DIOMEDEID^ — THE ALBATROSSES — PIICEBETRIA. 3G1 



and Kerguelon Island — where, however, he was never able to secure a nest. This 

 bird had an unpleasant habit of screeching at night, and was called by the sealers the 

 Fee-u. Sir John Koss mentions seeing young birds of this species, fully fledged and 

 ready to go to sea, in May, at Kerguelen Island. This Albatross was so very shy that 

 Mr. Harris was not able to make any observations as to its habits. It is described 

 by Mr. Gould as being very wary, seldom caught, and the only one of all the Petrel 

 tribe which is wont to fly directly over a ship. 



The unrivalled flight of the Albatross has been the admiration of voyagers from 

 the earliest time ; and this species, as Captain Hutton contends, carries off the palm 

 from all its competitors. " Never," he states, " have I seen anything to equal the 

 ease and grace of this bird as it sweeps past, often within a few yards, every part of 

 its body perfectly motionless, except the head and eye, which turns slowly, and seems 

 to take notice of everything. I have sometimes watched narrowly one of these birds 

 sailing and wheeling about in all directions for more than an hour, without seeing 

 the slightest movement of its wings." 



In a subsequent voyage, in 1866, from London to New Zealand, as Captain Hut- 

 ton again states, he saw a large number around the ship on the 8th of April, and also 

 when off the Island of Tristan d'Acunha. After that he met with none until the 

 28th, in latitude 38° ; but from that time forv/ard they continued to be seen until 

 the 20th of May. 



Dr. J. H. Kidder, in his Notes on the Birds of Kerguelen Island, mentions the cap- 

 ture of two specimens of the Sooty Albatross, October 16, at the entrance of a shallow 

 cave in the face of a rock some distance inland. The birds kept; about the huts 

 several days, showing no disposition to escape ; but very unexpectedly one of them 

 walked to the edge of a rock and flew off. October 24, two had been found to have 

 made a nest on a shelf formed by a considerable tuft of cabbage and azarella at the 

 entrance of a small cavity in the perpendicular face of a lofty rock, some two miles 

 distant. Their screams were very loud, and not unlike the call of a cat. The name 

 of Pee-aiv has been given it as descriptive of this call, which is presumed to be 

 peculiar to the breeding-season. November 2, an egg and both parents were secured. 

 The nest was a conical mound, seven or eight inches high, hollowed into a cup at 

 the top, and rudely lined with grass. The male was sitting on the eg^ Avhen cap- 

 tured, and the female standing on an old nest not far away. Both — especially the 

 male — showed fight when approached, clattering their large bills with an odd noise, 

 and biting viciously. In captivity both birds ate freely of fresh meat. The egg 

 was single, white, and very long in proportion to its thickness. Other eggs were 

 met with as late as November 21. 



In Dr. Kidder's Notes on the Oology of Kerguelen, he describes the eggs of 

 this species as being broadly ovoidal, generally white, and marked by a collection 

 of spots about the larger end. The shell is said to be compact in structure, thin 

 for its size, and smooth to the touch. Examined by the lens, it is found to be 

 marked by minute pits and linear depressions. Both eggs measured 3.95 inches in 

 length, and one 2.60, the other 2.64, in breadth. 



VOL. II. — 46 



