BIRDS — DIOMEDEINAE — DIOMEDEA EXULAK8. 821 



There are four species in this genus which are stated to frequent the Pacific coast of the 

 United Slates ; the following are their characteristics : 



Very large ; hill yellow ; upper plumage white, with transverse black lines ; umler 



plumage white; tail of medium size and rounded, dull plumbeous D. exulans. 



Large ; bill pale reddish yellow ; upper and under plumage white ; tail short, white, 



with the tip dark brown D. b.achjura. 



Large ; bill black, culmen yellow*; upper plumage dark brown, rump and under i)arts 



white; tail of medium size, lead colored D. chlororhynchs. 



Large ; bill blar k, with a yellow suture on the sides of the under mandible ; entire 



plumage fuliginous ; tail long and cuneate, blackish brown D. JuUyinosa, 



Diomedea, L 



in n 



1 



DIOMEDEA EXULANS, Linnaeus. 



The Wandering Albatross. 



Diomedfa exulans, Linn Syst. Nat. I, IIGB, 214.— Bon. Sjn. 1b28, No. 314.— Nutt. Man. It, 1834, 340. 

 Diomtdea sptidicea, Gmelin. Young. 

 Diomedea albatrvs, Pallas. 



FiGDRE.— PI. enl. ccxx.xvii. 



gp. Ch.— Upper part of tlie head cinereous ; upper plumpge white, with narrow transverse I'nes of black on the hacli and 

 wing coverts ; quill Itatliers black ; tail dull lead color and rounded in form ; below white ; bill yellow ; tarsi and feet flesh 

 color. 



Length, 44 inches ; wing, 24 ; tail, 9 ; bill, 7 ; tarsus, 41. 



The young birds are dusliy brown, more or less mi.\ed with white according to age. 



Hab. — Pacific ocean. Specimens in the government collection from the south Pacific. 



This species appears to differ much in size ; the dimensions given by writers vary from 3 to 4 

 feet in length, and in alar extent from ]0 to 17. The measurements given are from a specimen 

 in my collection. 



Bonaparte speaks of this species as being "rare and accidental on the coasts of the middle 

 States." According to Latham, they abound in the Nortti Pacific, in summer, in the vicinity 

 of the Kurile Islands, being attracted to these regions by the abundance of food ; they are vora- 

 cious feeders and are lean on their arrival, but soon become very fat. 



There is not, to my knowledge, any well authenticated instance of this bird having been 

 procured off the coast of any part of our territory ; but being described by several writers as a 

 North Ameiican species I have included it. It is possible that this sptcies has been confounded 

 with some others by the older authors, and that probably D. brachyura, which greatly resembles 

 it in plumage, but is smaller, and abundant off the northwest coast, has been mistaken for it. 



List of specimens. 



Bill broad. Tail short. 



