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diff --git a/42537-0.txt b/42537-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d71a69 --- /dev/null +++ b/42537-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22387 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42537 *** + + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS + + MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY + + + VOLUME 3 · 1951 + + + EDITORS + + E. RAYMOND HALL, _Chairman_ + A. BYRON LEONARD + EDWARD H. TAYLOR + ROBERT W. WILSON + + + MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS + LAWRENCE + 1951 + + + + + MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS + LAWRENCE + + + + PRINTED BY + FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER + TOPEKA, KANSAS + 1951 + +[Illustration] + + 24-1811 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + 1. The Avifauna of Micronesia, Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution. + By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text. June 12, 1951 + + 2. A Quantitative Study of the Nocturnal Migration of Birds. By George + H. Lowery, Jr. Pp. 361-472, 47 figures in text. June 29, 1951 + + 3. Phylogeny of the Waxwings and Allied Birds. By M. Dale Arvey. Pp. + 473-530, 49 figures in text, 13 tables. October 10, 1951 + + 4. Birds from the State of Veracruz, Mexico. By George H. Lowery, Jr. + and Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 531-649, 7 figures in text, 2 tables. + October 10, 1951 + + Index, Pp. 651-681. + + + + + The Avifauna of Micronesia, + Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution + + BY + + ROLLIN H. BAKER + + + University of Kansas Publications + Museum of Natural History + + Volume 3, No. 1, pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text + June 12, 1951 + + + University of Kansas + LAWRENCE + 1951 + + + + + The Avifauna of Micronesia, + Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution + + BY + + ROLLIN H. BAKER + + + University of Kansas Publications + Museum of Natural History + + Volume 3, No. 1, pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text + June 12, 1951 + + + University of Kansas + LAWRENCE + 1951 + + + + + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY + + Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, A. Byron Leonard, + Edward H. Taylor, Robert W. Wilson + + =Volume 3, No. 1, pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text + Published June 12, 1951= + + + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS + Lawrence, Kansas + + PRINTED BY + FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER + TOPEKA, KANSAS + 1951 + +[Illustration] + + 22-8131 + + + + + The Avifauna of Micronesia, + Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution + + By + + ROLLIN H. BAKER + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 5 + + DESCRIPTION OF MICRONESIA 5 + Climate 8 + Soils 9 + Surface water 9 + Vegetation 10 + + GAZETTEER OF THE ISLANDS OF MICRONESIA 11 + Mariana Islands 11 + Palau Islands 13 + Caroline Islands 14 + Marshall Islands 15 + + ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION IN MICRONESIA 16 + + CHECK-LIST OF THE BIRDS OF MICRONESIA 21 + + DISCUSSION OF THE AVIFAUNA 28 + Oceanic Birds 28 + Inshore Oceanic Birds 29 + Offshore and Pelagic Oceanic Birds 30 + Faunal Components 30 + Migratory Shore Birds 32 + Original Homes of the Shore Birds that Visit Micronesia 32 + Routes of Migration 34 + Populations of Shore Birds in Micronesia 37 + Land and Fresh-Water Birds 42 + Polynesian Component 44 + Melanesian Component 44 + Moluccan and Celebesian Components 45 + Philippine Component 45 + Palearctic Component 46 + Speciation 48 + Time of Colonization 50 + Factors Causing Dispersal 52 + Analysis of Speciation 55 + + CONSERVATION OF THE AVIFAUNA OF MICRONESIA 58 + + THE FUTURE OF ORNITHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN MICRONESIA 60 + + METHODS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 60 + + ACCOUNTS OF THE KINDS OF BIRDS IN MICRONESIA 63 + + SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 340 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 343 + + + + +FIGURES IN TEXT + + + FIGURE PAGE + + 1. The islands of Micronesia. 6 + + 2. The Mariana Islands. 12 + + 3. The Palau Islands. 13 + + 4. The Caroline Islands. 15 + + 5. The Marshall Islands. 16 + + 6. Routes of migration used by shore birds in the Pacific. 34 + + 7. Avifaunal regions of the central Pacific. 43 + + 8. Faunal areas from which Micronesian birds have been derived. 46 + + 9. Routes of dispersal of rails in the Pacific area. 120 + + 10. Variation in length of culmen of _Sterna s. sumatrana_. 159 + + 11. Geographic distribution of _Thalasseus bergii_. 164 + + 12. Geographic distribution of _Gygis alba_ in the Pacific. 177 + + 13. Distribution and dispersal of _Ptilinopus porphyraceus_. 190 + + 14. Distribution and dispersal of _Gallicolumba_ in the Pacific. 204 + + 15. Distribution and dispersal of _Acrocephalus_ in the Pacific. 260 + + 16. Distribution and dispersal of _Myzomela_ in the Pacific. 316 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Birds in Micronesia comprise the most outstanding animal life of the +islands, as far as vertebrates are concerned. No fewer than 206 kinds, +belonging to 37 families and 91 genera have been found there. Although +this number upon first consideration may seem large, actually any large +land mass in the same latitude has many more kinds of birds than does +Micronesia. In this connection it is pertinent to recall that the +islands of Micronesia are oceanic and have apparently been formed +independently of any continental land mass. Thus, animal life found on +these islands has reached them by overseas migration, either by some +passive means or by individual effort. Zoogeographers have had some +difficulty in explaining the presence of snails and other nonflying +animals on isolated oceanic islands. Crampton, in his studies of the +land snails of the genus _Partula_ at Guam and Saipan (1925:10), writes, +"Despite the geological difficulties, the biological findings strongly +support the view that the dominant process in this part of Oceania has +been one of subsidence and of insular dissection." Although there exists +today some question as to how certain forms of life have reached these +remote dots of land, the ornithologist has not been much in doubt as to +the actual _means_ of arrival of birds. With the exception of six kinds +of birds which are definitely known to have been introduced by man, the +birds have apparently reached these islands by flying there from +somewhere else. The ornithologist is, therefore, concerned with learning +_from where_, _by what route_, _when_, and _why_ the various species of +birds came and _how_ they have become established on these islands of +Micronesia. These birds exist in small populations; often less than 100 +individuals of one kind may be found on a small island. How have such +small numbers had the ability