86 ALBATROSSES. 



inhabits the western hemisphere. Skimmers are unique both in the 

 form of the bill and in their manner of feeding. Opening the mouth, 

 the bladelike lower mandible is dropped just beneath the surface of 

 the water ; then, flying rapidly, they may be said to literally " plow the 

 main " in search of their food of small aquatic animals. 



80. Rynchops nigra Linn. Black Skimmer; Scissor-bill (see 

 Y\%. 8). Ad. — Forehead, sides of the head, under parts, and tips of the sec- 

 ondaries white ; upper parts and wings black ; outer tail-feathers white, inner 

 ones more or less brownish. L., 18-00 ; W., 14-50 ; T., 475 ; B., 2-(;0. 



Range. — Coasts of the warmer parts of America, breeding regularly as far 

 north as southern New Jersey, and, after the breeding season, occasionally 

 wandering northward as far as the Bay of Fundy. 



Washington, A. V. Long Island, occasional in summer. 



Aes^, a sliglit depression in the sand or shells of a beach. Eyg^^ three to 

 four, white or bufty white, heavily blotched with chocolate, 1-80 x 1-35. 



A not uncommon species on our southern coasts, resembling other 

 members of this family in habits. 



ORDER TUBINARES. TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. 



Family DioMEDEiDiE. Albatrosses. 



The Albatrosses, numbering eight or ten species, are confined chiefly 

 to the seas of the southern hemisphere. They are eminently pelagic 

 birds, possessed of untiring powers of flight. Four species visit our 

 Pacific coast, but on the Atlantic coast of North America Albatrosses 

 are almost unknown, and there are but few records of their occurrence. 



The Wandering Albatross {80-1. Diomedea exulans)^ the largest of all 

 sea birds, with an expanse of wing which measures from twelve to fourteen 

 feet, inhabits antarctic seas, but sometimes wanders northward, and is said to 

 luive been seen in Tampa Bay, Florida. 



The Yellow-nosed Albatross {83. Thalasi^ogeron culminntufs) is also a 

 southern species which is said to have been taken once in Quebec (Chamber- 

 lain, Nuttall's Manual, 2d ed., ii, p. 277). 



Family Procellariid^. Shearwaters and Petrels. 



The seventy known species of Petrels are distributed over the seas 

 of the world. Some thirty species have been found in North America, 

 of which seven occur regularly on our Atlantic coast. Like their large 

 relatives, the Albatrosses, they are strictly pelagic, and visit the land 

 only to nest. The strong, swift flight of Shearwaters, and the graceful 

 movements of the smaller " Mother Carey's Chickens," are familiar 

 sights to those who go " down to the sea in ships." 



