12 W. K. Fisher, Habits, of the Laysan Albatross. \_Un. 



courtesying solemnly, then suddenly begin to fence a little, cross- 

 ing bills and whetting them together, sometimes with a whistling 

 sound, meanwhile pecking and dropping stiff little bows. (Plate 

 V, Fig. I.) All at once one lifts its closed wing and nibbles at 

 the feathers beneath, or rarely, if in a hurry, quickly turns its head. 

 The partner during this short performance, assumes a statuesque 

 pose, and either looks mechanically from side to side, or snaps its 

 bill loudly a few times. (Plate V, Fig. 2.) Then the first bird 

 (to the left of the picture) bows once, and pointing its head and 

 beak straight upward, rises on its toes, puffs out its breast, and 

 utters a prolonged, nasal, Ah-h-h-h, with a rapidly rising inflection, 

 and with a distinctly 'anserine ' and 'bovine' quality, quite diffi- 

 cult to describe. While this 'song' is being uttered the compan- 

 ion loudly and rapidly snaps its bill. (Plate VI, Fig. i.) Often 

 both birds raise their heads in air as shown by Plate II, and either 

 one or both favor the appreciative audience with that ridiculous, 

 and indescribable bovine groan. When they have finished they 

 begin bowing to each other again, rapidly and alternately, and 

 presently repeat the performance, the birds reversing their role in 

 the game or not. In the most successful dances the movements 

 are executed in perfect unison, and this fact much enhances the 

 extraordinary effect. The pictures convey but a poor likeness of 

 the actual scene ; the wonderful sky and sunshine, the spotless 

 and shining plumages, the droll cries, and most important the 

 actual living presence of the splendid birds themselves. It is an 

 experience never to be forgotten. 



There seems to be no very hard and fast lines to these antics, 

 but variations occur, and certain stages may be abbreviated or 

 prolonged to suit the whim of the individual. The majority of 

 cases, however, follows the sequence I have indicated. The 

 attention of the reader is called to the fact that Plate V, Figs, i 

 and 2, together with Plate II, form a series, taken in rapid succes- 

 sion, of the same pair of individuals. Plate VI, Fig. i, represent- 

 ing the more usual finale of the dance, is from a pair of birds very 

 near the above, and was taken a few moments later. The pair 

 represented in Plate II, after their splendid exhibition, as if having 

 knowingly done their best for me, quit entirely and walked delib- 

 erately away. It is possible that this figure represents the ' grand 

 finale ' of the whole performance, but I have only this observation 



