Order PKOCELLAK1IFORMES.] 



[Family DIOMEDEID.E. 



4\ 



DIOMEDEA REGIA- 



(KOYAL ALBATROS.) 



Diomedea regia, Buller, Trans. N. Z. Inst., yoI. xxii., p. 340 (1890). 



Diomedea exulans, Linn. ; Buller, Birds of New Zealand, yoI. ii., p. 195 [in part]. 



This noble Albatros was introduced by me at a meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society,* 

 in 1891. And I now quote the account I then gave of it : — 



Ad. Alba, tectricibus alarum nigris vix brunnescentibus, majoribus interioribus plus minusve albis, 

 margine carpali albo et brunneo vario ; remigibus brunnescenti-nigris, apicem versus pallidioribus, scapis 

 flavicanti-albidis : scapularibus albis, ad apicem nigris: supracaudalibus caudaque albis, hac nigro apicata, 

 rectncibus exterioribus basaliter brunneo irregulariter marmoratis : subtus pure alba : rostro albido, carnoso 

 vix tmcto, ad apicem flavicanti-corneo : pedibus corneo-albicantibus : iride saturate brunnea : annulo 

 opthalmico nigro. 



A dult.— General plumage pure-white ; upper surface of wings blackish-brown, varied with pale-brown and 

 white along the edges, and with an extensive patch of white on the humeral flexure ; primaries brownish-black, 

 with paler tips and yellowish-white shafts ; secondaries brownish-black, largely marked with white on their 

 inner webs ; scapulars white in their basal portion, black towards the tips ; tail-feathers largely marked with 

 black in their apical portion, and the outer ones more or less marbled with brown ; lining of wings and under 

 tail-coverts, like the rest of the plumage of the under parts, pure-white. Irides very dark brown, almost 

 black ; bare eye-lids jet-black ; bill white, with a roseate or pinky tinge in life, yellowish horn-coloured on 

 the terminal hook ; legs and feet flesh-white. Extreme length (approximately), 51 in. ; extent of wings, 

 122 in. ; wing from carpal flexure, 28 in. ; tail, 10 in. ; bill, following the curvature of upper mandible, 8-5 in. ; 

 length of lower mandible, 7'5 in. ; tarsus, 5 in. ; middle toe and claw, 75 in. 



Young. — Similar to the adult, except that there is less white on the upper surface of the wings, although 

 all the coverts have white margins; the interscapular region is traversed longitudinally with club-shaped 

 marks of greyish-black, increasing downwards, the larger feathers having their apical portion completely 

 covered ; upwards, towards the shoulders, these marks diminish till they become mere arrow-heads ; on the 

 mantle and on the upper tail-coverts there are sometimes marginal bars, but there is no vermiculation. Bill 

 yellowish horn-colour, with a bluish tinge on the upper mandible. 



Nestling. — Covered with snow-white down, thick and woolly in appearance, but of extremely fine texture. 

 It is likewise very long, extending to 6 in. on some parts of the body ; bill yellow. 



Obs. — In the extreme]y-old male specimen exhibited the tail is entirely white ; there is an unusual amount 

 of white on the upper surface of the wings, all the coverts being more or less margined with it ; and the 

 scapulars are obscurely marbled with greyish-brown. The feathers composing the mantle are faintly vermicu- 

 lated. Two heads of Diomedea regia v/ere shown to me on board the ' Hinemoa.' In one of these the bill 

 measured from base to tip (following the curvature) 8' 5 in. ; length of lower mandible 6'5, from the gape 8. 

 The bill in the other was even larger, the upper mandible measuring 8*75 in. and the lower 6'5. 



Eggs. — Yellowish-white, sometimes with a darker zone at the large end ; ovoido-elliptical, and measuring 

 5 in. in length by 3 in. in breadth. 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxviii., p. 234. 



Some years ago I induced the Colonial Goverment to give the late Mr. Beisehek a free passage to the Islands 

 in the ' Stella ' for the express purpose of studying the Albatroses ; but, although an active collector, he was a very 

 unscientific observer, and, so far from doing anything to clear up the confusion, he added to it by his theory of five 

 successive states of plumage ! The real points of interest, such as the colouration of the soft parts and the differences 

 in the young and nestlings of the two species, entirely escaped him, and had to be worked out by myself from specimens 

 brought to New Zealand, at irregular intervals, by Captain Fairchild. 





