392 THE ALBATROSS. 



although watching me, I found no difficulty at 

 any time in seizing him by the neck. Indeed 

 these, unlike the man-of-war bird, gannet, &c., 

 do not require great acuteness of vision, as their 

 food is principally the sluggish mollusca, not fish, 

 as has been often asserted as serving them for 

 prey, this bird being regarded also, but I con- 

 sider erroneously, as one of the enemies of the 

 flying fish. 



The Albatross does not require that acuteness 

 of vision requisite in the Tachijpetes aquila, or 

 man-of-war hawk, which hovers to a great 

 height in the air, and then darts with rapidity 

 on its finny prey. The flight of the Albatross, 

 on the contrary, is low, and it frequently skims 

 the surface of the water, watching for the objects 

 which serve it for food, or the sepiae, as they 

 leap from, or swim tardily near, the surface 

 of the ocean. 



Sometimes the Albatrosses form a sea-dish, and 

 are eaten by the crew ; but it is seldom they are 

 used for this purpose in the present day, although 

 formerly they were caught and esteemed for that 

 purpose, as a change to the miserable salt junk. 

 Captain Cook mentions, in his first voyage, the 

 method used to prepare the birds before cooking 

 them, and passes much commendation on the 

 dish. "The Albatrosses," he observes, "we 



