wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, 
without apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain 
and river. 
Those who “ go down to the sea in ships ” have to face many 
>) 
erils, but the “‘wonders of the great deep ”’ are for them a lure. 
Pp b) fo} F 
¢ 
One of these is to watch the marvellous “ sailing” flights of the 
wandering albatross. His wings have, when expanded, a 
peculiarly “ ribbon-like”’ form, and measure from tip to tip, 
over eleven feet—thus exceeding that of the condor, which, 
however, is the heavier bird of the two. The “ ribbon-like form 
of the wings is due to the extreme shortness of the flight-quills— 
the primaries and secondaries, and the great length of the arm 
and forearm. And it may be to these structural peculiarities 
that the “sailing” flight just alluded to is due. Resembling 
soaring in many of its aspects, yet it differs materially in that it is 
performed low down, not at immense heights. The most 
graphic description of these movementsis surely that of Mr. Froude : 
“The albatross,” he tells us, ‘“‘ wheels in circles round and 
round, and for ever round the ship—now far behind, now sweeping 
past in a long rapid curve, like a perfect skater on a perfect field 
of ice. There is no effort ; watch as closely as you will, you will 
rarely see, or never see, a stroke of the mighty pinion. The 
flight is generally near the water, often close to it. You lose 
sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the 
28 
es 
