the intertropical seas and southern ocean, over whose vast expanse they sail, on outspread and almost motionless wings, in search of prey, such fishes as approach the surface. To the flying fish they are peculiarly obnoxious; driven by the dolphin out of the water, to vibrate their finny wings in a short flight through the air, these mighty birds sweep upon them, and seize them with their powerful beak, the edges of which, in both mandibles, are sharp as a knife. Fish of many pounds in weight are securely grasped by this formidable instrument, and borne away with the utmost ease. Their voracity is equal to their powers, and they are capable of swallowing a very large fish at a single bolt.

The vast extent of wing which the Albatross possesses, renders it a difficult matter for the bird to raise itself from the surface of the water on which it is reposing; it has to skim, as it were, for some distance, violently agitating the wings, before it can fairly mount; but once up, it sweeps majestically along on pinions calmly expanded to the gale ; now wheeling round, now plunging amidst the billows, till covered with the dashing spray; now soaring in the sky, now sailing before the wind, now making way against it, as if possessing the control of the elements. The fact is, that the apparatus of air cells which intervene between the muscles and the skin, and occupy the interior of the bones, in addition to the vast spread of wing, in which no bird exceeds the Albatross, so contributes to diminish its specific gravity, that it has merely to give to its body, when duly elevated, the impulse needed to propel it onwards; for as a fish floats in the water, so does the Albatross in the air.

The best known and most celebrated of the birds of this genus is the WANDERING ALBATROSS, (Diomedea exulans.) Far far from land is this gigantic bird seen, usually skimming close over the surface of the ocean, but sometimes soaring high above the clouds, hurrying perhaps with food to its distant home. The rocky and desolate islands scattered in the ocean are the spots to which it retires for incubation; of these we may particularize the Crozettes, Marion Islands, Tristan d'Acunha,

&c. Latham mentions Patagonia and the Falkland Isles as among its breeding places, and observes; "To the latter they come about the end of September, or beginning of October, among other birds in great abundance. The nests are made on the ground, with earth, of a round shape, a foot in height, and indented at top; the egg is larger than that of a goose, white marked with dull spots at the large end, and is thought to be good food. While the female is sitting, the male is constantly on the wing to supply her with food; and during this period they are so tame as to suffer themselves to be shoved from the nest while the eggs are taken from them; but at other times, when caught, they will defend themselves stoutly with the bill. Their cry is said to be a harsh sonorous kind of braying. The Wandering Albatross has been often noticed between six and seven hundred leagues from land, in the middle of the Southern Ocean; it is reasonable therefore to conclude that it habitually reposes like the gulls, which it otherwise much resembles, while floating on the surface of the water, though it neither dives nor can be said truly to swim. The length of the Albatross is between three and four feet; and in extent of wing the measurement is from nine to ten, or even eleven feet; many voyagers mention them as greatly exceeding these dimensions, but of numerous specimens which we have examined, none have exceeded the proportions stated. The general colour is a dull white, clouded with pale brown, the wings being black; the bill is yellow; the legs, flesh-colour. From the eye to the end of the beak, the specimen before us measures nearly eight inches.

The other species are the Diomedea spadicea, D. chlororhynchus, D. fuliginosa, D. brachyura, and D. melanophris. The three former, together with the D. exulans, were noticed, by Capt. Carmichael, breeding on the island of Tristan d'Acunha, and an account of the differences in habit exhibited by each species is given in the twelfth volume of the Linnæan Transactions for 1818. Contrary to Latham's assertion, the D. exulans and

spadicea "give themselves no trouble in constructing their nest, merely choosing a dry spot of ground and giving it a slight concavity to prevent the egg from rolling out of its place;" but the black Albatrosses (D. fuliginosa) which "are gregarious, building their nests close to each other," construct them of mud, raised five or six inches, and slightly depressed at the top.".... "There was something extremely grotesque in the appearance of these birds, standing on their respective hillocks, motionless, like so many statues, until we approached close to them, when they set up the strangest clattering with their beaks, and, if we touched them, squirted on us a deluge of fetid oily fluid from the stomach." ... The D. chlororyhnchus builds a solitary nest, retiring to some sheltered corner, and selecting in particular "the small drains that draw the water off the land into the ravines. There it runs up its nest to the height of ten or twelve inches, of a cylindrical form, with a small ditch around the base." "We could not help admiring the utter unconsciousness of danger displayed by them on our approach; they never showed the least disposition to move out of our way; even when kicked or pulled off their nests, they made not the smallest show of resistance, but quietly returned to their post or stood still until we past on."

The Petrels naturally succeed the albatrosses. Tenants of the ocean, from whose waves they derive their sole subsistence, they skim the deep for food, and are mostly seen during gloomy weather, or when the sun is below the horizon; in the arctic regions they are busy during the whole of the clear bright nights which are peculiar to those latitudes. They breed in holes among the rocks or sands of barren shores or islands, but never, except driven by stress of weather, venture far inland; on the contrary, they are often observed hundreds of miles out at sea, braving the tempest and the storm. With singular alertness they appear to run up and down the billows, aided by outstretched wings, but are seldom seen to settle on the surface; nor have they the power of diving. The term Petrel, (Little Peter,) their general name in Europe,

has been given in consequence of their thus walking on the water, in allusion to that remarkable circumstance in the life of the apostle, (recorded in the fourteenth of Matthew,) who, at the command of Jesus, hesitated not to trust his weight to the liquid element, but whose faith failed him when the wind arose and he was beginning to sink, when his Lord, whose help he implored, stretched forth his hand, able to save him. And is it not thus even now with the believer, tossed on the boisterous waves of a stormy and changing life, when beginning to sink, he calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and is upheld?

The Petrels are divided very naturally into three sections or genera; the first of these is the genus Procellaria. The beak is moderate, strong, and hard, with sharp edges to the mandibles, arched and hooked at the tip, the point of the lower mandible being much compressed. The nostrils open into a convex elevated tube, opening by a single rounded orifice on the ridge of the beak. Wings long and pointed; legs of moderate length; toes, three before, webbed completely, hind toe represented by a slightly curved nail.

The Fulmar Petrels, which the present genus contains, are remarkable for their powerful bill, broad at the base and hooked at the tip. They are more diurnal than the rest of the Petrels, and skim the waves with an easy buoyant flight. Occasionally they repose on the ocean, but seldom visit land except for the purpose of incubation. Their food consists of the blubber of whales, fish, marine insects, &c.; and, as is the case with all the rest, they possess the power of squirting a clear liquid oil from their tubular nostrils with considerable force; this seems their usual and perhaps only mode of defence. They are inhabitants of the higher latitudes of both hemispheres, and breed in the holes of rocks, laying but one egg.

Of this genus the NORTHERN FULMAR, or FULMAR PETREL, (Procellaria glacialis,) is the best example. Common in the icy seas, being at all times abundant in Davis Straits and Baffin's Bay, it would appear to be in some degree migratory; for Captain Sabine, who observed it in these places, states, that while the ships were