TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS 
TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. Order III. TUBINARES. 
ALBATROSSES. Family DIOMEDEIDAE 
Albatrosses are the largest of the sea birds and have an enormous expanse 
of wing, the Wandering Albatross, the largest of the family, sometimes attain- 
ing an expanse of fourteen feet. Their nostrils consist of two slightly project- 
ing tubes, one on each side near the base of the bill. They are unsurpassed 
in powers of flight, but are only fair swimmers and rarely, if ever, dive, getting 
their food, which consists of dead animal matter, from the surface of the water. 
81 . Black-footed Albatross. Dioviedea 
nigripes. 
Range. — North Pacific from California north- 
ward. This Albatross is thirty-two inches in 
length; it is of a uniform sooty brown color shad- 
ing into whitish at the base of the bill, which is 
rounded. Like the other members of the family, 
this species is noted for its extended flights, fol- 
lowing vessels day after day without any apparent 
period of rest, for the purpose of feeding on the 
refuse that is thrown overboard. They breed 
during our winter on some of the small isolated 
islands in the extreme southern portions of the 
globe. They lay a single white egg on the bare 
ground. 
82 . Short-tailed Albatross. Diomedea 
albatrus. 
Range. — North Pacific Ocean in summer, from 
Lower California to Alaska. With the exception 
of the Wandering Albatross, which is now regard- 
ed as doubtful as occurring off our coasts, the 
Short-tailed Albatross is one of the largest of 
the group, measuring thirty-six inches in length, 
and has an extent of seven feet or more. With 
the exception of the black primaries, shoulders 
and tail, the entire plumage is white, tinged with 
straw color on the back of the head. They breed 
on the guano islands in the North Pacific off the 
coasts of Alaska and Japan. They lay a single 
white egg on the bare ground or rocks. As with 
the other members of the family, the eggs are 
extremely variable in size, but average about 
4.25 x 2.50. 
Black-footed Albatross 
Short-tailed Albatross 
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