THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 307 



the tail white, but the Pacific species (P. phccnicurus) 

 is much more handsome, tlie tail being scarlet. They 

 are thorouglily ocean-birds, rarely approaching the 

 land except to lay and hatch their eggs. The red- 

 tailed Phaeton excavates a hollow in the sand for 

 this purpose, beneath the shade of bushes, where 

 she lays one egg : the islanders frequently take the 

 old birds from the nest, for the tail-feathers, which 

 are highly esteemed. 



The Albatrosses are large birds, being but little 

 inferior to a swan in size. The floating carcase of a 

 whale affords a rich feast to many sea-birds, among 

 which these are pre-eminent, now swooping in the 

 air, now alighting on the body, now swimming and 

 feeding on the fragments of oily fat that escape ; 

 now screaming harshly as they quarrel for the offal. 

 They are powerfully endued for flight, and make 

 vast excursions from land, ranging through the whole 

 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 



I have already alluded to the singular manner in 

 which the body of a sea-bird is penetrated by air. 

 ]\Ir. Ik'nnett records a very curious circumstance 

 resulting from this structure, in the case of a bird 

 allied to the Albatross, taken in the Pacific Ocean. 

 It "was shot in the wing, and brought on board 

 alive, fighting savagely with its beak and feet. 

 With a view to preserve its plumage uninjured, I 

 endeavoured to destroy the bird by compressing its 

 windpipe ; but found that as the breathing became 

 laborious, a loud whistling soxmd was emitted from 

 some part of ihe body ; and upon close investigation 



