238 TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS OF MID-OCEAN 



the vessel throughout the voyage. Marked birds, however, never were 

 seen again. The handling which they received probably disinclined them 

 to follow the vessel. 



The arrival of an Albatross on deck was usually followed by the dis- 

 gorging of more or less food. They could not rise from the deck, and 

 frequently were kept on board for several days. They walk with great 

 difficulty, and bite savagely. 



Albatrosses rise easily from the sea, and when the wind is blowing 

 it is done very quickly. In calm weather several strokes of the wings 

 and a rapid movement of the feet are necessary for the bird to clear the 

 water. No bird can exceed the Albatross in the gracefulness of its flight. 

 Usually following in the wake, it has, however, no difficulty in passing 

 ahead of the vessel, always on rigid, motionless wings, rising, descending, 

 or turning without a wing movement that is visible to the eye. 



On voyages southwestward from California, the Black-Footed Al- 

 batross did not usually follow the vessel more than two-thirds of the way 

 to the Hawaiian Islands. A species known as Diomedea c'hinensis breeds 

 in great numbers on the chain of islands extending northwestward from 

 Hawaii. So far as I am aware, the breeding-place of Diomedea nigripes 

 is not known. It probably breeds during the winter months on islands in 

 the southern hemisphere. It is sometimes found in Bering Sea, particu- 

 larly in the Bristol Bay region, and is met with all summer long in the 

 Pacific south of the Aleutian Islands. During many visits to the Aleutian 

 and other American islands, it was never found on land, and the natives 

 were not acquainted with it as a nesting bird. 



In Bering Sea we sometimes met with the Short-Tailed Albatross 

 {Diomedea albatrus). This species is nearly white, and in calm weather 

 was usually observed resting on the sea, near the great flocks of fulmars. 

 While the steamship Albatross was dredging off the southern coast of Chile, 

 the great Wandering Albatross was frequently to be seen resting upon 

 the water about the vessel, and we had no difficulty in taking specimens 

 with hook and line. 



Perhaps the most wonderful sight in Albatross life is to 

 be found on Laysan Island, in the Pacific Ocean, where 

 thousands of these birds nest close together on an open plain. 

 There are acres and acres of living Albatrosses, stretching 

 away as far as the camera can include them, until the plain is 

 white with them. They manifest little fear of man, even when 



