Section X. South Atlantic Voyage from G-ough Island to Cape Town, 



thence to St Helena. 



By L. N. G. RAMSAY, M.A., B.Sc. 



IN this section the oceanic observations of the voyages from Gough Island to the 

 Cape of Good Hope (April 24th to May 5th, 1904), and from Saldanha Bay to St 

 Helena (May 21st to 29th), will be dealt with. 



The rich petrel-fauna of the southern ocean was gradually left behind on the voyage 

 to St Helena, and as the tropical seas were entered, the almost complete absence of 

 bird-life recorded in the log forms a striking change. 



Leaving Gough Island, the Scotia followed an irregular course towards the Cape, 

 keeping about 38-40 S. till within a couple of hundred miles or so of the latter. 



Sooty Albatroses of both species (Plwebetria fuliginosa and P. comicotdes) were 

 met with up to the day of arrival at Table Bay. Only the yellow-billed species 

 (P. fuliginosa) was seen till the second day after leaving the island ; for the next few 

 days both were common, but after the 27th their numbers decreased greatly. None 

 were seen after Cape Town was left. 



Diomedea melanophrys was plentiful nearly every day up to the arrival at the 

 Cape, but was not subsequently seen. 



Besides the above three species, the Wandering Albatros, D. exulans, was the only 

 albatros met with ; it was numerous up to the day of arrival at Table Bay, also on the 

 22nd and 25th May many were about; next day (24 S.) a few were seen, and 

 those were the last albatroses that the Scotia encountered. 



It is here necessary to add a note as to the identity of the large albatroses 

 observed by the Scotia naturalists, which have all been recorded in these pages as 

 D. exulans. Two other closely allied species are at present recognised, inhabiting 

 the southern oceans, to wit, D. regia and D. chionoptera. Of these, Godman * 

 says : 



"The geographical distribution of D. regia and D. chionoptera appears to be 

 restricted to certain districts of the southern oceans, whereas D. exulans, the Wandering 

 Albatros, seems to be dispersed over the whole of the seas inhabited by D. regia and 

 D. chionoptera. Thus, while D. regia is an inhabitant of New Zealand and the adjacent 

 islands, D. chionoptera is found only in the South Atlantic." 



It further appears that immature stages of D. chionoptera are practically indis- 

 tinguishable from stages up to the adult of D. exulans, and in fact the identity of 



* Monograph of the Petrels, p. 322. 

 VOL. IV. 291 12 