to survive and what environmental +adaptations have occurred, are two additional questions which confront +the student of Micronesian birds. + + + + +DESCRIPTION OF MICRONESIA + + +The vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean is dotted with numerous islands, +most of which are concentrated in the central and western part and are +known collectively as Oceania. Within Oceania three divisions are +popularly recognized: Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. According to +Krieger (1943:6), the Micronesia islands include the Mariana, Palau, +Caroline, Marshall, and Gilbert islands; they may take in also the +Volcano, Bonin, and Ellice islands (from the standpoint of +anthropology). Zoogeographically, according to Wallace (1876), +Micronesia is to be included in the Polynesian Subregion of the +Australian Region. Mayr (1941a:193), on the basis of the distribution of +birds, ranks Micronesia as one of the four subdivisions of the +Polynesian Subregion, and includes within Micronesia the Palau, +Caroline, Mariana, Marshall, and Gilbert islands. Except in the +discussion of distribution, this report does not treat of the avifauna +of the Gilbert Islands, which straddle the equator south of the Marshall +Islands. This report is concerned only with the birds in the Mariana, +Palau, Caroline, and Marshall islands formerly mandated to Japan, and +with the birds of the island of Guam, which is a possession of the +United States. + +[Illustration: FIG. 1. The Islands of Micronesia] + +The word Micronesia is, of course, derived from the Greek words _mikros_ +meaning small and _nesos_ meaning island, and, as shown in figure 1, +this term is appropriate, for the islands of this area are small. For +the most part they are too small even for inclusion on standard-sized +maps of the world. There are thousands of these islands in an area some +2,400 miles long from east to west and some 1,200 miles broad from north +to south. All of the islands of Micronesia are oceanic islands; that is +to say, they have never been connected to the Asiatic continent or to +other land masses by means of land bridges. + +Geologists and oceanographers have shown (see descriptions by Hobbs, +1945), that islands of Micronesia are of two general types: arcuate and +strewn. The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by rising mountain ranges which +are arranged in elongated, near-circular arcs, which form an extended +series of scallops. In the western Pacific these sweeping arcs extend +into the ocean, where the mountain ranges project upward from the bottom +of the sea with only the crests showing above the waves to point out, in +dotted outline, the position of the mountains. The easternmost of these +arcs is marked by the islands of the Aleutians, Kuriles, Japan, Izo, +Bonins, Volcanoes, Marianas, Yap, Palaus, and others continuing +southward into Melanesia. These are characterized by igneous rocks of +andesitic nature. + +To the eastward of the arcuate islands in Micronesia, are numerous and +irregularly distributed islands, making up all of the central and +eastern Carolines and the Marshalls, which are known as strewn islands. +Strewn islands mark the places of former volcanoes or volcanic peaks. If +these volcanic peaks have been completely drowned and are now marked by +a series of low islands edged by a protecting reef formed by coral +growth enclosing a lagoon and with all exposures consisting of coral +rock, the island is known as a coral atoll (example, Ulithi Atoll). Some +of the coral exposures lack lagoons; they are known merely as coral +islands (example, East Fayu). Some atolls become elevated by geologic +activity and the lagoons may dry out or drain. The accumulation of guano +of oceanic birds and the residue of fish and other organisms in the area +of the lagoon remains as a rich phosphate deposit; these raised atolls +have been called phosphate islands (example, Fais). Other strewn islands +consist of igneous rocks which are exposed above the surface of the +ocean. These are known as "high" or volcanic islands and may occur as a +single mountain rising out of the ocean (example, Kusaie), or be partly +drowned and surrounded by a coral reef (example, Truk). The igneous +rocks found on these strewn islands are basaltic in nature. + +The Mariana Islands consist of a chain of volcanic islands approximately +450 miles long. As shown in figure 2, there are 14 single islands and +one group of three islands (Maug), from Uracas in the north to Guam in +the south. The Palau Islands which are situated in the easternmost part +of Micronesia have often been considered from a political standpoint as +part of the Caroline Islands. As shown in figure 3, the Palau Islands +are a chain of islands approximately 120 miles long from north to south. +Sonsorol, Tobi, Merir, Pulo Anna, and Helen Island occur to the +southward of the Palaus and may be considered as part of the Carolines +or as part of the Palaus. The Palaus together with the Carolines, to the +eastward, extend in an east-west direction for approximately 1,700 +miles. The Palaus and Carolines include (as shown in figures 3 and 4) 37 +atolls, 34 banks, 11 coral islands without lagoons, 2 uplifted phosphate +islands, 4 volcanic islands, and the Palau chain. The Marshall Islands +to the extreme eastward extend approximately 700 miles from north to +south and, as shown in figure 5, contain 29 atolls and five coral +islands without lagoons. No volcanic exposures occur in the Marshall +Islands. + +There is a total land surface of approximately 846 square miles in the +islands of Micronesia. The Palaus and Carolines have 525 square miles, +the Marianas 247 square miles, and the Marshalls 74 square miles of land +surface. Guam has the largest land surface of any of the islands of +Micronesia with 225 square miles, Ponapé has 145 square miles, and +Babelthuap has 143 square miles. Asuncion, in the northern Marianas, has +the highest elevation, rising as an almost perfect cone to a height of +2,923 feet; Ponapé reaches a height of 2,579 feet above the sea level. +The volcanic islands are known as "high" islands, and the coral atolls +are known as "low" islands. The coral islands usually rise but a few +feet above sea level. + + +CLIMATE + +In Micronesia there are two seasons: a wet summer and a dryer winter. +Temperatures rarely go above 90° F. and rarely below 70° F. Rainfall in +the Marianas averages approximately 85 inches per year, in the Palaus +approximately 150 inches, in the Carolines it ranges from 129 to 185 +inches, and in the Marshalls it goes up to 160 inches. The humidity is +excessive, the average annual mean of relative humidity for selected +islands in Micronesia being between 82 and 86 percent. The relative +humidity is lower in the western Carolines and the Palaus, than in other +parts of Micronesia. + +The Mariana Islands lie between the area of the Asiatic monsoon and the +belt of the northeast trade winds. At Saipan from November until