picture. For though the albatross
has been seen in our latitudes, yet the southern seas are his native
home. There he spreads his long wings and floats over the ocean like a
white sea-king. The greater part of his feathers are white, but the head
and back are shaded with grey. There are many kinds of albatross, but
the great Wandering Albatross, as it is called, is the largest, and
though the body is not much bigger than that of a pelican, the wings,
which are long and narrow, have been known to measure as much as
fourteen feet across when fully expanded, or spread out. Must he not
look a noble bird, sailing as he does calmly round and round, far up in
the air, over those southern seas? From the length of his wings, the
albatross has some little trouble in raising himself from the surface of
the water, where he often floats at rest. He has to skim along half
flying and half running for some distance, until his wings are clear of
the water; then he soars away, seldom flapping his wings, but rising,
sinking, and floating through the air, as if kept up by some internal
power. As he seldom is obliged to flap his wings he does not get tired
of flying, and can remain on the wing for a very, very long time,
pursuing his prey, or enjoying the sailing motion through the air.

[Illustration: THE ALBATROSS.]

The albatross feeds on fish or on smaller sea-fowl, and is a very
voracious bird; that is, he will eat a great quantity, and devours in a
greedy way. His chief food consists of flying-fish, as they are called.
The flying-fish is a little like the common herring, but much prettier,
for it is covered with bright blue and silver scales, and its fins are
also a brilliant azure. It does not really fly. That is, it has no
wings, but it has very large strong fins attached near its gills, by
means of which it can spring out of the water and dart some distance
through the air. This fish is very nice eating, _particularly_ good, and
it is sought after very eagerly by larger fish. And not only by fish;
the water-fowl who are large enough to eat it, are always on the watch
for the flying-fish, and as the poor thing springs from the water to
enjoy the bright sunshine and fresh air, or perhaps to escape some of
its under-water foes, especially the dolphin who is one of its deadliest
enemies, it frequently finds itself snapped up by the albatross before
it can return to its native element. The albatross loves also to follow
in the wake of