DIOMEDEA MELANOPHRYS. 



of the Auckland Islands, but between New Zealand and the Straits of Magellan, 

 not a single one was encountered till after passing Punta Arenas. Many 

 examples have been procured or noted at various seasons off the coast of Chile, 

 and Professor Giglioli records the species from Callao to Valparaiso in September 

 and November, also in the Messier Channel in Patagonia, and in the Straits of 

 Magellan early in January, 



Although Captain Abbott says that D. melanophrys is seldom seen in East Falkland, 

 he found it breeding in large numbers on the adjacent islands. The nests were of 

 mud, raised nearly a foot from the ground, and placed in close proximity to each 

 other. The eggs, he says, are two in number, though this I think questionable, 

 and large quantities are brought to market at Port Stanley. During the breeding 

 season it is easier to take the egg from under the bird than to make the latter move 

 from its nest (Ibis, 1861, p. 165). 



D. melanophrys occasionally finds its way into European waters, and a specimen 

 was taken alive near Linton, in Cambridgeshire, in 1897 (Ibis, 1897, p. 625 ; 1905, 

 p. 482). Another was obtained in 1878 by Captain David Gray, of the " Eclipse " 

 whaling steamer, in June, Lat. 80° 11 ' N, Long. 4° E., which is now in the Peterhead 

 Museum. These two examples were subsequently identified by Salvin as D. melanophrys 

 (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, IV., pp. xv., xx., 1894), though the specific name was at first 

 inadvertently given (t.c, p. xv.) as D. culminata. Captain Gray obtained a second 

 bird, May 2nd, 1885, in Lat. 74° N., which, from the description, Howard Saunders 

 thought should be referred to this species. In 1860 Dr. Knud Andersen recorded the 

 occurrence of a female on the Danish Colony at Meygganaes, at the extreme west of 

 the Faroe Islands, and for no less than thirty-four years it was observed on the same 

 cliff, arriving in the early spring with the Gannets, and leaving with them again in the 

 late autumn. The strange bird was well known to the islanders, who gave it the name 

 of " Sule Konge," or the " King of the Gannets " ; it was accidentally shot in May, 

 1894, and the skin is preserved in the Copenhagen Museum (Andersen, Vidensk. Medd. 

 Ejbbenh., 1894, p. 241). 



The habits of this Albatros resemble those of other members of the genus. 

 It may easily be caught with a hook and line, and Gould, during his voyage to 

 Australia, captured many specimens alive, but after examining and marking them, 

 he set them free and was thus enabled to identify the birds, and prove that 

 they followed the ship for many days. When placed upon the deck the bird 

 cannot fly, and may very soon be tamed. Captain Hutton, however, relates (Ibis, 

 1865, p. 283) that he did not find D. melanophrys so easy to catch as D. exulans, and 

 adds that he never saw it vomit oil as other Petrels do. Although these birds occasionally 

 dive, they generally prefer to let the "Night-hawk" do so instead, then when the 

 prey is captured they give chase, croaking and running along the top of the water 

 with outstretched wings until they compel the latter to drop its burden, and then 



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