Birds inhahiting the Southern Ocean, 283 



DiOMEDEA MELANOPHRYs, Boie ; Gould, B. Austral, vii. 

 pi. 43. D. chlororhynchus, Jjaih. "^y D.culminata, GovAd? Black 

 Eye-browed Albatros. 



Breadth across the wings seven feet ; length three feet. Mr. 

 Gould says that there is no difference between the young and the 

 old birds, except in the colour of the beak; but in this statement I 

 cannot concur. According to my observations, the head in the 

 young is grey, which, as the bird grows older, becomes white — 

 first on the cheeks, and then spreading to the top of the head, leaves 

 a collar round the neck, which breaks first in front, and gradu- 

 ally spreads upwards until the whole is white. The beak remains 

 dark blue for some time after the plumage has assumed the colours 

 of the adult. The feet and legs of the young bird are light blue. 



I am unable to give any new information as to where this bird 

 breeds, as it is never seen on the Prince Edward Islands nor 

 Kerguelen's Land. Commander Snow, in his ' Two Years^ 

 Cruise off Terra del Fuego/ says that it breeds in the Falkland 

 Isles, and desci'ibes its nest as similar to that of D. exulans, but 

 not more than twelve inches high ; and Captain Carmichael 

 states that it breeds in Tristan d'Acunha. 



Mr. Gould says that it is more easily caught than D. exulans ; 

 but my experience is just the contrary. When on board it stands 

 pretty firm on its legs, and I have never seen it vomit oil, as most 

 of the Petrels do. It dives sometimes, but does not appear to 

 like doing so, generally preferring, when anything good to eat 

 is under water, to let a " Night-Hawk " fish it up ; then giving 

 chase, and running along the top of the water, croaking, and 

 with outstretched wings, it compels him to drop it, and then 

 seizes it before it sinks again. This bird is called "Molly- 

 Hawk^^ by sailors. It is common round Cape Agulhas; and 

 in August 1857 I saw a large number in False Bay and round 

 Cape Hanglip. It is, apparently, quite diurnal in its habits, 

 both at sea and near land. D. chlororhynchus, Lath., differs from 

 D. melanophrys only in the rather lighter tint of the mark over 

 the eye and in the colour of the beak ; in size and habits it is 

 precisely similar; and as the beak of D. culminata, Gould, is just 

 intermediate in colour between the two, I am of opinion that all 

 three form but one species. I am aware that Captain Carmichael 



