Family 6. SKIMMERS. Rynchopidæ.
Toes four, three front ones webbed; bill thin and blade like, the maxilla longer than the mandible; tail slightly forked.
Order III. Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Petrels, Etc. TUBINARES.
(2 families, 30 species, 1 subspecies.)
Sea-birds keeping, as a rule, well off shore, and flying low, near the water, often skimming over the waves. Bill, with upper mandible hooked; nostrils opening through tubes; wings long and pointed; tail short; feet webbed; hind-toe rudimentary or absent. Color usually gray or black and white; no bright markings.
Family 7. ALBATROSSES. DIOMEDEIDÆ.
Nostrils opening through tubes, separated and on either side of the bill.
