Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-05
THE ALBATROSS.
Habits of the Big Bird Of Southern
Seas.

In The Sunday at Home for Sep
tember Frank Bullen gives some
curious particulars of the habits OF the
albatross. After describing the bird
as about the size of medium goose,
but with much shorter neck, he says;
THE beak is pale yellow in color, from
eight to ten inches in length. with nos
trlls on the upper mandible, about two
inches from its root. This upper
mandible has a formidable looking
hook at the end. which curves down
over the point of the lower mandible
to a length of one and a half inches,
and tapers to a very keen point.
AT the junction of the mandibles
with the head they are capable of great
expansion, permitting the bird to swal-
low masses of food, such as blubber,
at least four inches square, although
l believe l have seen them swallow
larger pieces than that. But the pc
culiarly distinctive feature of the al
batross is its great pair of wings
They have three joints, and when
widespread the front edges make al
most perfect right angles with the
body. And their extent from tip to tip
is somtimes as much as sixteen feet,
or over five yards. Their breadth from
front to back is about eight inches, but
at the last joint they begin to taper off
to a point. The color of the upper
part of the wing is Invariably a dark
brown, which often extends across the
back, while that of the rest of the body
is pure white. The feathers are very
thick and deep, and beneath them
there is a coating of the softest down.
| as fine as the best Of that obtained
from the elder duck. But l regret to
say that this pure white fluff is the
| home of a multitude of parasites, from
which none of the birds are free. The
| flesh of the bird is. as might be expect
ed from it's habits, exceedingly tough:
in color it is nearly black, becoming
quite so sitter brief exposure to The
air. Also it has a very rank, oily
flavor of stale fish. making it quite
uneatab.e to the ordinary person
French sailors, however. with the
culinary aptitude of their nation, hang
it until it is nearly putrid. and then
make stews of it, which they profess to
find excellent.
THE albatross seldom obtains a meal of
lTeSn 1Sn. mis- movements in or near the
water not being smart enough to secure
feeding upon offal And such offall. The
carcass of whale a few days after
death as it floats upon the sea is extraor-
dinarily offensive. but whenever one is
found 1t is always the centre of clamor-
Gus multitude of sea birds. and when
this happens to be in the haunts of the
alba tross these birds are always in the
majority: for they angrily drive away all
others: 1t seems rather a pity that so
snlsndid creature should he such a foul
and greedy feeder, but so it is. 1t never
seems to have had enough, even though
1t should Rave so loaded its stomach that
1t cannot rise from the water. 1t sits
there almost helplessly, now and then
giving utterance to a harsh scream as if
Of rage at its inability to eat any more
And very often it may be seen to dis
gorge a quantity of what It has swal-
lowed. and Immediately rush upon the
carcass again. as if eager to renew his
rapaoious devourings, at the same time