Order  VIII.  ANSERES.  Family  IV.  Procellarims. 
The  second  Subfamily, 
DIOMEDEINiE,  or  Albatrosses, 
have  the  Nostrils  short,  tubular,  widest  anteriorly,  and  placed  near  the  base  of  the  lateral  groove. 
Diomedea  Linn.* 
Bill  longer  than  the  head,  very  robust,  straight  ;  the  sides  compressed  and  longitudinally  grooved, 
with  the  tip  greatly  curved  and  acute ;  the  lateral  margins  dilated  and  curved ;  the  culmen  broad, 
convex,  and  rounded  :  the  lower  mandible  weak,  compressed,  with  the  tip  truncated :  the  nostrils  placed 
near  the  base,  in  the  lateral  groove,  covered  by  a  tube  which  is  short,  widening  and  spreading  an- 
teriorly from  the  side  of  the  bill,  with  the  aperture  somewhat  rounded  and  open  in  front.  Wings  very 
long,  very  narrow,  with  the  second  quill  the  longest.  Tail  short  and  rounded.  Legs  short,  strong, 
with  the  tarsi  one  fourth  shorter  than  the  middle  toe,  and  the  inner  toe  the  shortest.  The  two  lateral 
Toes  margined  exteriorly  by  a  narrow  membrane ;  the  web  between  the  toes  full  and  entire  ;  the  hind 
toe  and  claw  entirely  wanting  :  the  claws  short  and  obtuse. 
These,  the  largest  of  marine  birds,  are  found  throughout  both  hemispheres,  but  more  especially  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Cape  Horn,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  Southern  Ocean  generally.  They  are  seen  sometimes  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  land,  skimming  the  surface  of  the  water  with  great  rapidity  or  resting  on  the  sea.  During  strong  gales  and 
stormy  weather,  they  soar  in  the  higher  region  of  the  air ;  but,  during  calm  weather,  they  can,  it  is  stated,  walk  on  the 
surface,  with  hardly  any  assistance  from  their  wings,  and  the  noise  of  their  tread  is  heard  at  a  considerable  distance. 
They  feed  most  voraciously  on  fish,  especially  those  capable,  from  the  large  size  of  their  fins,  of  leaping  above  the 
surface  of  the  sea,  also  on  mollusca  and  gelatinous  animals.  To  such  an  extent  do  they  gorge  themselves,  that  they 
are  frequently  unable  either  to  fly  or  to  swim ;  and  in  this  state  they  are  often  attacked  by  gulls  and  other  seabirds,  who 
compel  them  to  disgorge  their  food,  that  it  may  be  caught  by  their  feathered  enemies. 
Their  nests  are  built  on  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas,  of  clay  mixed  with  vegetable  remains,  in  a  round  form,  and 
two  or  three  feet  high;  they  deposit  only  one  very  large  egg.  The  parent  is  said  to  provide  for  her  offspring  during 
the  space  of  nine  months. 
1.  D.  exulans  Linn.  PI.  enl.  237.  —  D.  epomophora?  Less.  Ma- 
nuel d'Orn.  11.  351. 
2.  D.  spadicea  Gmel.  Banks's  Icon.  ined.  t.  25. 
3.  D.  melanophrys  Temm.  PI.  col.  456. 
4.  D.  cauta  Gould,  Proc.  Z.  S.  1840.  177- 
5.  D.  chlororhyncha  Gmel.  Lath.  Syn.  t.  94.,  PI.  col.  468.  —  D. 
profuga  Banks,  Icon.  ined.  t.  27. ;  D.  chrysostoma  Font.  Icon.  ined. 
t.  100,  101. 
6.  D.  culminate,  Gould,  Proc.  Z.  S.  1843.  107- 
7.  D.  fuliginosa  Gmel.  PI.  col.  469.  —  D.  antarctica  Banks, 
Icon.  ined.  t.  26.;  D.  palpebrata  Forst.  Icon.  ined.  t.  102. ;  D.  fusca 
Audub.  B.  of  Am.  pi.  407. 
8.  D.  brachyura  Temm.  PI.  col.  554.  PI.  enl.  Q63. —  D.  chinen- 
sis  Temm.' 
9.  D.  nigripes  Audub.  Orn.  Biogr.  v.  327- — D.  gibbosa  Gould, 
Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  1844.  p.  36l. 
10.  D.  olivaceorhyncha  Gould,  Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  1844.  p.  36l. 
*  It  was  in  (Systema  ATatura')  1756  that  Linnaeus  adopted  this  name  for  the  genus,  while  Brisson  in  1760  used  that  of  Albatrus. 
June,  1844. 
