The Black-footed Albatross 



at some fresh-water pond or brackish pool, by a towering dive and dip, 

 which would make shipwreck of this feathered projectile if it were not 

 done with consummate skill. And not only can the Frigate fly swiftly, 

 but so perfectly has it learned to adjust itself to the wind that it is able to 

 maintain itself for hours at a time without change of position, and with- 

 out apparent effort other than that of the automatic opening and shutting 

 of the long, forked tail. Indeed, one observer in Florida claims that 

 they sleep in this position, and declares that he has caught them by hand 

 as they lay asleep on the wind near the top of a mangrove tree. The 

 story may not be true, but it fits the appearances so nearly that its 

 narrator could get away with it; and that, after all, is the instructive 

 thing. 



Man-o'-war-birds have yielded to the temptation which always 

 besets the gifted; viz., to live at the expense of their fellows. They 

 secure only a portion of their food by direct capture. For the rest they 

 prey upon other birds, especially those equipped for taking large catches 

 of fish, wholesalers, as it were, like the Boobies and the Pelicans. It 

 is difficult to see why a sturdy, sharp-beaked fisherman like the Gannet 

 should consent to share the product of its lawful toil with this pirate; 

 but the Boobies are not the only bipeds who are impelled to pay tribute 

 to a sharp eye and imperious gestures. 



No. 401 



Black-footed Albatross 



A. O. U. No. 81. Diomedea nigripes Audubon. 



Synonyms. — Gooney. Gony. Brown Gooney. 



Description. — Adult: General color sooty brown, lighter (grayer) below, except 

 on throat and chest; space all around bill grayish white, thence shading through grayish 

 brown on sides of head and upper throat; anterior half of upper and lower eyelids 

 dusky; posterior half white; that of the lower lid produced backward and downward 

 as a decided white patch; lighter, nearly white, about base of tail; feathers of upper- 

 parts tipped with lighter gray, as though faded; primaries black with yellow shafts; 

 tail-feathers blackish with white shafts, except on terminal portions. Bill dark reddish 

 brown; feet black. Voting birds: Like adult, but tail-coverts sooty black. Length 

 of male 762-914.4 (30.00-36.00); wing 515 (20.27); ta '' J 44 (5-57); bill length 108. 3 

 (4.265), width at base 31.7 (1.25); tarsus 91 (3.58) (Loomis). Females average less. 



General Range. — North Pacific Ocean. Breeds on islands northwest of Hawaii 

 and on the Marshall Islands. Wanders to the coasts of China and Japan and on the 

 American side from southern Alaska to the Tropic of Cancer. 



Recognition Marks. — Eagle size; sooty plumage of adults and young; red- 

 dish brown bill; white face; black feet. 



1984 



