BIRDS OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN. 215 



minutes resume their flight and sbon overtake the ship. 

 More interesting to me were the two species of 

 albatross, which I had never before had an oppor- 

 tunity of observing. These were more shy in their 

 behaviour, never, I think, approaching nearer than 

 seventy or eighty yards, and usually following the 

 ship with a slow, leisurely flight still farther astern. 

 The common, nearly white, species {Diomedea exulans) 

 is but a little larger than the dark-coloured, nearly 

 black species, which I supposed to be the Diomedea 

 fuliginosa of ornithologists.* If, as is probable, the 

 same birds followed us all day, we saw but two of the 

 latter, which are, I believe, everywhere comparatively 

 scarce. In both species I was struck by the peculiar 

 form of the expanded wing, which is very narrow in 

 proportion to its great length. 



The moment of excitement for the birds, as well as 

 for the lookers-on, was when a basket of kitchen refuse 

 was from time to time thrown overboard. It was 

 amusing to watch the rush of hungry creatures all 

 swooping down nearly at the same point, and making 

 a marvellous clatter as they eagerly contended for the 

 choice morsels. It did not appear to me that the 

 smaller birds showed any fear of the powerful albatross, 

 or that the latter used his strength to snatch away 

 anything that had been secured by a weaker rival. 



About noon on the 2nd of June we were abreast of 

 the northern part of the large island of Chiloe, but 

 were too far out to sea to get a glimpse of the high 



* It is quite possible that the bird which I took for the black 

 albatross was the giant petrel, common, according to Darwin, in these 

 waters, and closely resembling an albatross. 



