HABITS AND HOME OF THE WANDERING ALBATROSS. 339 
taking the measurements of the first nest I came to I laid down 
the egg beside me, when a Skua darted at it and destroyed it. 
They were so bold that they frequently came close enough for 
me to hit them with a stick. 
On my approaching an Albatross’s nest, the old bird seldom 
left it, but set up a croaking noise, clapping its mandibles 
together and biting at the intruder. After turning it off and 
taking away the egg, it returned and sat on the nest as before. 
The eggs were quite fresh on the 25th January, and good for 
eating when fried. There appears to be a difference in the time 
of laying at the different islands, for at Campbell Island, 
considerably to the south of the Auckland Islands, their eggs 
were nearly all hatched by the end of January, while at Antipodes 
Island, a little to the north again, they had hardly begun to lay 
at the beginning of February. 
The Albatross takes five years to become fully mature, 
and in each year there is a slight change of plumage. The 
young, which are hatched in February, are covered with snow- 
white down, and a beautiful specimen in this stage exists in 
the Otago Museum. In the following December they lose their 
down, and the plumage is of a brown colour, with white under 
the wings and on the throat. In the second year the plumage 
is the same, except that there is more white on the throat 
and abdomen. In the third year there is still more white, 
although mixed with blotches of brown, the under parts, how- 
ever, being nearly all white. The wings and tail remain dark 
brown. In the fourth year they very nearly acquire the full 
‘plumage. The male is white, with a few very fine dark 
specks, except the wings, which are dark brown. In the fifth 
year they reach their full growth, and the mature plumage is 
displayed—white, with blackish brown wings. The measure- 
ments are as follows: — Total length, from the tip of the bill 
to the end of the tail, 3 ft.3in. Bill, 7in. Tail, 7°25 in. 
Whole wing, from 4 ft. 10 in. to 5 ft. 10 in.; primaries, 1 ft. 8 in. 
Whole leg, 1 ft. 10} in.; tarsus 4°5 in.; middle toe, 7in. The 
female is much smaller, as can be seen at once from the specimens 
exhibited. 
Notwithstanding the ease and grace of the Albatross on the 
ocean, on the land it is a most clumsy and helpless bird. Its 
walk is slow and waddling, like that of a Duck, and it cannot 
2n2 