March +or April, winds usually are easterly or northeasterly and are strong and +steady since the northeast trades and the winter monsoon reinforce each +other. In April and May the directions of the winds shift toward the +southeast, and they become weaker and more variable. In this period +there may be some easterly winds in addition to the predominating +southeasterly winds. Detailed information is not available on the winds +which occur in the Marianas north of Saipan, but at Pagan easterly winds +probably prevail from May to July and westerly winds prevail in the +remainder of the year. The Carolines lie in the belt of alternating +northeast trade winds and southwest monsoons. The northeast trades begin +in October and prevail until May or June. The southwest monsoon occurs +from May to October and may be felt as far east as Truk. To the +eastward, the winds of the summer are usually light and variable. In the +Marshall Islands, the northeast trade winds predominate from about +December to April, especially in the northern part of the Marshalls. In +summer, winds are variable and weak; periods of calm may occur. Typhoons +and squalls occur most frequently in the spring and summer in +Micronesia. Some of the severe typhoons are known to engulf entire +islands, as did the one at Woleai in 1907. + + +SOILS + +The soils of the islands of Micronesia have been derived from volcanic +materials or from depositions of coralline limestone. Volcanic soils +occur on the "high" islands of Micronesia. In many places, especially on +the islands of the northern Marianas there is little soil; there are +large areas of bare igneous rock, because the islands are geologically +of relatively recent origin and little erosion has occurred. On islands +where volcanic rocks have decomposed, the resulting soil may have a top +layer of humus. The richest soils of the islands are along drainage +areas and in alluvial deposits. + +Coralline soils result from the decomposition of limestone, coral +fragments, shells, and sand, and are overlain by some humus. Where the +layer of humus is deep, the fertility is greatest. Coralline-volcanic +soils occur on some "high" islands where coral rock and volcanic rock +have become mixed in the decomposition process which forms soil. In +parts of the Marianas and elsewhere, unwise practices of burning and +overgrazing have allowed extensive erosion to occur, resulting in +reduced fertility of the soil. On the island of Yap certain sedimentary +rocks are exposed which are thought to have been elevated from the ocean +bottom. Soils at Yap which have developed from this rock are considered +more fertile than soils of coralline origin, although the fertility +there also is dependent on the depth of the layer of humus. + + +SURFACE WATER + +There is little fresh water on the coral atolls, but brackish marshes +are present on some islands, and many of these marshes are used for the +cultivation of taro by the natives. Some volcanic islands, on the other +hand, possess small streams and fresh water lakes, producing suitable +habitat for certain rails, gallinules and ducks. On the "low" islands in +the Marshalls, natural surface pools are rare. + + +VEGETATION + +The "high" islands of Micronesia support a heavy cover of vegetation. +Typically the lowlands and stream courses are covered with dense jungle +vegetation, and the slopes and higher hills are covered with grasses and +brush. The vegetation of the "low" coral atolls and islands is, by +comparison, much less dense. Many shorelines are covered with scant +grasses and shrubs and the interior in many places is dominated by +coconut, betel palms, breadfruit, papaya, and pandanus. References to +papers dealing with plants in the islands of the Pacific may be obtained +in Merrill (1945), who (1945:207) writes, "Botanically, the low islands +are very uninteresting and monotonous. The flora of one is usually quite +the same as that of another, although these islands and islets may be +separated by many hundred and in some cases several thousand miles. The +native vegetation may be scanty or reasonably well developed, depending +on the size of the island, the quality of its soil, and whether or not +it is permanently inhabitated." Of the vegetation on the "high" islands +of the Pacific area, Merrill (1945:209) comments that the vegetation "is +well developed, particularly within the forested areas, but for these +high islands within the Pacific basin as a whole, the number of endemic +genera is relatively small and most of them have definite relationships +with those of Malaysia." Concerning the "high" islands of Micronesia, +Merrill (1945:210) remarks that these islands are smaller and more +isolated than some of the others in Oceania and have fewer individual +species "as compared with what one finds on islands of a similar size +located within limits of the Malay Archipelago. Thus with all of the +islands under Japanese mandate, and including a number of high, but at +the same time relatively small islands, less than 1,300 different +species are known, of which 230 manifestly represent purposely or +accidentally introduced ones. This relatively small flora includes +representatives of approximately 620 genera in 192 families.... Specific +endemism is relatively high, for approximately 460 species are confined +to the islands within the area under consideration. The generic endemism +is very low; about seven endemic genera only are involved for the whole +group." The figures for endemism of plants are comparable to those for +birds. Of endemic birds there are 5 genera, 35 species, and 73 +subspecies. The total number of species of birds known from Micronesia +is only 206 as compared with 1,300 plants. Yamada (1926:966) writes that +the number of species of plants that Micronesia has in common with Japan +may be due to the influence of the "Japan Stream." + +Many land birds in Micronesia depend directly on the plant life for +food. Possibly the soil (including its mineral content), upon which the +plants themselves depend for development of fruits and other edible +parts, may offer a limiting factor to the distribution of birds in +Micronesia. Possibly the fruits and other edible parts of plants do not +provide the necessary amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, +vitamins, and other essential food items for species of plant-eating +birds, which have not become established in Micronesia. Possibly some +species of plant-eating birds have reached Micronesia but have failed to +establish themselves because of some dietary deficiency caused by +poverty of the soils on which the plants grow. If a comparison were made +of soils and of the food values of fruits of plants in both the islands +of Micronesia and similarly sized islands in the Malay region, a +difference might be revealed which would partly explain why some +plant-eating birds have not become established in Micronesia. + + + + +GAZETTEER OF ISLANDS OF MICRONESIA + + +In the following list