ALBATROSS. 53 



under mandible is also yellow; irides brown ; the bead grey ; between 

 the bill and eye an obscure black spot; just over the eye a dusky 

 one; hind part of the neck dusky, the lower white; back, scapulars 

 and wings, dusky blue black; rump and under parts of the body 

 white ; tail dusky ; legs yellowish white ; the fore part of them and 

 the webs dusky. We believe that the plumage in this species varies 

 as in the Gulls; for in a drawing of one, the whole head, neck, and 

 under parts were pure white. This is met with in the southern 

 atmosphere, from 30 to 60 degrees, all round the Pole.f One, taken 

 off the Cape of Good Hope, furnished the above description. 



Inhabits the South Seas without the Tropics, and like the 

 Wandering Species, rarely flies above five or six feet above the 

 surface of the water. 



At least four Species of Albatrosses breed on the Islands of Tris- 

 tan da Cunha. Among others the Yellow-nosed builds its solitary 

 nest in some sheltered corner; selecting in particular the small drains 

 that draw the water off the land into the ravines : the nest is of the 

 height of ten or twelve inches, of a cylindrical form, with a small 

 ditch round the base, and there is only one egg.% All of this tribe 

 nourish their young by disgorging the contents of the stomach ; for 

 as they feed on the blubber of dead whales, seals, &c. this would 

 melt away if carried in the bill to any distance. During the time of 

 incubation, no alarm is displayed on the approach of any man, as 

 the birds suffer themselves to be kicked, or pulled off their nests, 

 without the smallest resistance, and soon return again to their post. 

 Captain Carmichael, who furnishes this description, observes, that 

 when irritated, the feathers of the cheeks are separated, so as to 

 display a beautiful stripe of naked orange skin, running from the 

 corners of the mouth towards the back of the head. 



* Lin. Trans, xii. 489. f One caught in lat. 57. 30. south, in February. 



X They frequently merely chuse a dry spot, and making a slight concavity to prevent 

 the egg from rolling away : the egg is white, very large, and peculiar in shape, being long 

 in proportion, equally thick at both ends. 



