iSSs.] Shufeldt on the Beak of the Short-tailed Albatross. 



177 



son, a condition known to occur among the Alcidas, as has been 

 so well described through the admirable researches of L. Bureau, 

 Stejneger, and others. 



Figure 3. Left lateral view of the beak of Diomedea brachyura. A still younger 

 specimen than No. 2. Reduced one-half from nature. 



If we examine the beak of the adult Albatross shown in figure 

 1, it is at once noticeable that its general form differs very mate- 

 rially from the younger birds. This difference as a whole consists 

 in a somewhat greater depth for the length of the beak as com- 

 pared with the less matured individuals. The arch of the ante- 

 rior extremity of the culmen formed by the piece marked a is 

 considerably more convex in the adult than it is in figure 2, for 

 instance, and the relation of this piece to the surrounding pieces, 

 6, d, and g, is by no means exactly the same. 



Figube 4. Left lateral aspect of the beak of Diomedea brachyura, the younger of the 

 four shown in the figures. Reduced one-half from nature. 



