193 
the tail entirely white, for I observed that on some of the lateral feathers there was only a single irregu ar spo 
on the outer web.) Two of the upper tail-coverts (which otherwise are perfectly white) are crossc re - 
versely with delicate vermicnlations of dark brown; the lining of the wings and the axillary J 
white. At the insertion of the wings some of the upper feathers have delicate ve^iculaties ; the m e 
secondaries are broadly marked in this manner, and the longer ones have a broad terminal pa ch o ^ 
Along the edge of the humerus there are spots of black, having a very pretty effect, each feather Im , 
broad angular spot on the outer vane. At the humeral bend of the wing the white plumage P-d— t > 
the spots appearing again like irregular inky patches, and becoming thicker and larger towards the cari 
flexure. The secondaries are white in their basal portion, greyish black towards the tips. The primaries 
are brownish black, with white shafts, fading to grey on their inner webs, and white at the base 
In the Otago Museum there is an apparently fully adult bird in which the crown is mottled and the 
sides of the neck, the entire mantle, and the upper tail-coverts handsomely vermiculatcd with brownish black 
on a pure white ground; the upper surface of the wings black, varied more or less with white; qui s and 
tail-feathers brownish black ; the entire under surface of the body delicately vermiculated with daik biowii , 
bill yellow horn-colour, with a slate-coloured patch near the expansion at the tip of the lower mandible. 
There is another adult specimen in the Colonial Museum, which has a perfectly white head, neck and 
underparts, with very silky plumage ; no markings whatever on the back, and only an indistinct vermiculation 
on some of the feathers composing the mantle; rump and tail white, the middle tail-feathers somewhat 
clouded with grey; upper surface of wings greyish black, marked along the upper edgm and largely towards 
the humeral flexure with white; scapulars white, marked with broken bars of greyish blacK. Bill uniform 
pale yellow, the cutting-edge of upper mandihle black. Legs and feet flesh-white. 
There is likewise a very fine specimen in the Canterbury Museum in which there is an entire absence o 
freckles or vermiciilatc markings, the whole of the hody-plumage being of the purest white; the upper 
surface of wings largely varied with white, the humeral flexure being entirely white. 
In another very large one which I had an opportunity of examining the entire plumage was ^ 
on the upper surface of wings, where likewise, along the upper edge and towards the humeral flexure, the i 1 e 
predominated; there was no vermiculation on the upper surface, except at the ends of the scapulais, and t e 
tail-feathers were only mottled with black at the tips. But the principal feature in this bird was in 
colour of the bill, which from a whitish horn-colour deepened to rich orange-yellow on the culmen, and 
darkened to reddish brown towards the base. 
What voya-er on the high seas has not watched with wonder and admiration the sailing flight of the 
Albatros! It has been the theme of poets and philosophers from the earliest times ; and rarions 
inoenions theories have been propounded to account for the amazing power which this bird possesses 
of°sailing in the air for an hour at a time without the slightest movement of its expanded wings 
Professor Hutton, whose observations on the birds inhabiting the Southern Ocean ( 1806) =>« 
full of suggestive information, has contributed an essay • on the flight of the Albatros , and alt oug 
his mathematical treatment of the subject has been challenged, his paper shows a very clew appre- 
hension of the mechanical principles on which the explanation rests-his mam object hem t 
that if an Albatros started with a certain velocity it could, by slightly altering the angle a 
was flying, continue to support itself in the air without using its wings until its velocity had been 
reduced below a certain point. _ . , 
Dr. Bennett, who has written on the same subject, remarks:— “It is pleasing to o serve is s p 
bird sailing in the air in graceful and elegant movements, seemingly excited by some inv ^ . 
for there is scarcely any movement of the wings seen after the first and fiequent impu ses ' e, 
when the creature elevates itself in the air, rising and falling as if some concealed S , , • 
various motions, without any muscular exertion of its own.” Mr. Gould adds the ° ° ^ other 
mony: — “The powers of flight of the Wandering Albatros are much gi eater than t 
* Philosophical Magazine, August 1869. 
VOL. II. 
