The Laysan Albatross 109 



Thus it is the popular belief among the whalers that after the young are hatched 

 in January the old birds leave at once and do not return until the following Octo- 

 ber, the young birds feeding, in the meantime, on their own fat ! Against the 

 idea of the young birds feeding at night it is urged that they cannot fly during 

 this period. These statements are, of course, incredible, and it is probable that 

 they are fed at night by the parents, who may be absent during the daytime. 



Laysan Albatross. Mr. Walter K. Fisher has recently given a very complete 

 account of the Laysan Albatross (D. immutabilis), from which we select the descrip- 

 tion of a curious dance or "cake-walk" that is constantly being executed by the 

 old birds. "At first two birds approach one another, bowing profoundly and 

 stepping heavily. They swagger about each other, nodding and courtesying 

 solemnly, then suddenly begin to fence a little, crossing bills and whetting them 

 together, sometimes with a whistling sound, meantime pecking and dropping 

 stiff little bows. All at once one lifts its closed wing and nibbles at the feathers 

 beneath, or rarely, if in a hurry, quickly turns its head. The partner during this 

 short performance assumes a statuesque pose, and either moves mechanically 

 from side to side, or snaps its bill loudly a few times. Then the first bird bows 

 once, and pointing its head and beak straight upward, rises on its toes, puffs 

 out its breast, and utters a prolonged, nasal Ah-h-h-h, with a rapidly rising 

 inflection. While this ' song ' is being uttered, the companion loudly and rapidly 

 snaps its bill. Often both birds raise their heads in air and either one or both 

 favor the appreciative audience with the ridiculous and indescribable bovine 

 groan. When they have finished they begin bowing to each other again, rapidly 

 and alternately, and presently repeat the performance, the birds reversing their 

 role in the game or not." 



Wandering Albatross and Relatives. The Albatrosses were formerly in- 

 cluded in a single genus, but later authorities mainly agree in separating them 

 into three genera, of which Diomedea is the original and largest, and may be 

 known by the upper division of the bill being broadest at the base. Of the ten 

 recognized species in this genus the Wandering Albatross (D. exulans) is by far 

 the commonest and best known, being widely spread over the southern oceans. 

 The fully adult birds are white, with the back banded with narrow, transverse, 

 undulating dark lines, while the wing-quills are black. In the young the general 

 color is dusky, with the head whitish. The bill is yellowish horn-color, becoming 

 orange at the base, and the feet and legs flesh-color. According to Ridgway the 

 length is from forty-four to fifty-five inches, and the spread of wings from one 

 hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and thirty inches. Very similar to this 

 species is the Royal Albatross (7). regia) of the New Zealand seas, which differs 

 mainly in the absence of the transverse dark lines on the upper back and of spots 

 on the tail, and the White-winged Albatross (-D. chionoptera) of the southern 

 Indian Ocean, which is almost pure white throughout. Of the two species 

 inhabiting the North Pacific, the Short-tailed Albatross (D. albatrus) is white, 

 becoming straw-yellow on the head and neck, and has the bill and feet pale 

 brownish, while the Black-footed Albatross (D. nigripes) is a uniform dusky, 

 with the bill purplish brown and the feet black; neither is more than thirty- 