the name in current usage for each island or +island group in Micronesia is followed by other names which have been +used. There is no attempt made to list the names of the small islands of +each atoll or those of the myriads of small islets that lie offshore +from the larger volcanic islands. Collections have not been made on most +of the smaller islands. For the few on which a species has been +collected, the islet is adequately described in the account of the +particular species concerned. The reader may refer to Brigham (1900) for +a listing of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Most of the islands +included in the following list may be located on the map of Micronesia +as shown in figures 2, 3, 4, and 5. These listings follow in order of +arrangement those in the Civil Affairs Handbooks, published by the +United States Navy Department (1943, 1944a, 1944b, and 1944c). + + +MARIANA ISLANDS + +The Mariana Islands (also called Ladrone, Marianne, Marian) consist +of 14 single islands and one group of three islands. The Marianas +are all "high" or volcanic islands. The islands, shown in figure 2, +are listed as follows: + + _Agrihan_ (also called Agrigan, Arijan, Francisco Xavier, Granger, + Gregus, Grigan, San Francisco Javier). + + _Agiguan_ (also called Agaigan, Agiigan, Agiguan, Agigwan, + Aguigan, Aguijan, Aguyan, Guigan, Saint Ange, Santa Angel). + + _Alamagan_ (also called Almagan, Aramagan, Concepcion). + + _Anatahan_ (also called Anatagen, Anatajen, Anataxan, San + Joaquin). + + _Asuncion_ (also called Asonson, Assongsong, Assumption). + + _Guam_ (also called Guaham, Guahan). + + _Guguan_ (also called Guguwan, Guugwan, Piedras, San Felipe, St. + Philippe). + + _Maug_ (also called Mang, Mangs, Mauga, Monjas, Mougu, Saint + Laurent, San Lorenzo, Tunas). + + _Medinilla_ (also called Bade, Bird, Farallon de Medinilla, + Rocher). + + _Pagan_ (also called Pagon, Paygan, St. Ignace, San Ignacio). + + _Rota_ (also called Luta, St. Anne, Santa Ana, Sarpan, Satpana, + Suta, Zarpane). + + _Saipan_ (also called (Saepan, St. Joseph, San José, Saypan, + Siepan, Serpan, Seypan). + + _Sarigan_ (also called St. Charles, San Carlos, Sariguan, + Sarigwan). + + _Tinian_ (also called Bona Vista, Buenavista, Temean, Tenian, + Tiniamou). + + _Uracas_ (also called Guy Rock, Farallon de Pájaros, Pájaros, + Urakasu). + +[Illustration: FIG. 2. The Mariana Islands.] + + +PALAU ISLANDS + +[Illustration: FIG. 3. The Palau Islands.] + +The Palau Islands (also called Arrecifos, Palaos, Paleu, Pally, +Paloc, Pannog, Parao, Pelew) consist of 8 large islands, 18 smaller +islands, and a large number of minute islets, all enclosed in a +single reef system. The northern islands (Babelthuap and Koror) are +of volcanic origin; the southern islands (Peleliu and others) are +of coralline formation. Angaur, to the south of Peleliu, may be +included with the Palau Archipelago. From the standpoint of the +avian zoogeography, the coral islands or atolls of Kayangel, Merir, +Pulo Anna, Sonsorol, and Tobi are also included. The principal +islands, shown in figure 3, are listed below: + + _Arakabesan_ (also called Ngarekobasang). + + _Aurapushekaru_ (also called Aburashokoru, Auluptagel, Oluksakel, + Oropu-shakaru). + + _Babelthuap_ (also called Babeldzuap, Babel Taob, Babelthouap, + Baberthaob, Baberudaobu, Babldaob). + + _Eil Malk_ (also called Amototi, Cogeal, Irakong, Makarakaru). + + _Garakayo_ + + _Koror_ (also called Coror, Goreor, Kororu). + + _Malakal_ (also called Amalakell, Malaccan, Marakaru, Nanalake). + + _Ngabad_ + + _Ngesebus_ (also called Guadokusu). + + _Peleliu_ (also called Pelelew, Periryu, Pililer, Peliliu, Uler). + + _Urukthapel_ (also called Cape, Kuapasungasu, Ngurukdapel, Ulugeang, + Uruk-taaburu, Uruktapi). + +Included with the Palau group because of proximity and relationships of +the avifauna are the following: + + _Angaur_ (also called Angauru, Angyaur, Ngaur, Ngeour, N'Yaur). + + _Kayangel_ (also called Kadjangle, Kajanguru, Kazyanguru, Kianguel, + Kreiangel, Moore, Ngajangel, Ngeiangel). + + _Merir_ (also called Marir, Meliel, Meriel, Meriru, Pulo Marier, Warren + Hastings). + + _Pulo Anna_ (also called Anna, Bul, Bur, Current, Paola, Pul, Puru, + Wull). + + _Sonsorol_ (also called St. Andrew, San Andreas, Sonesor, Songosor, + Sonseron, Sonsol, Sonsoru, Tschontil). + + _Tobi_ (also called Codopuei, Johnstone, Kadogubi, Lectobis, Lord North, + Nevil, Togobei, Tokobei). + + +CAROLINE ISLANDS + +The Caroline Islands consist of 41 island clusters or isolated +islands (exclusive of submerged coral reefs). These are of coral +formation. They are atolls or single islands except for Yap, which +is of sedimentary rock, and Kusaie, Ponapé, and Truk, which are of +volcanic rock. The principal islands are shown in figure 4 and are +listed as follows: + + _East Fayu_ (also called Fajo, Faliao, Lutké, Rukutee). + + _Eauripik_ (also called Aurepik, Eourpyg, Iuripik, Kama, Low, + Yorupikku, Yuripik). + + _Fais_ (also called Astrolabe, Feis, Feys, Fuhaesu, Huhaesu, + Tromelin, Woaje). + + _Faraulep_ (also called Faraulip, Faroilap, Fattoilap, Foroilap, + Furaarappu, Gardner, Huraarappu). + + _Ifalik_ (also called Evalook, Faloc, Furukku, Hurukku, Ifalouk, + Ifelug, Two Sisters, Wilson). + + _Kapingamarangi_ (also called Bakiramarang, Constantine, + Greenwich, Guriinitchi, Kabeneylon, Kapenmailang, Makarama, + Pikiram, Tenuv). + + _Kusaie_ (also called Arao, Armstrong, Experiment, Hope, Kusai, + Kuschai, Kushai, Kuthiu, Oualan, Quollen, Strong, Teyoa, Ualan, + Walang). + + _Lamotrek_ (also called Lamorsu, Lamureck, Lamutrik, Low, Namotik, + Namotikku, Manochikku, Namurrek, Swede). + + _Lukunor_ (also called Lemarafat, Lougoullos, Lougounor, Luganor, + Lugunor, Lugunoz, Mortlock, Namonefeng, Rukunoru, Youngwilliam). + + _Namonuito_ (also called Anonyma, Baxos de San Bartolomeo, Bunkey, + Las Hermanas, Livingstone, Lost Jardines, Lutké, Namenwita, Olol, + Omun, Onon, Ororu, Remp, Ueito, Ulul). + + _Ngulu_ (also called Angegul, Anolul, Goulou, Kurru, Lamoliao, + Lamoliork, Lamuliur, Lamuniur, Matelotas, Ngilu, Ngoli, Ngolog, + Spencer Keys, Ulu). + + _Nukuoro_ (also called Dunkin, Matakema, Menteverde, Nugoru, + Nukor, Nukuor). + + _Pikelot_ (also called Bigali, Biguela, Coquille, Lydia, Pigela, + Pigerotto, Pigouelao, Pik, Pyghella). + + _Pingelap_ (also called Macaskill, Musgrave, Pelelap, Piigerappu, + Punlap, Sailrocks, Tucks Reef). + + _Ponapé_ (also called Ascension, Bonabee, Bonybay, Faloupet, + Faounoupei, Funopet, Niponpei, Painipete, Ponapi, Piunipet, + Puynipet, Quirosa, Seniavin, William IV). Ponapé is the largest + island of the Senyavin Islands. + + _Truk_ (also called Djuk, Hogoleu, Hogolu, Hoguleu, Lugulus, Ola, + Rough, Ruck, Ruk, Torakku, Tuck, Ugulut). The Truk group includes + approximately 100 islands. + + _Ulithi_ (also called Mackenzie, Mogmog, Mogumogu, Mokomok, + Ouluthy, Uluthi, Uluti, Urushi). + + _West Fayu_ (also called Faiyao, Fajahu, Faliau, Huiyao, West + Faiu). + + _Woleai_ (also called