AVES DIOMEDEID/E. I 73 



"Male: Valparaiso, August 13, 1879. Bill grey, with dark tips ; feet 

 light grey; iris dark brown." (Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 12.) 



Legs: " Yellowish white " (Gould). 



Feet: "Toes yellowish white, the interdigital membrane and the points 

 washed with blue " (Gould). 



The female is like the male in size and color. 



Immature birds resemble the adults but the lower surface of the wing 

 is concolor with the upper and has no large white area. The D. gilliana 

 of Coues is probably based on an immature individual of this species. 

 (See Salvin, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. XXV. p. 448 (1896).) 



Geographical Range. — Southern Oceans, especially the South Pacific. 

 Casual on the coast of California and straying to North Atlantic. 



The description here given is based on material in the Philadelphia 

 Academy of Natural Sciences and in the British Museum of Natural 

 History. The birds were not obtained by the Princeton Expeditions to 

 Patagonia. 



These birds are known to breed on the Falkland Island, where eggs 

 were obtained by the Naturalists of the Challenger. 



On the habits of this species we quote from Dr. Coppinger, "Cruise of 

 the Alert," p. 89 (1883), as follows: 



" My experience of petrels and albatrosses is that whenever they are 

 having a really good meal, they invariably sit down on the water. This 

 is especially noticeable about noon, when mess garbage is thrown over- 

 board, and in perfectly calm weather I have even seen a flock of storm 

 petrels settle down on the surface as if meaning to rest themselves, and 

 remain as still as ducks on a pond, basking in the sunshine. One day 

 also in moderately fine weather I thought I saw a Cape pigeon dive. 

 This surprised me so that I watched, and saw the manoeuvre repeated 

 again and again. Some refuse had been scattered overboard which 

 scarcely floated, and this petrel, being desirous of possessing some morsels 

 of food which were submerged, dived bodily down, apparently without 

 the least inconvenience. 



"Before quitting this subject, I shall say a few words on a somewhat 

 hackneyed but still open question, viz., — 'the flight of the albatross.' I 



