ange.--The South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, breeding from New Jersey
southward. The Black Skimmer is about eighteen inches in length, and
besides the remarkable bill is a bird of striking plumage; the forehead,
ends of the secondaries, tail feathers and under parts are white; the
rest of the plumage is black and the basal half of the bill is crimson.
Skimmers nest in large communities, the same as do the Terns, laying
their eggs in hollows in the sand. They are partially nocturnal in their
habits and their hoarse barking cries may be heard after the shadows of
night have enveloped the earth. Fishermen call them by the names of
"Cut-water" and "Sea Dog." The nesting season commences in May and
continues through June and July. They lay from three to five eggs,
having a creamy or yellowish buff ground, blotched with black, chestnut
and lilac. Size 1.75 x 1.30. Data.--Cobb's Is., Va., June 8, 1894. Three
eggs laid in a hollow on the beach. No nest.

[Illustration 060: Buffy yellow.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 59

TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. Order III. TUBINARES.

ALBATROSSES. Family DIOMEDEIDAE

Albatrosses are the largest of the sea birds and have an enormous
expanse of wing, the Wandering Albatross, the largest of the family,
sometimes attaining an expanse of fourteen feet. Their nostrils consist
of two slightly projecting tubes, one on each side near the base of the
bill. They are unsurpassed in powers of flight, but are only fair
swimmers and rarely, if ever, dive, getting their food, which consists
of dead animal matter, from the surface of the water.

81. BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS. _Diomedea nigripes._

Range.--North Pacific from California northward. This Albatross is
thirty-two inches in length; it is of a uniform sooty brown color
shading into whitish at the base of the bill, which is rounded. Like the
other members of the family, this species is noted for its extended
flights, following vessels day after day without any apparent period of
rest, for the purpose of feeding on the refuse that is thrown overboard.
They breed during our winter on some of the small isolated islands in
the extreme southern portions of the globe. They lay a single white egg
on the bare ground.

82. SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS. _Diomedea albatrus._

Range.--North Pacific Ocean in summer, from Lower California to Alaska.
With the exception of the Wandering Albatross, which is now regarded as
doubtful as occurring off our coasts,