Anagai, Mereyon, Oleai, Ouleyai, Thirteen + Islands, Uala, Ulea, Uola, Ulie, Wolea). + + _Yap_ (also called Eap, Guap, Heap, Jap, Ouap, Uap, Wuap, Yappu). + +[Illustration: FIG. 4. The Caroline Islands.] + + +MARSHALL ISLANDS + +The Marshall Islands consist of 29 atolls and 5 coral islands +without lagoons arranged in two chains, the Ralik and the Radak +chains, which extend in a northwesterly to southeasterly direction. +No volcanic rocks are exposed in these islands. The principal +islands shown in figure 5 are as follows: + + _Ailuk_ (also called Ailu, Fisher, Krusenstern, Tindall, Watts). + + _Arhno_ (also called Arno, Aruno, Auru). + + _Bikar_ + + _Bikini_ + + _Ebon_ (also called Boston Atoll). + + _Elmore_ (also called Ailinglap, Ailinglapalap, Iringlob). + + _Eniwetok_ + + _Jaluit_ (also called Bonham, Taluit). + + _Kwajalein_ + + _Likieb_ (also called Likiep). + + _Majuro_ (also called Arrowsmith, Mezyuro). + + _Mejit_ + + _Maloelab_ + + _Mille_ (also called Mulgrave). + + _Namorik_ + + _Namu_ (also called Musquillo, Namo). + + _Rongelap_ + + _Wotje_ (also called Romanzov, Wotze, Wozzie). + +[Illustration: FIG. 5. The Marshall Islands.] + + + + +ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION IN MICRONESIA + + +The Micronesian islands were first explored and colonized by a a people +who came from Malaysia. It is thought that these people spread into the +Palau, Caroline, Mariana, Marshall, and Gilbert islands as a single wave +of migration. Following this occupation, the people apparently underwent +a normal process of cultural evolution and differentiation. Remains of +stone walls, dikes, fences, pillars, graves, and other structures which +may be found today at various islands in Micronesia were constructed by +the ancestors of the islanders of the present day. It is thought by +archeologists that the Polynesians moved eastward into the Pacific +islands by way of Micronesia. The date of this wave of migration is +thought to have been approximately 1200 A. D. What kinds of birds may +have been exterminated by this earliest of human colonization cannot be +ascertained. Edible species, particularly megapodes, rails, and pigeons, +probably were eliminated or reduced in numbers, as is indicated by later +discussions. + +The first Europeans to visit Micronesia, as far as the present writer +can ascertain, left no accounts of the birds significant for the study +here reported upon. Magellan, on his trip around the world, was the +leader of the first party of Europeans who touched at Guam; this was on +March 6, 1521. Rota, Agiguan, Saipan, and Tinian were also discovered by +this Portuguese sea captain in the service of the king of Spain. Eltano, +one of Magellan's lieutenants, revisited the Pacific and stopped at Rota +in 1524. After the voyage of Magellan, other seafarers, mostly in the +service of Spain, visited the Micronesian islands. The Caroline Islands +were apparently first observed by the Portuguese captain, Diego de +Rocha, in 1526. Loyasa and Saavdera, both Spaniards, visited the +Marshall Islands in 1526 and 1529, respectively. + +One of the first travelers to record observations on the bird life was +Henry Wilson. Wilson was captain of the schooner "Antelope" which became +grounded on a reef in the Palau Islands in August, 1783. He lived with +the islanders while the ship was being repaired and kept a journal of +his observations (Wilson, 1788). Wilson also visited several other +islands in western Micronesia. Adelbert von Chamisso (1821), as +naturalist with the Russian expedition in the ship "Rurick," made +observations of the animal life in Micronesia in 1817 and 1818. Under +the command of Otto von Kotzebue, this Russian expedition made the first +detailed exploration of the Marshall Islands; visits were made also to +Guam and Rota and to Yap, Fais, Ulithi, Palau, and other island groups +in western Micronesia. Freycinet's famous expedition in the ships +"Uranie" and "Physicienne," visited Guam, Rota, and Tinian in 1819. Quoy +and Gaimard, the naturalists of the expedition, obtained birds, which +were among the first to be described from Micronesia. These two +naturalists revisited the Marianas in 1829 on board the ship +"Astrolabe." Scientific results of both of these expeditions (Quoy and +Gaimard, 1824-'26 and 1830-'35) include texts and plates dealing with +the birds obtained. + +The French expedition in the corvette "La Coquille" visited Kusaie in +June, 1824. Lesson (1829) wrote the zoology of this trip. Kittlitz +(1836) of the expedition which sailed in the corvette "Le Seniavine" +commanded by Lutké obtained birds at Kusaie in December and January, +1827-'28, at Guam in March, 1828, and at Lukunor and other islands of +the Carolines. At Kusaie, Kittlitz found a rail (_Aphanolimnas monasa_) +and a starling (_Aplonis corvinus_) which have not been obtained since +his time. His specimens were deposited in St. Petersburg. He was one of +the most competent of the early naturalists; his writings contain +accounts of habits as well as descriptions and are accompanied by +colored plates. The expedition which sailed on the "Astrolabe" and the +"Zélée" in 1827-'40 under the command of Dumont d'Urville visited the +Caroline Islands. The naturalists, Hombron and Jacquinot, obtained birds +at Truk, including the interesting flycatcher, _Metabolus rugensis_, +which they described (1841). The "Novara," in the course of its voyage +around the world (1857-'59) visited the Caroline Islands in 1858. Birds +were recorded from Ponapé, Lukunor and other islands by Pelzeln in his +account of the birds of the expedition (1865). + +In the years following the middle of the Nineteenth Century, Godeffroy +and Sons, of Hamburg, opened branches of its trading firm in Micronesia. +Representatives of the company including Heinsohn and Peters, who were +ship captains, obtained collections of birds at Palau and Yap. These +were deposited in the Godeffroy Museum at Hamburg and reported on by +Hartlaub and Finsch (Hartlaub, 1868; Hartlaub and Finsch, 1868a and +1872). Tetens became representative of Godeffroy and Sons at Yap in 1869 +and obtained birds. Perhaps the most famous collector in this period was +Johann Kubary. He went to Ponapé at the age of nineteen and traveled in +Micronesia for many years for Godeffroy and Sons. He obtained birds at +many of the islands of the Carolines, spending fourteen months at Truk. +In 1873, one of his collections of some 200 birds was lost in a +shipwreck. Hartlaub and Finsch, (Hartlaub and Finsch, 1872; Finsch, +1876a) described much of his material; Nehrkorn (1879) reported on nests +and eggs which he obtained. Hartlaub and Finsch (1868b) also reported on +birds obtained at Palau by Doctor Semper, which were deposited in the +museum at Altona. Otto Finsch (1880b, 1880d, 1881b, 1881c) traveled in +Micronesia about 1880, observing birds in the eastern Carolines and in +the Marshalls. + +One of the largest collections from Micronesia was made by Alfred Marche +in the Marianas. He