236 



THE OPAL SEA 



The wan- 



dennfj 



albatross. 



Flifjht 

 feathers of 

 the alba- 

 trots. 



travel the sea. Perhaps the only reasons why 

 he is not seen there oftener are the scarcity of 

 birds to fish for him, and his love of a rocky 

 height rather than an uneasy wave for a rest- 

 ing place. 



In this respect the albatross is perhaps a 

 more perfect example of fitness to an environ- 

 ment. He is always a deep sea wanderer, is 

 more at home in storm and wave and cold than 

 in calm; and, by instinct rather than prefer- 

 ence, comes to land only for a brief breeding 

 period. He is much larger than the frigate bird 

 and not so trim and shapely in form; but his 

 expanse of wing enables him to handle himself 

 in a really marvellous manner. Eising from 

 the water he flaps his wings awkwardly like a 

 gull or a pelican; but once launched he wheels 

 or turns or follows with scarcely a motion of 

 body, wing or tail. The wings are long and 

 narrow, containing a greater number of flight 

 feathers than those of any other bird, and cer- 

 tainly in flight they carry the albatross with 

 wonderful ease. He follows a ship for days at 

 a time (dropping away at night and returning 

 in the morning) with never a motion of the 

 wing, let the ship tack or sail free as it will. 

 Only when there is a hasty descent for refuse 

 cast overboard is there any perceptible wing ac- 



