THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Nothing much has been written about the hfe-history of this bird. The 
accounts are so confused that it seems almost impossible to refer early notes 
to their correct places. One peculiarity however which appears well estabhshed, 
is its breeding in crevices on the face of sea-cliffs, as noted in the following 
extract which belongs to the bird I figure : — 
‘‘ As the whaleboat was rowed up the various arms of Carnley Harbour, 
at the Auckland Islands, we frequently saw the sooty albatros sitting on its 
nest in a cleft in the perpendicular face of the cliffs. On our way to Musgrave 
Peninsula, on the 24th November, we discovered two birds nesting close 
together on a ledge not more than 30 feet from the base of the cliff. A member 
of our Maori crew climbed to one of the nests and seized the bird by the legs. 
We thus had an opportunity of examining it alive. The bill is black, and the 
groove on the mandible is blue ; eye, hazel ; upper eyelid and hinder part of 
lower lid, white ; head, sooty ; neck, and upper back, pale grey ; wings, dark 
bluish-grey ; legs and feet, pink (not yellow, as described) ; shafts of wings 
and tail feathers, white. 
“ This bird is also known to breed at Antipodes Island, where I saw it 
wheeling over the cliffs. I have not seen notice of it at Campbell Island, where 
I obtained eggs in February, 1907, taken on the western cliffs.”* 
The coloration of the feet had been correctly described by BuUer {Trans. 
New Zeal. Inst. 1892, Vol. XXV., p. 78, 1893), who also recorded it as breeding 
at the Campbell Island {id. 1891, Vol. XXIV., p. 84, 1892) where its cliff-ledge 
nesting-habits are recorded and commented upon. 
At the present time much confusion exists in the past history of the 
Sooty Albatroses. 
The first published note seems to be that of Forster {Voyage Round the 
World, Vol. I., p. 91, 1777), while in Cook’s Voyages, Vol. I., p. 38, 1777, we 
read : “ Mr. Forster shot an albatross, whose plumage was of a colour 
between brown and dark grey, the head and the upper side of the wings 
rather inclining to black, and it had white eyebrows. Latitude 64° 12' S. 
and longitude 38° 14' E.” 
In the Gen. Synops. Birds, Vol. III., p. 309, 1785, Latham described the 
“ Sooty Albatross ” as follows : — 
Sooty, or brown Albatross. Forst. Voy. 1, p. 91. 
Albatross with a white eyebrow. Cook’s Voy. 1, p. 38. 
Size of a Goose ; length near three feet. Bill black ; hides pale yellow ; at each 
angle of the eye a nictitating membrane ; general colour of the plumage brown ; the head 
and tail mclining to black or soot-colour ; for a small space above, behind, and beneath 
the eye, the feathers are white, but not on the fore part of it ; quills and tail dark brown, 
nearly black ; the shafts of both white ; the last pointed in shape ; legs pale brownish 
lead-colour, claws black. 
* Waite, Subant. Isl. New Zeal., p. 575, 1909. 
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