110 EDWARD A. WILSON. 
of straw and stubble plastered up with clay (Sir Joseph Hooker); they also breed 
upon the flat ground, according to Mr. Eaton (Phil. Trans. 168 ( 1879), p. 145). 
We occasionally noticed the pink stains on the sides of the neck in this bird, 
which are remarked upon by Mr. Eaton. 
DIOMEDEA REGIA. 
The Royal Albatross. 
Diomedea regia, Buller, Trans, N. Zeal. Inst. xxiii. (1891), p. 230; Sharpe, Rep. ‘Southern Cross’ Coll. 
(1902), p. 161, ibique citata. 
DIOMEDEA CHIONOPTERA. 
The Snowy Albatross. 
Diomedea chionoptera, Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., xxv. (1896), p. 443. 
Tue former is the whiter of these, the two largest forms of albatross; it is an 
inhabitant mainly of the Southern Indian Ocean, but has been reported also from the 
South Atlantic. 
As we did not succeed in obtaining specimens of either D. chionoptera or D. regia, 
it is not easy to speak confidently of the occurrence of these birds under one name or 
the other. 
On certain occasions we obtained a view close enough to satisfy ourselves as to the 
identity of D. chionoptera, if complete whiteness of the whole wing except the 
primaries be a sufficient criterion to distinguish it from D. regia. And notwith- 
standing the doubt that must necessarily attach itself to observations unconfirmed by 
specimens, it may be worth while to record the following. 
In the South Atlantic we saw a number of the larger albatrosses, but I believe that 
every one of them was to be referred to D. exulans. Jn the largest of all there was 
a narrow black tip to the tail, and this apparently is never seen in either D. regia 
or D. chionoptera. 
In the Southern Indian Ocean, on the other hand, we constantly saw birds which 
appeared to have less black on the wings than seems consistent with D. exulans. We 
could not be certain, however, save on a few occasions. For example, on October 
23rd, two adults with black primaries only came round the ship, and the tail in 
each case was wholly white. On October 24th another appeared, exactly answering to 
chionoptera, and after this we saw similar birds every two or three days, the last 
in 52° 8. 110° E., before turning south towards the ice. 
On March 11th, 1904 (56° 8S. 164° E.), we saw what we believed to be an 
example of D. regia, and, as we had an adult D. exulans in sight as well with which to 
compare it, probably in this case we were right. We saw others a little further north 
each day until we reached the Auckland Islands. 
