, returning later on, and remaining with us till 

 the close of the day. The only other Albatros seen to-day 

 was a MoUyhawk (apparently Diomedea culminata), which 

 kept company with the ship for an hour or two, never coming 

 very near but coursing about among the Grey Petrels, which 

 were less numerous than yesterday. 



9th March. — The wind being "fair, we made a good run 

 during the night, averaging twelve knots an hour. In the 

 morning there were very few Grey Petrels and no Albatroses. 

 It would seem that the latter rest on the surface of the water 

 during the night, and overtake the gteamer next day by fol- 

 lowing her up in a direct line ; but, seeing the start the ship 

 has got during the night, this performance presupposes a 

 marvellous power of wing, and not of wing only, but of in- 

 stinctive knowledge of the course to be followed. I can 

 hardly accept Professor Hutton's theory that this is the result 

 of sight, one set of birds mounting high in the air and follow- 

 ing the movements of another set of birds nearer the ship : 

 for example, to-day the atmosphere is hazy, and no power of 

 vision would be of any avail. I watched with much interest 

 for the reappearance of my White Albatros, and, to my 

 delight, true to time— a little after 2 p.m. — he came sweeping 

 up in grand style. Since we first made his acquaintance, on 

 the 5th instant, he has performed a voyage, measured in a 

 straight line, of 970 miles ; but when the never-ending circles 

 of flight and gyrations in the air are taken into account, pro- 

 bably three times that distance, or, say, 3,000 miles — perhaps 

 even more ! This is one of those incidents in the romance of 

 natural history that set the mind thinking ; and one is quite 

 prepared to accept Mr. Gould's conclusions as to an Albatros 

 being able to encircle the globe in its unwearied flight. 



lOth March. — When the morning broke the wind had 

 fallen, and there was a haze over the ocean which had not 



