AVIATORS 175 



albatross may spread from ten to twelve feet from 

 tip to tip, its wings are not more than nine inches 

 wide. The spread of wings is gained by the 

 elongation of the inner bones of the wing, and by 

 increasing the number of secondaries, there being 

 about forty of these feathers in the wing of the 

 albatross," 



To those who live upon the waters one of the 

 greatest marvels is the power of flight of these great 

 birds. They never tire night and day; they "wheel 

 round and round, and forever round the ship — now 

 far behind, now sweeping past in a long rapid sur- 

 vey like a perfect skater on an uneven field of ice. 

 There is no effort ; watch as closely as you wUl, you 

 rarely or never see a stroke of the mighty pinion. 

 The flight is generally near the water, often close 

 to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears 

 in the hollow between the waves, and catch him 

 again as he rises over the crest; but how he rises 

 and whence comes the propelling force is to the eye 

 inexplicable. He merely alters the angle at which 

 the wings are inclined ; usually they are parallel to 

 the water and horizontal; but when he turns to 

 ascend or makes a change in his direction, the wings 

 then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other 

 to the water," 



Perhaps the commonest of all sea-aviators are the 



