288 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



it dives gracefully beneath the surface after Squids or similar ocean dainties. 

 Half a dozen birds perhaps gravely assemble to inspect an empty beer- 

 bottle thrown overboard to bob up and down idly upon the waves, and 

 inquisitive bills peck vigorously at the unsatisfactory flotsam, until a battle- 

 royal disperses the family party. The wiser ones meanwhile hover in mid- 

 air, craning their necks to throw penetrating glances from a superior height. 

 Of the Wandering Albatross [Diomedea exulans), the writer found eleven 

 feet six inches to be the average wing measurement, although a gigantic speci- 

 men in the Sydney Museum extends seventeen feet six inches, with a bill six 

 inches long. At Randwick, near Sydney, he knew of one of the " Molly- 

 mauks : ' having lived for fifteen years in a garden. It is a universal pet, a 

 sort of monarch of the domain, and quite unabashed even at the presence of 

 strangers. It will answer to call, possesses an imperturbable temper, and 

 is gentleness itself with children. Although the " thrice resounding waves " 

 for ever reverberate on the shore close at hand, the bird, strangely enough, 

 never evinces the slightest desire to return to a seafaring life. Yet on a 

 ship the captive refuses all food, and simply pines away ; the heat of the 

 tropics is said to be always fatal. 



Some records of heavy weights of fishes have lately been published, and 

 it is desirable that these should be preserved. 



Sturgeon [Acipenser sturio). — On May 30th, at the stores of Messrs. 

 Spiers and Pond, Water Lane, London, a huge fish was exhibited, weighing 

 614 lb., measuring from tip of tail to extremity of snout a little over 11 ft., 

 with a girth of 5 ft. 6 in. It was taken in the North Sea on May 28th. 

 Another specimen from the North Sea was in the first week of May on view 

 in the Pentonville Road. This fish weighed 525 lb., but its length was not 

 ascertained. (R. B. L. in ' Field.') 



Salmon (Salmo salar). — One caught in the Severn of 51 £ lb., at the 

 shop of Mr. Grove, Bond Street, on May 15th. 



Red Mullet (Mullus surmuletus). — A large specimen caught off Land's 

 End on May 18th. Weight, 3 lb. 3 oz. ; length from nose to tail, 18 in. ; 

 girth, 12 in. (H. T. Welch, 'Field.') 



Cape Salmon [Otolithus cBquidens). — A specimen caught at Algoa Bay 

 by Dr. Batemau, weighing 65 lb., 61 in. in length, 32£ in. in girth. Pre- 

 served, and exhibited at a meeting of the British Sea Anglers' Society, 

 May 30th. 



