370 THE BIRD WATCHER 
female of the greatgseal does not altogether accord 
with the appearance of the two I saw. It is as 
follows :—‘“ Male. The general colour of the body is 
dark leaden, with irregular and largish patches of 
black; the belly paler; the head and paws darkest.” 
“Irregular and largish ”—or rather downright large 
—‘ patches ” my sea-leopard, as I have loosely called it, 
certainly had, but with regard to the rest, I should 
have said that the colour which alternated with these 
patches, and, indeed, made counter-patches itself, was a 
lightish yellow upon the belly, and that the mottled 
appearance became fainter in ascending the sides, and 
ceased, or was hardly noticeable, upon the back. There 
were, thus, two areas of coloration merging into one 
another, the one very handsome, the other not particu- 
larly so; and this was the most salient feature pre- 
sented. As I saw it, indeed, the belly, turned up- 
wards every time its owner went down, was a 
magnificent sight, in the effect of which the water, | 
think, must have played an important part. There- 
fore, I cannot quite understand any one who has seen 
it describing the animal other than in terms of ad- 
miration, whereas here it is not even termed handsome. 
But now, “ put case” I had descended the cliff, that 
day, rifle in hand, intending to get a shot. I should 
have got one very shortly after the creature had first 
risen—for it gave ample opportunity—and then, 
whatever had been the upshot, it would have sunk 
or gone down without its lazy roll, and consequently 
without any exhibition of its chief glory. In all 
