570 



SUBANTAECTIC ISLANDS- OF NEW ZEALAND. 



[Aves. 



net against their throats and then merely touching the chest with my foot they 

 would be overbalanced, tumble backwards off the nest, and present a helpless ap- 

 pearance with their legs in the air. It would seem that the pure-white plumage 

 of the head and back is not attained until the third year, as many dark-coloured 

 birds which I took to be two years old were sitting. 



"Having at length reached our objective, we sat down to rest and to watch the 

 albatroses, quite unmindful of our presence. When the bird is walking the head 

 is carried low, below the level of the back, the neck outstretched, producing an 



Fig. 14. — Wandering Albatbos [Diomedea exulans) walking, Antipodes Island. 



appearance of cautiousness, though possibly merely to balance the body. Occa- 

 sionally one would walk with wings extended. Many birds were discovered asleep 

 on their nests, and it was quite easy to approach close and awaken them with a tap 

 on the beak. 



" We were witness of many curious antics, apparently connected with courtship. 

 Two birds, after rubbing their beaks together, would first lower them almost to 

 between the feet and then raise them vertically in the air, a manoeuvre many times 

 repeated. The wings would be outspread to their fullest extent, the male spreading 

 his tail after the manner of a turkey-cock. The paroxysm would then subside, to 



