67 
83. Yellow-nosed Albatross. Thalassogeron culminatus. L, 36. A white Albatross 
with dark mantle and wings, pale legs and feet, and a yellow culmen. 
Distinctions. Plate on culmen narrow, not widen- 
ing behind nostrils to meet the plates of the sides of the 
mandible (Figure 104, compare with 103) separates this 
from the previously mentioned and more common 
Albatrosses. Head and neck greyish, shading into a 
decided dark, cinnamon brown mantle and wings. 
Field Marks. A white Albatross with greyish head 
and neck and a cinnamon brown mantle and wings. 
Distribution. South Pacific, South Atlantic, and 
Indian oceans. 
Once taken near the mouth of Columbia 
river and once in gulf of St. Lawrence. No 
actual British Columbia records, but should be looked for because of its 
nearby occurrence. 
FAMILY — HYDROBATIDAE. LESSER TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. 
FULMARS, SHEARWATERS, AND PETRELS 
General Description. See previous description of order. 
Distinctions. Lesser Tube-nosed Swimmers are smaller than the Albatrosses. Nostril 
tubes on top of bill, fused together or separate (Figures 105-107). 
Field Marks. General coloration and flight habits. ^Wings 
stiffly held straight out from the body and long, steady glides on 
motionless wings (Fulmars and Shearwaters), or gently flitting 
close to the surface up one side of a wave and down the other, with 
feet occasionally paddling along as if running on the surface 
(Petrels). 
Distribution. The family is distributed over the oceans of 
the world from pole to pole. Though many species are regularly 
confined to the southern hemisphere they are great wanderers 
and the list of stragglers on our northern coast is comparatively 
large. Of many species very little is known, and our knowledge 
of several of them is confined to single, or a few, specimens, that 
have found their way into collectors’ hands. Other species than 
those here listed may be eventually found on our coasts, but 
their identification should be made with the greatest caution. 
Economic Status. Though feeding almost entirely on fish and offal, 
their deep sea habitat renders these birds of little economic importance. 
Subfamily— Fulmarinae. Fulmars 
General Description. Among the larger of the Lesser Tube-nosed Swimmers. Smoky 
grey, or white with pale grey mantle, like a Gull. 
Distinctions. Bill comparatively short and stout, heavily built. Nostrils in tubes 
closely fused together and, in the single species so far noted on our British Columbia coast, 
extending almost to the base of the terminal hook (Figure 105, compare with 106 and 107). 
Field Marks. See species, following. 
86. Fulmar (Including Pacific Fulmar). Fulmarus glacialis. L, 19. A large 
bird of gull-like coloration (light phase), or evenly dark, slaty grey (dark phase), and tube- 
encased nostrils (Figure 105). 
Distinctions. One of the larger of the Lesser Tube-noses, even grey, or white and 
grey gull-like coloration. 
Field Marks. Flight habits, stiffly-held outstretched wings, and long glides, together 
with light or grey coloration instead of dark brown as in the Shearwaters, which approach 
the Fulmars in size, should usually render this species recognizable in life. 
Nesting, In large communities on ledges of rocky cliffs. 
91054— 5J 
Figure 105 
Bill of Fulmar; 
scale, $. 
Bill of Yellow-nosed Albatross; 
scale, 