arrived there on April 22, 1887, and stayed until +May, 1889. He obtained approximately 732 specimens of birds, nests, and +eggs at Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan, and Alamagan, which were +deposited in the Paris Museum and reported on by Oustalet (1895-'96). +Shortly after Marche's visit, Japanese collectors in the hire of Alan +Owston, a professional collector of Yokahama, obtained birds in the +Marianas and at Truk in the years 1894-'97. These went to the Rothschild +collection at Tring and were reported on by Hartert in 1898 and 1900. + +At the turn of the Twentieth Century, several ornithologists were +visiting Micronesia. Alvin Seale (1901) obtained a collection of birds +at Guam in the summer of 1900 which was deposited in the Bernice P. +Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The U. S. Fish Commission steamer "Albatross" +visited Micronesia from August, 1899, to March, 1900; birds obtained by +the expedition were reported on by Townsend and Wetmore (1919). Paul +Schnee (1901) spent approximately one year, 1899-1900, at Jaluit in the +Marshalls and obtained records of birds. In 1899, Brandeis, on board the +German ship "Kaiserland" visited many of the islands in the Marshalls +and recorded birds. William Safford (1905) resided at Guam in the early +part of this century and reported on the bird life in the course of his +studies of the botany and native life. Bartsch (Mearns, 1909) also +obtained a small collection of birds at Guam, this is in the United +States National Museum. + +In the first World War when the Japanese gained a mandated control over +the islands of Micronesia, the Japanese ornithologists promptly visited +the area, obtained collections, and published works concerning the +birds. In 1922, Momiyama and Kuroda prepared a list of the birds of +Micronesia. The work was published under the auspices of the +Ornithological Society of Japan. Subsequent editions appeared in 1932 +and 1942. + +The Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural +History visited Micronesia from October, 1930, to December, 1931, with +William F. Coultas as collector. Although experiencing some difficulty +and being restricted somewhat in his travels by the Japanese officials, +he managed to obtain collections at Ponapé (October 26, 1930, to January +1, 1931), Kusaie (January 15 to June 11, 1931), Guam (June 24 to August +30, 1931), Saipan and Tinian (September 1 to 26, 1931), and Palau +(October 2 to December, 1931). Many of the species which he obtained are +represented by large series of fine skins. Only part of his collections +have been reported on by Mayr and his associates. + +Other than the work of Coultas and that of the Japanese, there was +little ornithological work done in the period between the two world +wars, probably, at least in part, because of the "iron curtain," which +Japan had thrown about her mandate. Bryan (1936) did visit Guam in the +middle 1930's and published an account of the birds in the newspaper, +Guam Recorder. + +When the Micronesian islands were taken by the American forces in 1944, +personnel attached to various units made observations on the bird life. +The first reports, published or unpublished, were from the Marshalls, +which were taken at the beginning of the campaign. Gleise, Genelly, +Wallace, and others made contributions. In the Marianas considerably +more observing and collecting were done by service personnel including +Marshall, Stott, Borror, Strophlet, Buss, Watson, Arvey, Downs, and +others. Marshall (1949) obtained also a collection of birds in the +Palaus in 1945. The Laboratory of Mammalogy, United States Naval Medical +Research No. 2, to which I was attached, collected at Guam (January to +October, 1945), at Rota (October 17 to November 2, 1945), at Ulithi +(August 11 to 23, 1945), at Palau (August 24 to September 24, 1945), and +at Truk (November 24 to December 18, 1945). Following the end of the +war, Harvey I. Fisher visited Micronesia and obtained a collection of +birds at Yap, which is to be reported on in the near future. Larry P. +Richards obtained 33 birds at Ponapé and 4 at Truk in the period from +August 28, 1947, to February 10, 1948. + +Descriptions of birds in Micronesia began with the naming of _Halcyon c. +cinnamomina_ in 1821; the most recent description is that of _Rhipidura +rufifrons mariae_ in 1946. In all, 131 descriptions have designated type +localities in Micronesia. Table 1 lists the dates (on the basis of +ten-year intervals) when names of birds (synonyms or otherwise) were +proposed. In the period from 1821 to 1860, twenty-five birds were made +known to science by the earliest workers, including Kittlitz, Lesson, +Bonaparte, and Pelzeln. In the period from 1861 to 1880, thirty-four +birds were newly named, mostly by Hartlaub and Finsch, from the +collections which the Godeffroy Museum obtained through the efforts of +Kubary, Tetens, Peters, and Heinsohn. Nineteen original descriptions +were published from 1881 to 1900, principally by Oustalet and Hartert, +who studied the material of Marche and Owston, respectively. From 1901 +to 1910, only four birds were described, but from 1911 to 1940, +forty-seven descriptions were published, mostly by the Japanese +following World War I. From 1931 to 1940, the number of known birds was +increased by the efforts of Mayr, who studied the material of the +Whitney South Sea Expedition. From 1941 to date only two original +descriptions have appeared--only one was postwar. Except for possible +undescribed subspecies in the northern Marianas, I think that the heyday +of the taxonomist in ornithology in Micronesia is over. The field of +avian ecology in Micronesia has barely been scratched. + + +TABLE 1. COMPILATION OF THE DATES (ON THE BASIS OF TEN-YEAR INTERVALS) +WHEN ORIGINAL DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS OF MICRONESIA APPEARED. + + ============+==============+============+============== + | No. of | | No. of + YEARS | descriptions | YEARS | descriptions + ------------+--------------+------------+-------------- + 1821-1830 | 8 | 1881-1890 | 9 + 1831-1840 | 8 | 1891-1900 | 10 + 1841-1850 | 4 | 1901-1910 | 4 + 1851-1860 | 5 | 1911-1920 | 10 + 1861-1870 | 11 | 1921-1930 | 15 + 1871-1880 | 23 | 1931-1940 | 22 + | 1941-1949 | 2 + ------------+--------------+------------+-------------- + + + + +CHECK-LIST OF THE BIRDS OF MICRONESIA + + +The 206 kinds of birds of 150 full species known to occur in Micronesia +belong to 91 genera of 37 families of 13 orders. In the following list, +nonresident birds are marked with an *; birds introduced by man are +marked with a [+]. + + + Class AVES--birds + + PAGE + + Order PROCELLARIIFORMES--albatrosses, petrels, and allies + + Family Diomedeidae--albatrosses + + _Diomedia nigripes_ Audubon* Black-footed Albatross 63 + + Family Procellariidae--petrels and shearwaters + + _Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus_ + Lesson Wedge-tailed Shearwater 64 + _Puffinus pacificus cuneatus_ Salvin