1 6 W. K. Fisher, Habits of the Laysan Albatross. f^'jj' 



VIII, Fig. i). After the process is repeated at intervals of a few 

 minutes, some eight or ten times, the meal is over. The last two 

 or three ejections of this oily pabulum cost the Albatross consid- 

 erable muscular effort, and the last time nothing came but a lit- 

 tle oil and stomach juices. As Prof. Nutting aptly expressed it, 

 "she pumped herself quite dry." The attention of the reader is 

 again called to the fact that this series of three pictures, illustrat- 

 ing the process of feeding, is taken from the same pair of birds. 



This domestic duty was one of the common morning sights on 

 the island, and we had not been ashore but a few moments before 

 we witnessed it close to the lighthouse. The mother bird 

 seemed to take quite kindly to the circle of interested men, and 

 fed her offspring, as if it were the most natural thing in the world 

 to have an audience. In fact, I may mention in this connection 

 that the Albatrosses nest all around Mr. Schlemmer's door yard, 

 and from a little distance appear like unwieldy goslings before the 

 door-step. The petrels, also, burrow in front of the house, but of 

 course are not evident in the daytime ; and if one strolls out in 

 the wonderfully soft tropical moonlight, he can see the little fiddler 

 crabs scuttling here and there, resuming the work of ' autograph- 

 ing ' the white coral sand where the numerous finches, honey- 

 eaters, and rails have left off at sundown. Through the night 

 the island is nearly as lively as at sunrise. 



After the Albatross has finished feeding, the young bird is not 

 at all backward in asking for more, but keeps on petitioning and 

 working its head back and forth as if suggesting to its mother a 

 further means of obtaining food. The old one now pecks back in 

 an annoyed manner, and if the baby still urges, she rises from her 

 sitting posture and walks off, usually to vent her morning ill humor 

 on some neighboring young. Often I have seen her dash over to 

 an inoffensive and unprotected ' Gonylet,' and give it a most unde- 

 served trouncing, mauling and ' wooling ' it in a pitiful manner. 

 The unfortunate thing never knows what to do, so it tries to peck 

 back, but is soon worsted, and cries in a plaintive squeak for 

 relief. After a while the ill-natured creature returns to its own 

 exacting offspring, sometimes to feed it again, or only to start off 

 for another strange baby. Although the Albatrosses are gentle 

 in their demeanor, this punishment is not carried on in a playful 



