[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR. "]
SIR,—In the Spectator of April 25th, 1903, there is an article by Mr. F. T. Bullen on the wandering albatross. Speaking of the habits of this species, Mr. Bullen says that when the egg is hatched the male at once departs, leaving the female alone to rear the young bird. His words are : " So she fed him and sheltered him and taught him sea-lore until he had taken bis first long flight." Sir Walter Buller in the second edition of his "Birds of New Zealand," speaking of Diomedea exulans, quotes to the following effect :—
"At a certain time of the year, between February and June, Mr. Harris cannot exactly say when, the old birds leave their young and go to sea, and do not return until the next October, when they arrive in large numbers. Each pair goes at once to its old nest ; and after a little fondling of the young one, which has remained in or near the nest the whole time, they turn it out and prepare the nest for the next brood. The deserted young ones are in good condition and very lively, frequently being seen off their nests, exercising their wings. When the old birds return and take possession of their nest, the young one often remains outside, and nibbles at the head of the old one until the feathers between the beak and the eye are removed and the skin made quite sore. The young birds do not go far from land until the following year, when they accompany the old ones to sea."
Sir Walter Buller continues thus :—
"There can be no reasonable doubt as to the truth of this account, wonderful as it may appear. The Maoris, who are good natural observers, confirm the story, and state that when the young birds are left they are so immensely fat that they can sub- sist for months without food of any kind. Professor Hutton ex- pressed a belief that the young birds are nocturnal (although the old ones are strictly diurnal) and go down to the sea at night, returning to their nests in the morning' ; but Mr. Harris rejects this theory, stating that they are incapable of flight, and that the situations occupied by many of them made it impossible to get to the water except by that means."
It would be interesting to know which authority is correct.
The matter resolves itself, then, into this. Is the nestling of Diomedea ezulans deserted by both parents for at least four months, during which it neither feeds itself nor is fed ; or is it reared by the female bird, as Mr. F. T. Bullen asserts ; or does it, as Professor Hutton seems to believe, when deserted,
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