AUSTRALIAN BLAGK-BROWED MOLLYMAWK. 
among whicli are the Albatros nests and their tenants. These nests are built 
up of moss and earth about four inches above the surface of the ground. The 
material to form the nest is so taken from the soil as to leave a trench all 
round it, and this keeps things dry for the important object in view. The 
female never leaves the nest during incubation, a period of about sixty days, 
and is fed by her consort, who faithfully hunts for food for both. If by chance 
the nest is left unguarded for a single moment the Sea-Hawk which is here in 
thousands, pounces upon the egg and ‘ love’s labour’s lost,’ at least so far as 
the Albatros is concerned. The Albatros is a stupid bird, for it will sit, whether 
hatching or not, till you tumble it head over heels with your foot. At the same 
time it will resent such liberty, and, if it succeeds in getting a hold, it will take 
the piece out of trousers, hose and skin. They are very strong birds. The 
best way to catch one is to make a feint at his head with the left hand, which 
distracts the bird’s attention, and then quickly seize it by the bill with the 
right ; but be sure you get the grip, as they turn very quickly, and would snap 
your fingers off if they got the proper hold. They build on the flat plateau 
of the hills ; and so far as we have seen, never lower down than 700 feet from 
the sea-level. At Antipodes Island, on Tuesday, January 31st, the day broke 
beautifully, and the bay was like a mirror, but the glass was still low ; as the 
day advanced we were enveloped for half an hour in one of those dense mists 
characteristic of this locahty, and when it passed the hills were covered with 
snow. The height of the island is marked on the chart at 600 feet, but this is 
an error, as the principal hill. Mount Gallaway, is 1,200 feet above the sea- 
level. From seaward, this hill looks conical or dome-shaped, but on reaching 
the summit a beautiful clear lake covering an area of thirteen or fourteen 
acres is found — a lake which a little later in the season than the time of our 
visit, is much frequented by the Albatros, being virtually surrounded by 
thousands of their nests.” 
This species appears to be “ the Mollymawk ” of sailors in the Southern 
seas, and is recognised when adult by its unicolor yellow or orange bill, when 
young by its uniform browner bill with a black tip. 
I would consider that D. gilliana Coues {Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 
1866, p. 181) was undoubtedly founded on a not fully adult bird of D. mdano- 
phris, and would designate as type-locality of D. gilliana, the Cape ^eas ; in 
juvenile specimens the bill-coloration is just as Coues described, while some, 
according to age, have the under-wing coloration uniform. 
Though D. melanophris was not characterised in literature until 1828, it is 
of interest to note that Solander discriminated and described it in manuscript 
over fifty years earlier. At the same time he also described another species 
of MoUymawk, noted two varieties of D. exulans, and also described the Sooty 
♦ 
VOL. n. 
269 
