THE BLACK-FOOTED ALBATKOSS 



293 



out, and can usually be depended upon to follow 

 vessels in increasing numbers. On many voy- 

 ages between San Francisco and the Aleutian 

 Islands, the average attendance of Albatrosses, 

 or 'Gonies,' as they are usually called, was from 

 fifteen to twenty. Whether the same indi- 

 viduals stayed with the vessel during the whole 



flock of birds would alight upon the water, often 

 coming close enough to be caught on cod-hooks 

 baited with pork. When on the wing, some- 

 times all the birds would assemble at once to 

 feed on the waste thrown overboard from the 

 galley, alighting in a confused manner, with 

 much squawking and fluttering of wings. 



BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS. 



run, or were replaced from time to time by 

 other birds encountered along the way, we could 

 not determine. 



"The birds were with us from daylight to 

 dark, and in all sorts of weather. The S. S. 

 Albatross, being engaged in deep-sea investiga- 

 tions, made fre(iuent stops for the purpose of 

 sounding and dredging. At such times the 



"We often hooked specimens while the ship 

 was under way, by paying out the line rapidly 

 enough to leave the bait lying motionless, and 

 buoyed on the surface with a cork. The birds 

 were not able to pick up a bait while on the 

 wing, or while it was moving. When hooked 

 they would set their wings rigidly at an angle, 

 and a rapid hauling-in of the long line would 



