THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



vol. iv. January, 1887. No. 1. 



NOTES OF A BIRD CATCHER. 



BY FREDERIC A. LUCAS. 



Among the few pastimes of those who "go down to the sea 

 in ships" and "do business in [the] great waters" of the south- 

 ern hemisphere is that of fishing for the sea birds that abound in 

 the vicinity of Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope. The 

 birds that will take a hook are limited to a few species of Alba- 

 trosses and Petrels, some, like the Whale Bird {Prion turtur), 

 which are extremely abundant, keeping at a respectful distance, 

 while others, like the Giant Skua, steadily refuse to take a bait 

 under any circumstances. First and foremost is the Wandering 

 Albatross (Diomedea cxalans), whose great size and cautious 

 behavior makes his capture the crowning triumph of the avian 

 angler. It is commonly stated that the Albatross takes a bait 

 readily, but although this may have formerly been true, it is now 

 a very misleading statement. The Albatross has undoubtedly 

 learned wisdom by experience, and just as the grizzly bear is 

 said by Mr. Roosevelt to have become more timid since the in- 

 troduction of improved rifles, so, year by year, the Albatross has 

 grown more and more distrustful of anything with a line attached 

 to it. During four voyages I found that only the younger birds 

 could be caught easily, those of the first year the most readily, 

 those of the second less so, the difficulty increasing regularly with 

 age. Like all other sea birds, Albatrosses can be most easily en- 

 ticed into biting during tempestous weather when, having been 



