Birds ohservcd hckuccn England and Ctvpc of Good Iloye. 199 



after a gale, when they greedily devour almost anything. A 

 few are seen at times on the Cape coast sometimes as far 

 north as Natal, chiefly after bad weather. 



41. Prion vittahis (Gm.) — Broad- billed Blue Petrel. — Fairly 

 common round the Cape coast, but chiefly found farther 

 south, where it appears in large flocks, flying close to the 

 water like the stormy petrel. It never follows ships like 

 other species, and thus I have not seen any caught. It is 

 seen occasionally as far north as Lat. 25° S., but is not 

 common there. 



42. Prion desolatus (Gm.) — Narrow-billed Blue Petrel. — 

 In habits and appearance very similar to the last ; it is seen 

 in the same localities, and is pretty common about the Cape. 



43. Diomedea exulans, Linn. — Wandering Albatross. — 

 Generally seen far out at sea, although I have seen one or 

 two on the South African coast. We seldom see them 

 farther north than Lat. 20° S. They do not follow steamers, 

 but circle about in the distance. 



44. Diomedea melanophrys, Temm. — Mollyhawk. — This 

 and the next species of albatross are generally at sea classed 

 as " Mollyhawks," the difference not being obvious at a dis- 

 tance. On the Cape voyage they are generally first seen 

 about Lat. 25° S., and become more common as we proceed 

 south. Pound the Cape they are one of the commonest of 

 species, and the vessel frequently passes through flocks of 

 them swimming. Their food is apparently small fish or 

 floating spawn. In Table Bay they are frequently caught 

 by the Malays, who eat them. If properly cooked they taste 

 not unlike hare. Farther south they feed on squid, and also 

 follow ships in numbers for the scraps thrown overboard. 

 They are particularly fond of fat pork, and may be often 

 caught on a hook baited with a morsel of it. 



45. Diomedea chlororhyncha (Gm.) — Yellow-nosed Alba- 

 tross or Mollyhawk. — Pesembling in appearance and habits 

 the last species, this is not quite so common on the coast. 



46. Stercorarius crepidatios (Banks) — Eichardson's Skua. — 

 Pretty common in the Tropics, where I have seen it some- 

 times singly, and sometimes in pairs or in small companies. 

 They are shy, and never follow the ship or come very close. 



