16 OCEAN BIRDS. 



7. The Sooty Albatross {Diomedea fuliginosa). — "The whole of the phimage deep 

 sooty grey, darkest on the face, wiugs, and tail ; shafts of the primaries and tail-feathers 

 ■white ; eyes very dark greyish brown, surrounded, except anteriorly, by a beautiful mark 

 of white : bill jet-black, with a longitudinal line of white along the under mandibles, 

 this white portion not being horny like the rest of the bill, but composed of fleshy 

 cartilage, which becomes nearly black soon after death ; feet white, slightly tinged with 

 fleshy purple." 



8, Diomedea irrorafa. — Capt. Markham, of Arctic renown, was fortunate enough to 

 discover this new species of Albatross in Callao Bay. The bird is now in the possession 

 of Mr. Osbert Salvin, and was thus described and named by him in the ' Proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society of London' of June 15th, 1883: — ''Diomedea irrorata, sp. n. Male. 

 Callao Bay, Peru, December, 1881. This Albatross appears to be quite distinct from any 

 hitherto known. It appears to come next to D. iiu'laiwphnjs, having the bill similarly 

 constructed {cf. Coues, Pr. Ac. Phil. 1866, pp. 186, 187), but the bill is much longer and 

 the bird larger in all its dimensions, except the tail, which is shorter and more rounded. 

 In coloration, too, there is great difference, the upper back and rump being variegated 

 with dusky and white instead of pure white, and the abdomen wholly dusky with minute 

 white freckles." Doubtless D. irrorata is descended from some well-known members of 

 the family who, for some reason or other, took up their abode in this tropical part, and 

 gradually adopted a plumage and structure to suit their new surroundings. The present 

 stage of the bird is probably of recent date, as in such a thoroughfare as Callao Bay so 

 large a new species could hardly have existed unobserved for any length of time. 



So it would seem that the Diomedeince, as at present known, do not necessarily 

 represent the whole of the family, and even now the dark-coloured D. iwjripes is considered 

 by many to be a distinct species, and not the young, or a variety, of D. hrachi/ura. 

 Mr. Swinhoe also names five very black Albatrosses he obtained in China as D. derogata, 

 making a third species found north of the Line. But I think most of our great 

 ornithologists consider both nigripcs and derogata the same as hrachjura, and I humbly 

 follow the majority. 



