344 PAXJKA AND FLORA OF THE FALKLANDS. 



consisting of fine sand dark in colour, mixed with fragments of 

 shells. The position of the vessel at mid-day was 34°9' S., 

 52°56'W., and the surface temperature of the sea 55° F. At 

 sunset the surface temperature rose 1°, the temperature of the 

 air being SS'^F., and the barometer 30"30. 



At day-break on the 28th we anchored two miles from the 

 town of Montevideo in five fathoms of water ; the surface tem- 

 perature of the sea remaining at 56'6° F. during the next 

 twenty-four hours. 



We left our anchorage and resumed our voyage during the 

 afternoon of the 29th, the barometer and the surface tempera- 

 ture of the sea remaining unaltered ; but the air was cooler, 

 being only 54*F. 



At noon on the 30th we were sixty miles due east of Cape 

 Corrientes, and during that afternoon we passed quantities of 

 Albatross {Biomeda exuUans), Cape Pigeons {Baption Capensis)^ 

 and with these a few ' Nellys ' ( Ossifraga gigantea) were noticed. 

 I am sure I never saw such numbers of Albatross before, and the 

 only explanation I can offer is that there must have been shoals 

 of fish in the immediate neighbourhood, the water being only 

 fifty fathoms in depth. During this afternoon a sheep which had 

 recently died was thrown overboard after its fleece had been 

 removed. It was a wonderful sight to see the Albatross and 

 ' Nellys ' swarm round the body as soon as it was clear of the 

 steamer, the small Cape Pigeons remaining some little distance 

 off till their superiors were satisfied. Our pace, however, did 

 not allow me to keep these birds long in view, even with the aid 

 of an excellent pair of binoculars. 



During this time I noticed particularly the great variation 

 in the markings of both the wing and tail feathers of the Cape 

 Pigeons ; the patterns being dark brown or black ' on a white 

 background. In some cases the darker markings were present as 

 two transverse bars on each wing ; occasionally a star-like 

 pattern, or an irregular wavy line could be seen. In all instances 

 these markings appeared to be symmetrical. I had intended 

 making some further notes on these interesting variations, but 

 by the next morning the birds had vanished. 



