he devoted
attention of specialists, was zoological collecting. Seals and birds
were made the prey of every one, and dredging through the sea-ice in
winter and spring was always a possible diversion.

It was a splendid sight to watch the birds sailing in the high winds of
Adelie Land. In winds of fifty to seventy miles per hour, when with good
crampons one had to stagger warily along the ice-foot, the snow petrels
and Antarctic petrels were in their element. Wheeling, swinging,
sinking, planing and soaring, they were radiant with life--the wild
spirits of the tempest. Even in moderate drift, when through swirling
snow the vistas of sea whitened under the flail of the wind, one
suddenly caught the silver flash of wings and a snow petrel glided past.

But most memorable of all were certain winter mornings of unexpected
calm, when ruddy clouds tessellated the northern sky and were mirrored
in the freezing sea. Then the petrels would be en fete, flying over from
the east following the line of the Barrier, winding round the icy
coves, darting across the jutting points and ever onward in their
long migration. In the summer they flew for weeks from the west--a
never-ending string of snow, silver-grey and Antarctic petrels, and
Cape pigeons. The silver-grey petrels and Cape pigeons were only abroad
during that season and were accompanied by skua gulls, giant petrels,
Wilson petrels, and penguins. The penguins remained in Adelie Land for
the longest period--almost six months, the skua gulls and giant petrels
for five months, and the rest for a shorter period--the tolerable season
of midsummer.

Birds that haunt the wide oceans all make use of the soaring principle
in flight, some much more than others. The beautiful sliding sweep of
the albatross is the most familiar example. With wings outspread, it is
a miniature aeroplane requiring no engines, for the wind itself supplies
the power. A slight movement of the tail-feathers and wing-tips controls
its balance with nice precision. Birds employing this method of flight
find their home in the zone of continuous steady winds which blow across
the broad wastes of the southern seas.

Many petrels on the wing were shot during the winter. Laseron, who
prepared the skins of our Adelie Land collection, determined, in the
case of a number of specimens, the ratio of weight to horizontal area
exposed to the wind. This subject is one which has lately exercised the
curiosity of aviators. Th