,,4 V i *• Li V- 
travelers who oaiae to Laysan with considerable exaggorat ion» placed the 
mu* 
ibers of albatross in the millions, and in actuality their numbers ran 
to many thousands* Mated pairs of the Laysan species dotted the whole 
inner basin except where bushes prevented their nesting, while the 
sooty albatross colonized the barren sand beaches* 
These great colonies, still in existence today, are the scene 
of intensely interesting activities* Mated pairs are ever attentive to 
one another and at the same time exhibit a lively interest in the doings 
of their neighbors. Man, as a comparative new comer, is still treated 
as an equafc, and not as a being to be eyed with fear, and as we gaze albatross 
come walking up to examine us with ouriosity, touching an outstretched hand 
with the bill as a token of friendliness and then, satisfied, strolling off 
about their own affairs, all with quiet dignity and an utter lack of fear. 
At the same time dozens of pairs near at hand or in the distance indulge 
in the famous albatross danoe* a strange social custom that never oeases 
to attraot and amuse the observer. Two birds approach one another and 
fence with clicking bills for a few seconds, then step about to one side, 
rise on tip toe and bow, suddenly raise one wing and proen the feathers 
beneath it, and then devote the bill directly upward and emit a hollow 
groan. *i-*4aes both performers aot in unison; again one is out of time. 
Others eager to Join wander up and a performer may finish with one partner 
only to begin immediately with another. This curious danoe - we may term 
it the Laysan minuet - unlike the antios of most birds which are confined 
to court ship-continues through the entire period of inoubat ion^ and the 
rearing of the young, as the eggs are laid in November and December, 
hatch a month later, ani the young remain under the parent’s care until 
