THE COMMON ALBATROSS. 291 
To follow in the wake of some passing ship, probably because the 
agitation of her track brings to the surface the small fry of marine 
animals which are their principal food, appears to delight them. 
They pounce upon anything that falls overboard, even man. On 
one occasion a sailor fell into the sea from a French vessel, and 
could not be immediately rescued because there was no boat in a fit 
state to be lowered. A flock of Albatrosses, which followed in the 
ship’s wake, pounced upon the unfortunate seaman, and commenced 
to peck his head. Being unable to buffet both with the sea and 
the enemies which surrounded him, the poor sailor perished before 
the very eyes of his comrades. ; 
The Gulls, the Albatrosses, and Petrels, may be said to be the 
vultures of the ocean—its scavengers; for they cleanse it of all the 
putrefied animal substances which float on its surface. 
At the breeding season, which varies according to the hemisphere 
inhabited by them, the Albatrosses. congregate at their favourite 
nesting-places. In the southern hemisphere this is about the end of 
September, when they assemble in immense numbers on the island 
of Tristan d’Acunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean. Their nests, 
which are about three feet in height, are formed of mud. 
Their flesh is very hard, and can only be rendered eatable by 
laying it for a long time in salt, and afterwards boiling it, and 
flavouring it with some piquant sauce. Nevertheless, sailors, as well 
as the inhabitants of the desolate southern regions, use it, but only 
in the absence of better food. 
The most remarkable species are, the Common Albatross (Dvo- 
medea exulans, Fig. 108), which frequents the seas washing the south 
of Africa; the Sooty Albatross (D. figinosa), which also inhabits the 
seas round the Cape of Good Hope; the Yellow-beaked Albatross 
(D. chlororhynchus), which, like the preceding species, inhabits the 
seas of the South Pole.* 
* Captain Cook mentions a variety frequently captured by the inhabitants of 
Kamtschatka and the Kurile Islands. 
