500 PEOCELLAEIIDa; DIOMEDEA 



white. Iris brown'; bill pale yellow, beeoming rosy pink at the 

 tip of each mandible ; legs and feet pinkish white, the webs pure 

 white. 



Length 32-0; wing 20-5; tail 7-5; culmen 5-0; tarsus 29; 

 middle toe 4-25. 



A female, apparently a young bird, resembles the male except 

 in the colour of the bill, the culminicorn and the apicorns of both 

 mandibles of which are black while the latericorns are greyish 

 black; the extreme tips of both mandibles are whitish horn in 

 colour. In younger birds the crown and back of the neck are 

 suffused with slaty, and the bill is like that of the one above 

 described but slightly paler. 



Distribution. — This Albatros is found throughout the Southern 

 Ocean from about the twentieth to the sixtieth parallel of south 

 latitude. Occasionally it wanders northwa.rds and has been 

 obtained as far as the Faroe Islands in the Atlantic and Cali- 

 fornia in the Pacific. It has, however, hitherto not been met 

 with in the southern Ice Pack. Its chief breeding places are the 

 Falklands, the Campbell Islands near New Zealand and Kerguelen, 

 where Mr. Hall has recently found a large rookery. 



The Mollymawk is very common in Table and False Bays, and 

 is found along the West Coast as far north as "Walvisch Bay, whence 

 it is recorded by Andersson. Along the South Coast it is abundant 

 as far as Algoa Bay, where Mr. Brown informs me it is common. 

 Mr. Shortridge states that they are plentiful at sea off Port St. 

 John's in Pondoland. 



The examples in the South African Museum have all been 

 obtained in Table Bay, or from not far off during the months of 

 May, July and August. 



Habits. — The Mollymawk resembles in most respects the 

 Wandering Albatros in its habits, but it is more often to be found 

 near the land in bays and harbours ; it is very common in Table 

 Bay and is often caught with hook and line by the fishermen and 

 exposed for sale in the fish market ; it is eaten chiefly by the 

 Malays, and its flesh is said to taste like hare ; the feathers, too, 

 are used to stuff pillows and mattresses. 



The stomachs of two birds recently examined in the South 

 African Museum contained the remains of small fishes, the beaks of 

 cuttle fish and broken up shells of MoUusca ; in addition the garbage 

 thrown out from ships and fishermen's refuse in harbours is eagerly 

 devoured. Andersson noticed that this bird occasionally made 



