290 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
overcome with fatigue, they repose on the surface of the sea, placing 
their head under their wings. When in this position they are very 
easily captured. In order to do this, the sailors have only to ap- 
proach silently, and knock them down with a boat-hook or spear 
them with a harpoon. 
Fig. 108. —‘lhe Common Albatross. 
Navigators have opportunities of observing these birds in the 
Antarctic regions, where there is no night at certain seasons of the 
year, and they assert that the same flocks may be seen hovering 
around their vessel during many successive days without exhibiting . 
the least signs of exhaustion or the slightest relaxation in their 
strength. A peculiarity in their mode of flight is that, whether they 
are ascending or descending, they seldom flap their wings, but do so 
without.an effort. 
