Since the period of its discovery, this bird has been again observed only by Dr. Heermann, who has kindly furnished the following note from his Journal:— “The Black-footed Albatross abounds on the coast of California and southward, as do several other species of this genus. It is commonly to be seen skimming over the waves in its flight, and following in the wake of vessels, to pick up the refuse scraps thrown overboard. With the voracity characteristic of these birds, it seizes with little discrimination on whatever is thrown into the water, and of this propensity advantage may be taken by baiting a hook, by which, when seized, the bird is easily secured. From the stern-ports of our ship, during a voyage by sea to California, I have thus captured eight or ten specimens of this and other species of this genus in a single morning. All the species much resemble each other in habits, so far as my observations extend. “On the coast of California, I observed a White Albatross much smaller than the large _Diomedea exulans_, but not having succeeded in procuring it, I cannot designate the species.” The small white species alluded to by Dr. Heermann, is probably new to the ornithology of North America. Of the species known as inhabitants, we may say of the Pacific ocean, several have not heretofore been noticed by naturalists on the shores of the United States. DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS. Genus Diomedea. Linnæus, Syst. Nat. I., p. 214. (1766.) Size large; general form short and compact; wings very long; bill straight, much compressed, hooked at the tip; both mandibles usually with lateral grooves; apertures of the nostrils tubular; first primary longest; secondaries short; tail short; legs moderate; feet large. Diomedea nigripes. Audubon, Ornith. Biog. V., p. 327. (1839.) Form. Medium sized or rather small for a bird of this genus; bill straight, hooked at the tip; upper mandible expanded on the forehead, its basal edge forming a crescent very distinct from the frontal feathers; tubular nostrils prominent; wing long; first quill longest; tail short, nearly square at the tip; tarsi short; feet large; tibia naked above the joint with the tarsus. Dimensions. Total length of skin, 26 inches; wing, 19; tail, 5 inches. Colors. Plumage at the base of the bill pale brownish-white, of which color there is also a spot behind and under the eye; entire other plumage above and below sooty brown, darkest on the back and wings, lighter on the under parts, and having a gray tinge on the breast; bill dark; tarsi and feet black. Hab. Western Coast of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad., Philada.