Around the Horn for Petrels 



247 



YOUNG WANDERING ALBATROSS 



A poor picture, which nevertheless shows the characteristic 



scaling flight, low over the water 



which afterwards makes com- 

 mon birds seen unnaturally 

 small. They all will occasion- 

 ally give their wings a few 

 flaps, but the sailing greatly 

 predominates. I cannot do 

 better than quote from my 

 note-book. 



"September 20. A gray 

 day; the sun barely more 

 than burning through the 

 clouds in the middle of the 

 day. Not much wind, and 

 the sea very smooth, but for 

 the swell. Heard a cetacean blow close to the ship, and had a glimpse of his 

 rather light-colored, brownish black, and his small dorsal fin. Saw two or three 

 Mother Carey's Chickens settle and sit on the water astern of the ship, which 

 seems worth noting, because one usually sees them on the wing. There were 

 a couple of small Albatrosses about,- — the first this voyage. It was fine to watch 

 these birds sweeping along in their sailing flight, at intervals interrupted by a few 

 flaps of their great wings; turning this way and that, often leaning far over to one 

 side; now close to the water, now curving into the air some yards above it. They 

 seemed to flap their wings less frequently later when the wind was a little fresher, 

 than earlier with less wind. 



"September 22. Towards evening watched a small Albatross come close to 

 the ship, and then fly off into the distance. I watched it as continuously as I could, 

 and did not see it flap its wings at all. I believe it was sailing all the time. There 

 was a strong wind blowing. 



" October 29. In the afternoon there was a strong wind blowing. I was watch- 

 ing carefully the flight of some Cape 

 Pigeons, a few ' Mollies ' and a Cape Dove 

 or slender-billed Fulmar. The flight of the 

 three was very similar and illustrated well 

 the sailing, Petrel flight at its highest devel- 

 opment. Occasionally they gave their wings 

 a few flaps, but only occasionally, and the 

 general impression was that they were sail- 

 ing, sailing, sailing always. The birds were 

 sometimes horizontal, but often one wing 

 was lower than the other, and frequently 

 the bird was thus tilted far over to one-side. 

 I noticed that they turned toward the down 

 MOLLYHAWK' wing, and probably this is a, if not the 



