THE ROYAL ALBATROSS. Ill 



Between New Zealand and Cape Horn we saw neither, but in the South Atlantic 

 we saw one of these larger forms quite close to the Falkland Islands, and another 

 large and exceedingly white individual a little farther north. D. regia is a bird 

 of the New Zealand seas, and has been taken in the Auckland Islands and New 

 Zealand. D. chionoptera, on the other hand, frequents the Southern Indian Ocean, 

 and has been taken on the Marion and Kerguelen Islands, as well as in the South 

 Atlantic. Neither of these enormous birds was fond of approaching our ship at all 

 closely. We had no chance of catching them as we caught I), exulam, melanophrys, and 

 T/i. culminatus. They sailed in wide sweeps, almost always at a distance from the ship. 



Though the adults are so much alike, the downy nestlings of D. regia are said to 

 be white, while those of D. chionoptera are brown, and in this respect the two species 

 afford a somewhat parallel case to that of the two largest penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri 

 and pataffonica, which in the adult stage are far more closely alike than they are in 

 the natal down. In the latter they are even more markedly different in colour than 

 are the young of D. regia and chionoptera. 



DIOMEDEA MELANOPHRYS. 



The Black-browed Albatross. 



Diomedta melanophrys, Boie in Ternm., and Lang. d. Chartr., PI. Col. v., pi. 456 (1828) ; Sharpe, Rep. 

 ' Southern Cross ' Coll. (1002), p. 161, ibique citata. 



MATERIAL IN THE ' DISCOVERY'S ' COLLECTION. 



No. 1, ad. sk., <J , Dec. 29, 1901. With orange tip to the beak. 56 54' S. 170 21' E. 

 No. 2, ad. sk., $ , Dec. 27, 1901. With orange tip to the beak. 54 01' S. 170 47' E. 

 No. 3, ad. sk., $ , Dec. 29, 1901. With dusky blackish tip to the beak. 56 54' 8. 170 27' E. 

 No. 4, ad. sk., ? , Dec. 29, 1901. With orange tip to the beak. 56 54' S. 170 27' E. 

 No. 5, ad. sk., <J , March 10, 1904. With orange tip to the beak. 58 S. 176 E. 



The colouring of the soft parts is as follows : 



Bill, very variable, apparently with age, from a uniform dusky brownish hue in the younger 

 birds to a uniform orange yellow in old adults. The tip always a deeper tone of the 

 sume colour as the bill. The most usual adult form is a clear lemon yellow throughout 

 with a rich orange-red tip to the upper bill. 



Iris, rich hazel brown. 



Legs and toes, fleshy grey. 



Webs, fleshy grey. 



Claws, darker horn colour. 



The feet and legs when seen at a distance appear to be of a fairly dark bluish grey, but if 

 seen closer and by transmitted light, the colour becomes pink. 



MATERIAL IN THE ' MORNINGF'S ' COLLECTION. 

 No. 1, ad. sk., ? , Dec. 1903. 56 S. 172 E. 



Diomedea melanophrys was first seen on September 27th, 1901 (0 38 S.): two 

 young birds with dusky tips to lemon yellow bills. After this we saw it every 



N 2 



