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CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



aspect of the beak, and from these deep channels are prolonged quite to its extremity. The tarsus is 

 short, but strong, the foot three-toed, and very broadly-webbed. The wings are very long, but 

 remarkably narrow, the primary quills long and strong, the first quill being the longest ; the secondary 

 quills, on the contrary, are remarkably short, scarcely projecting beyond the wing-covers. The tail, 

 which consists of twelve feathers, is short, either straight, or slightly rounded or pointed at its extremity. 

 The general plumage is uncommonly rich, thick, and downy, but not striking in its coloration, which 

 seems to vary in the two sexes and at different ages, as well as according to the seasons of the year. 



The Albatrosses claim the vast ocean of the southern hemisphere as their habitat ; both the 

 P. exulans and the D. chlororhynchus, it is true, have been occasionally seen even off the coasts of 

 Europe, but such a circumstance can only be regarded as an accidental occurrence. They seldom or 



THE ROSY GULL (Rhodostethia rosea). 



never pass beyond the tropic of Capricorn, at least in the Atlantic, and even then only as occasional 

 wanderers. They appear more frequently, however, in the northern regions of the Pacific Ocean ; they 

 are also said to make regular visits to Behring's Straits and the Sea of Ochotsk, and not only casually 

 to show themselves upon those unfrequented shores, but to reside in their vicinity during several 

 months, only retiring beyond the equator as the season for breeding approaches. In like manner they 

 are frequently met with in high antarctic latitudes, i.e., as we are informed by sailors and fishermen, up 

 to 50° or 60° south latitude ; but whether these visits are regular migrations, or merely casual excur- 

 sions, we are not as yet informed. We know, however, that they visit all seas lying between 23 north£ 

 and 66° south latitude ; that when they come into more northern climes, as into Kamschatka and 

 Ochotsk, they are hungry, lank, and half-starved, but that in a few weeks, owing to the abundance of 

 food they there meet with, they return to their breeding-places plump and in good condition. It is 

 said by some observers that in the literal meaning of the words their flight extends quite around the 



