Vor. II, Pr. 11] LOOMIS—A REVIEW OF THE TUBINARES 43 
christening it “Diomedea chionoptera.”* An albatross (No. 
11342) in the Academy’s collection, obtained from a French 
sailor on the bark Guerveur and said by him to have been 
captured during January, 1908, in latitude 48° S., longitude 
50° W., agrees with Mr. Salvin’s description of “D. chionop- 
tera,’ save in the coloration of the back, which is not free 
from faint vermiculations. This specimen also has irregular 
traces of gray on the tail, evidencing that it is not in the high- 
est plumage; being merely in a transitional stage. Another 
specimen (No. 11341 C. A. S.) from the same locality has 
the appearance of an immature bird. The crown is heavily 
clouded with sooty brown, the hind neck is obscurely vermicu- 
lated, the back is distinctly vermiculated, and the white of the 
inner webs of the primaries is concealed. No. 15548 U. S. 
Nat. Mus. is intermediate between the two Academy speci- 
mens, the three examples forming a succession terminating in 
the high “D. chionoptera’ plumage. 
No. 11341: Wing 670 mm.; tail 207; culmen 160; depth 
of upper mandible 41.5; width of upper mandible 40.6; tarsus 
108; middle toe and claw 158. 
No. 11342: Wing 670 mm.; tail 215; culmen 167; depth 
of upper mandible 42.3; width of upper mandible 44.8; mid- 
dle toe and claw 169. 
In supporting the claim of “D. chionoptera’ for recog- 
nition, Dr. Godman infers that the nestlings of “D. chionop- 
tera’ are white and that those of D. exulans are gray.” The 
adults being indistinguishable, such a condition would prove 
only that a dichromatism exists in the young, as in Diomedea 
irrorata. 
Diomedea regia Buller is also considered to be a mere 
variation. The characters propounded for the supposed adult 
are fairly midway between those Mr. Salvin assigns to 
D. exulans and to “D. chionoptera.” 
The explanation of the diverse plumages of Diomedea 
exulans, I believe, is to be found in dichromatism and age 
variation, there being a dark phase and a Jight phase which 
coalesce in maturity, somewhat as in Diomedea trrorata. 
Recently Mr. Gregory M. Mathews has revived Diomedea 
epomophora Lesson, relegating to its synonymy Diomedea 
1 Monograph, p. 443. 
2Cf. Mon. Petrels, pp. 310, 315, 319, 320, 325. 
