774 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. — LONGIPENNES— TUBINARES. 
that of a swallow up to the immense albatrosses, probably unsurpassed by any bh-ds whatever 
in alar expanse, and yielding to few in bulk of body. The plumage is compact and oily, to 
resist water ; the sexes appear to be always alike, and no seasonal changes are determinf^d ; 
but some variation with age, or as a matter of individual peculiarity, certainly occurs in many 
cases. The food is entirely of an animal nature, and fatty substances, in particular, are eagerly 
devoured. When irritated, many species eject an oily fluid from the mouth or nostrils, and 
some are so fat as to be occasionally used for lamps, a wick being run through the body. 
The eggs are few, or only one, laid in a rude nest or none, on the ground or in a burrow. 
Petrels are silent birds, as a rule, contrasting with gulls and terns in this particular ; many 
or most are gregarious, congregating by thousands at their breeding places or where food 
is plenty. 
Birds of this family abound on all seas ; but the group is yet imperfectly known. Bona- 
parte gave 69 species, in 1856 ; my memoirs upon the subject (1864-66) present 92, of which 
17 are marked as doubtful or obscure ; in 1871 Gray recorded 112 ; there are probably about 
75 good species. They are sharply divided by the character of the nostrils into three groups; 
two represented in North America, as beyond, and the HalodromincB. These last, consisting 
of one genus and three species or varieties, are remarkably distinguished from the rest^ 
resembling Auks in external appearance and habits ; the wings and tail are very short ; there 
is no hind toe ; the skin of the throat is naked and distensible ; the tubular nostrils, in fact, 
are the principal if not the only outward petrel-mark, and these organs are unique in opening 
directly upward, the nasal tube being vertical instead of horizontal as in aU the rest. 
74. Subfamily DIOMEDEIN/E : Albatrosses. 
Nostrils disconnected, placed one on each side of the 
bill near the base. Hallux rudimentary, so small as 
to be usually called wanting. Of largest size in this 
family. There are eight unquestionable species, with 
two or three doubtful or obscure ones. Only three 
have proven their right to a place here. There is no 
well authenticated instance of the occurrence of the 
great Wandering Albatross, D. exulans, oflF our coasts ; 
but it has been taken in Europe, and is liable to ap- 
pear at any time. It is distinguished from the first 
species following by its great size, and the outline of 
the frontal feathers; deeply concave on the culmen, 
strongly convex on the sides of the bill to a point nearly 
^, Fig. 522. — Bill and Foot of Sbort-tailed opposite the nostrils. The Yellow-nosed Albatross, 
Albatross. (After Cassin.) jj chlororhynclia (of Audubon, not of Gnielin), is the 
D. culminata, a species of Australian and other Southern seas, said to have been taken " not 
far from the Columbia river," but there is no reason, as yet, to believe it ever comes within a 
thousand miles of this country. It has the bill black, with the culmen and under edge yellow. 
Other well-known species of Southern seas are B. chlororhyncha, cauta, and melanophrys. 
Analysis of Genera. 
Tail rounded, contained 3 or about 3 times in length of wing. Bill stout, evenly encircled by feathers at base 
Diomedea 318 
Tail cuneate, contained about twice in length of wing. Bill compressed, with frontal reentrance and 
lateral salience of feathers at base Pkcebetria 319 
318. DIOMEDE'A. (Gr. Ato/xTySi;?, Diowedfes, a Grecian hero, Jove-counselled.) Albatrosses. 
Bill thick, stout, and heavy, especially broad at base, without colored groove along lower 
mandible, or other special parti-coloration. Nasal tubes ample. Tail short, rounded, less 
