At sea, North Atlantic.
1909.
August 1 [August 1, 1909]
(No 2)
or impressive. It seemed rather slow yet whenever
they came along abreast of us to forge ahead and cross
our bows it was evident that they were moving at
least twice as fast as the "Ivernia" whose rate of speed
at the time was not less than 18 miles per hour.
Their characteristic and, indeed, apparently unvarying
manner of flight was by alternate sailing and flapping.
After four or five quick, vigorous wing strokes the bird
would glide four or five yards on motionless wings and
then flap again. The intervals of gliding were seldom
more prolonged or the wing beats more than four or five
in number. The birds rarely flew in a perfectly straight line for
a distance of more than fifty yards. They usually moved
at a height above the water varying from one or two to
eight or ten feet and seldom or never rose to an elevation
of more than fifteen or twenty feet. I saw many dip downward
or incline upward rather abruptly and sharp turns to right or
left were not infrequent but there was no soaring in circles
as Gulls soar. Nor did I hear from any of the numerous
birds that passed us close at hand (sometimes within 30 yards)
a cry of any kind.
  All the birds I saw were so closely similar in color and
markings that I was unable to detail any variations in these
respects or even in size. In fact all looked exactly alike. They
were plump-bodied and of about the size & shape of a female
Golden eyed Duck. The total length was about 15 inches & the
alar extent about twenty six inches. The wings were long, narrow
& pointed, the tail short & either square or rounded, the neck short,
the head rather large, the bill inconspicuous & pointed downward
in flight. The plumage of the upper parts was plain faded 
brown, perhaps dull hair brown, darking [darkening] on the crown