358 THE ALBATROSS. 



either to drawings or descriptions. There is a 

 species found in Bass's Straits, of which the 

 description is as follows, copied from my journal 

 at the time : it was captured, during a voyage 

 from England to New South Wales : — 



August 21st, 1832. Fine weather, wind from 

 north to north-east, fresh breezes. About one 

 o'clock, p. M., land (King's Island, at the en- 

 trance of Bass's Strait) was announced from the 

 mast-head, and at the same time an Albatross 

 was captured with a hook and line from the 

 stern ; immediately on seizing and swallowing 

 the bait, it again rose into the air, and by haul- 

 ing on the line, it was safely brought down (as 

 a boy would a kite) on the deck. Several 

 seized the bait, and flew up with it in a similar 

 manner, but this one alone was caught ; the 

 hook slipping from the others, and the ship's 

 way being too great from the stormy state 

 of the weather, to allow them much line to 

 enable them to hook themselves better or swal- 

 low the bait. This one was the only specimen 

 of the species we captured. 



I placed this specimen in one of the hen 

 coops ; it fed heartily on large pieces of fat salt- 

 pork, beef, &c., but seemed to prefer the fattest 

 and most oily food. A great number of the 

 same species of Albatross were about the ship 