Wedge-tailed Shearwater 65 + _Puffinus tenuirostris_ (Temminck)* Short tailed Shearwater 66 + _Puffinus nativitatus_ Streets Christmas Shearwater 66 + _Puffinus lherminieri dichrous_ Finsch + and Hartlaub Dusky Shearwater 66 + _Pterodroma rostrata rostrata_ (Peale)* Tahiti Petrel 69 + _Pterodroma hypoleuca hypoleuca_ Salvin Stout-billed Gadfly Petrel 70 + + + Order PELECANIFORMES--tropic birds, boobies, cormorants, frigate + birds and allies + + Family Phaëthontidae--tropic birds + + _Phaëthon aethereus mesonauta_ Peters* Red-billed Tropic Bird 70 + _Phaëthon rubricauda rothschildi_ + (Mathews) Red-tailed Tropic Bird 71 + _Phaëthon lepturus dorotheae_ Mathews White-tailed Tropic Bird 72 + + Family Sulidae--boobies and gannets + + _Sula dactylatra personata_ Gould Masked Booby 75 + _Sula sula rubripes_ Gould Red-footed Booby 75 + _Sula leucogaster plotus_ (Forster) Brown Booby 76 + + Family Phalacrocoracidae--cormorants + + _Phalacrocorax melanoleucus melanoleucus_ + (Vieillot) Little Pied Cormorant 78 + + Family Fregatidae--frigate birds or man-o'-war birds + + _Fregata minor minor_ (Gmelin)* Pacific Man-o'-War 79 + _Fregata ariel ariel_ (Gray) Least Man-o'-War 80 + + + Order CICONIIFORMES--herons, storks, and allies + + Family Ardeidae--herons and bitterns + + _Butorides striatus amurensis_ Schrenck* Amur Green Heron 81 + _Bubulcus ibis coromandus_ (Boddaert)* Cattle Egret 82 + _Egretta intermedia intermedia_ + (Wagler)* Plumed Egret 82 + _Demigretta sacra sacra_ (Gmelin) Reef Heron 84 + _Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax_ + (Linnaeus)* Black-crowned Night Heron 87 + _Nycticorax caledonicus pelewensis_ + Mathew Rufous Night Heron 87 + _Gorsachius goisagi_ (Temminck)* Japanese Bittern 89 + _Gorsachius melanolophus melanolophus_ + (Raffles)* Malay Bittern 90 + _Ixobrychus sinensis_ (Gmelin) Chinese Least Bittern 93 + _Ixobrychus eurhythmus_ (Swinhoe)* Shrenck's Least Bittern 93 + _Dupetor flavicollis flavicollis_ + (Latham)* Black Bittern 94 + + + Order ANSERIFORMES--ducks, geese, swans, and allies + + Family Anatidae--ducks, geese, and swans + + _Anas oustaleti_ Salvadori Marianas Mallard 94 + _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_ + Hartlaub and Finsch Australian Gray Duck 98 + _Anas querquedula_ Linnaeus* Garganey Teal 100 + _Anas crecca crecca_ Linnaeus* European Teal 100 + _Anas crecca carolinensis_ Gmelin* Green-winged Teal 100 + _Anas acuta acuta_ Linnaeus* Pintail 101 + _Anas acuta tzitzihoa_ Vieillot* Pintail 101 + _Anas penelope_ Linnaeus* Widgeon 102 + _Anas clypeata_ Linnaeus* Shoveller 102 + _Aythya fuligula_ (Linnaeus)* Tufted Duck 103 + _Aythya valisineria_ (Wilson)* Canvas-back 103 + + + Order FALCONIFORMES--vultures, hawks, falcons + + Family Accipitridae--hawks, harriers, and allies + + _Accipiter soloënsis_ (Horsfield)* Chinese Goshawk 104 + _Accipiter virgatus gularis_ (Temminck + and Schlegel)* Asiatic Sparrow Hawk 104 + _Pandion haliaetus melvillensis_ + Mathews Osprey 105 + + Family Falconidae--falcons and caracaras + + _Falco peregrinus japonensis_ Gmelin* Peregrine Falcon 105 + + + Order GALLIFORMES--megapodes, pheasants, and allies + + Family Megapodidae--megapodes + + _Megapodius lapérouse senex_ Hartlaub Micronesian Megapode 106 + _Megapodius lapérouse lapérouse_ Gaimard Micronesian Megapode 109 + + Family Phasianidae--quails, pheasants, and allies + + _Coturnix chinensis lineata_ + (Scopoli)[+] Painted Quail 113 + _Gallus gallus_ (Linnaeus)[+] Red Jungle Fowl 114 + _Phasianus colchicus_ Linnaeus[+] Ring-necked Pheasant 115 + + + Order GRUIFORMES--cranes, rails, and allies + + Family Rallidae--rails, gallinules, and coots + + _Rallus philippensis pelewensis_ (Mayr) Banded Rail 116 + _Rallus owstoni_ (Rothschild) Guam Rail 118 + _Rallina fasciata_ (Raffles)* Malay Banded Crake 120 + _Rallina eurizonoïdes eurizonoïdes_ + (Lafresnaye)* Philippine Banded Crake 121 + _Aphanolimnas monasa_ (Kittlitz) Kusaie Black Rail 121 + _Poliolimnas cinereus micronesiae_ + Hachisuka White-browed Rail 123 + _Gallinula chloropus_ subsp. near + _orientalis_ Horsfield Gallinule 126 + _Gallinula chloropus guami_ Hartert Gallinule 127 + _Porphyrio porphyrio pelewensis_ Hartlaub + and Finsch Purple Swamphen 129 + _Fulica atra atra_ Linnaeus* Common Coot 131 + + + Order CHARADRIIFORMES--shorebirds, gulls, and auks + + Family Charadriidae--plovers, turnstones, and allies + + _Squatarola squatarola_ (Linnaeus)* Black-bellied Plover 131 + _Pluvialis dominica fulva_ (Gmelin)* Pacific Golden Plover 132 + _Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus_ + Bonaparte* Semipalmated Plover 134 + _Charadrius dubius curonicus_ Gmelin* Ring-necked Plover 135 + _Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis_ + Deignan* Kentish Plover 135 + + _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ + Stresemann* Mongolian Dotteral 135 + _Charadrius leschenaultii_ Lesson* Large Sand Dotteral 137 + + Family Scolopacidae--snipe, sandpipers, and allies + + _Numenius phaeopus variegatus_ + (Scopoli)* Whimbrel 137 + _Numenius tahitiensis_ (Gmelin)* Bristle-thighed Curlew 139 + _Numenius madagascariensis_ (Linnaeus)* Long-billed Curlew 140 + _Limosa lapponica baueri_ Naumann* Pacific Godwit 140 + _Tringa nebularia_ (Gunnerus)* Greenshawk 141 + _Tringa melanoleuca_ (Gmelin)* Greater Yellow-legs 142 + _Tringa glareola_ Linnaeus* Wood Sandpiper 142 + _Actitus hypoleucos_ Linnaeus* Common Sandpiper 143 + _Heteroscelus brevipes_ (Vieillot)* Gray-tailed Tattler 144 + _Heteroscelus incanus_ (Gmelin)* Amer. Wandering Tattler 145 + _Arenaria interpres interpres_ (Linnaeus)* Turnstone 147 + _Gallinago megala_ Swinhoe* Marsh Snipe 149 + _Gallinago gallinago gallinago_ (Linnaeus)* Common Snipe 150 + _Crocethia alba_ (Pallas)* Sanderling 150 + _Calidris tenuirostris_ (Horsfield)* Asiatic Knot 151 + _Erolia minuta ruficollis_ (Pallas)* Little Stint 151 + _Erolia subminuta_ (Middendorff)* Least Sandpiper 152 + _Erolia melanotos_ (Vieillot)* Pectoral Sandpiper 152 + _Erolia acuminata_ (Horsfield)* Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 152 + _Erolia ferruginea_ (Pontoppidan)* Curlew Sandpiper 153 + _Limicola falcinellus sibirica_ Dresser* Broad-billed Sandpiper 154 + + Family Phalaropidae--phalaropes + + _Phalaropus lobatus_ (Linnaeus)* Northern Phalarope 154 + + Family Laridae--gulls and terns + + _Larus argentatus vegae_ Palmén* Herring Gull 154 + _Chlidonias leucopterus_ (Temminck)* White-winged Black + Tern 155 + _Sterna hirundo longipennis_ Nordmann* Black-billed Com. Tern 155 + _Sterna sumatrana sumatrana_ Raffles Black-naped Tern 156 + _Sterna lunata_ Peale Spectacled Tern 160 + _Sterna anaetheta anaetheta_ Scopoli Bridled Tern 160 + _Sterna fuscata oahuensis_ Bloxham Sooty Tern 161 + _Sterna albifrons sinensis_ Gmelin* Least Tern 161 + _Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides_ (King) Crested Tern 162 + _Procelsterna cerulea saxatilis_ + W. E. Fisher* Blue-gray Tern 164 + _Anoüs stolidus pileatus_ (Scopoli) Common Noddy 165 + _Anoüs tenuirostris marcusi_ (Bryan) White-capped Noddy 170 + _Gygis alba candida_ (Gmelin) White Tern 174 + _Gygis alba pacifica_ (Lesson) White Tern 180 + + + Order COLUMBIFORMES--pigeons, doves, and allies + + Family Columbidae--pigeons and doves + + _Columba livia_ Gmelin[+] Blue Rock Pigeon 182 + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus ponapensis_ + (Finsch) Crimson-crw'd Fruit + Dove 182 + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus hernsheimi_ + (Finsch) Crimson-crw'd Fruit + Dove 184 + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis_ + Hartlaub and Finsch Crimson-crw'd Fruit + Dove 185 + _Ptilinopus roseicapillus_ (Lesson) Marianas Fruit Dove 186 + _Ducula oceanica monacha_ (Momiyama) Micronesian Pigeon 190 + _Ducula oceanica teraokai_ (Momiyama) Micronesian Pigeon 193 + _Ducula oceanica townsendi_ (Wetmore) Micronesian Pigeon 194 + _Ducula oceanica oceanica_ (Lesson and + Garnot) Micronesian Pigeon 195 + _Ducula oceanica ratakensis_ (Takatsukasa + and Yamashina) Micronesian Pigeon 197 + _Streptopelia bitorquata dusumieri_ + (Temminck)[+] Philippine Turtle + Dove 198 + _Gallicolumba canifrons_ (Hartlaub and + Finsch) Palau Ground Dove 201 + _Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura_ + (Temminck) White-thrt'd Ground + Dove 203 + _Gallicolumba xanthonura kubaryi_ (Finsch) White-thrt'd Ground + Dove 207 + _Caloenas nicobarica pelewensis_ Finsch Nicobar Pigeon 209 + + + Order PSITTACIFORMES--lories and parrots + + Family Psittacidae--lories, parrots, and allies + + _Trichoglossus rubiginosus_ (Bonaparte) Ponapé Lory 211 + + + Order CUCULIFORMES--cuckoos, plantain-eaters + + Family Cuculidae--cuckoos, anis, and allies + + _Cuculus canorus telephonus_ Heine* Common Cuckoo 213 + _Cuculus saturatus horsfieldi_ Moore* Oriental Cuckoo 214 + _Eudynamis taitensis_ (Sparrman)* Long-tailed New + Zealand Cuckoo 214 + + + Order STRIGIFORMES--owls + + Family Strigidae--owls + + _Otus podarginus_ (Hartlaub and Finsch) Palau Scops Owl 215 + _Asio flammeus flammeus_ (Pontoppidan)* Short-eared Owl 217 + _Asio flammeus ponapensis_ Mayr Short-eared Owl 218 + + + Order CAPRIMULGIFORMES--goatsuckers and allies + + Family Caprimulgidae--goatsuckers + + _Caprimulgus indicus jotaka_ Temminck + and Schlegel* Jungle Nightjar 219 + _Caprimulgus indicus phalaena_ Hartlaub + and Finsch Jungle Nightjar 219 + + + Order APODIFORMES--swifts and hummingbirds + + Family Apodidae--swifts + + _Collocalia inexpectata pelewensis_ Mayr Edible Nest Swiftlet 221 + _Collocalia inexpectata bartschi_ Mearns Edible Nest Swiftlet 222 + _Collocalia inquieta inquieta_ (Kittlitz) Carolines Swiftlet 224 + _Collocalia inquieta rukensis_ Kuroda Carolines Swiftlet 225 + _Collocalia inquieta ponapensis_ Mayr Carolines Swiftlet 226 + + + Order CORACIIFORMES--kingfishers, rollers, and allies + + Family Alcedinidae--kingfishers + + _Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina_ Swainson Micronesian + Kingfisher 227 + _Halcyon cinnamomina pelewensis_ Wiglesworth Micronesian + Kingfisher 229 + _Halcyon cinnamomina reichenbachii_ + (Hartlaub) Micronesian + Kingfisher 230 + _Halcyon chloris teraokai_ Kuroda White-collared + Kingfisher 233 + _Halcyon chloris orii_ Takatsukasa and + Yamashina White-collared + Kingfisher 235 + _Halcyon chloris albicilla_ (Dumont) White-collared + Kingfisher 235 + _Halcyon chloris owstoni_ Rothschild White-collared + Kingfisher 237 + + Family Coraciidae--rollers + + _Eurystomus orientalis connectens_ + Stresemann* Dollar Bird 238 + + + Order PASSERIFORMES--perching birds + + Family Hirundinidae--swallows + + _Hirundo rustica gutteralis_ Scopoli* Eastern Barn Swallow 239 + + Family Campephagidae--cuckoo-shrikes + + _Edolisoma tenuirostre monachum_ + (Hartlaub and Finsch) Cicada Bird 239 + _Edolisoma tenuirostre nesiotis_ + (Hartlaub and Finsch) Cicada Bird 241 + _Edolisoma tenuirostre insperatum_ (Finch) Cicada Bird 242 + + Family Dicruridae--drongos + + _Dicrurus macrocercus harterti_ S. Baker[+] Black Drongo 244 + + Family Corvidae--crows, magpies, and jays + + _Corvus kubaryi_ Reichenow Marianas Crow 244 + + Family Turdidae--thrushes + + _Luscinia calliope calliope_ (Pallas)* Siberian Rubythroat 248 + _Monticola solitaria philippensis_ (Müller)* Chinese Blue Rock + Thrush 248 + _Turdus obscurus obscurus_ Gmelin* Dusky Thrush 248 + + Family Sylviidae--Old World warblers + + _Psamathia annae_ Hartlaub and Finsch Palau Bush-warbler 249 + _Acrocephalus luscinia luscinia_ (Quoy and + Gaimard) Nightingale + Reed-warbler 251 + _Acrocephalus luscinia syrinx_ (Kittlitz) Nightingale + Reed-warbler 254 + _Acrocephalus luscinia yamashinae_ + (Takatsukasa) Nightingale + Reed-warbler 256 + _Acrocephalus luscinia nijoi_ (Yamashina) Nightingale + Reed-warbler 257 + + Family Muscicapidae--Old World flycatchers + + _Rhipidura rufifrons uraniae_ Oustalet Rufous-fronted + Fantail 261 + _Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensis_ Hartert Rufous-fronted + Fantail 262 + _Rhipidura rufifrons mariae_ R. H. Baker Rufous-fronted + Fantail 263 + _Rhipidura rufifrons versicolor_ Hartlaub + and Finsch Rufous-fronted + Fantail 264 + _Rhipidura rufifrons kubaryi_ Finsch Rufous-fronted + Fantail 265 + _Rhipidura lepida_ Hartlaub and Finsch Palau Fantail 266 + _Metabolus rugensis_ (Hombron and Jacquinot) Truk Monarch 269 + _Monarcha godeffroyi_ Hartlaub Yap Monarch 272 + _Monarcha takatsukasae_ (Yamashina) Tinian Monarch 274 + _Myiagra oceanica erythrops_ Hartlaub and + Finch Micronesian Broadbill 275 + _Myiagra oceanica freycineti_ Oustalet Micronesian Broadbill 277 + _Myiagra oceanica oceanica_ Pucheran Micronesian Broadbill 279 + _Myiagra oceanica pluto_ Finsch Micronesian Broadbill 280 + _Muscicapa narcissina narcissina_ Temminck* Narcissus Flycatcher 282 + _Muscicapa griseisticta_ (Swinhoe)* Chinese Gray-spotted + Flycatcher 282 + _Colluricincla tenebrosa_ (Hartlaub and + Finsch) Palau Morning Bird 282 + + Family Artamidae--wood-swallows + + _Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_ Finsch White-breasted + Wood-swallow 284 + + Family Sturnidae--starlings + + _Aplonis opacus opacus_ (Kittlitz) Micronesian Starling 286 + _Aplonis opacus ponapensis_ Takatsukasa and + Yamashina Micronesian Starling 288 + _Aplonis opacus angus_ Momiyama Micronesian Starling 289 + _Aplonis opacus kurodai_ Momiyama Micronesian Starling 291 + _Aplonis opacus orii_ (Takatsukasa and + Yamashina) Micronesian Starling 292 + _Aplonis opacus guami_ Momiyama Micronesian Starling 293 + _Aplonis opacus aeneus_ (Takatsukasa and + Yamashina) Micronesian Starling 297 + _Aplonis pelzelni_ Finsch Ponapé Mountain + Starling 299 + _Aplonis corvinus_ (Kittlitz) Kusaie Mountain + Starling 301 + _Sturnus philippensis_ (Forster)* Violet-backed + Starling 302 + _Sturnus cineraceus_ Temminck* Ashy Starling 302 + + Family Meliphagidae--honey-eaters + + _Cleptornis marchei_ (Oustalet) Golden Honey-eater 302 + _Myzomela cardinalis rubratra_ (Lesson) Cardinal Honey-eater 304 + _Myzomela cardinalis dichromata_ Wetmore Cardinal Honey-eater 307 + _Myzomela cardinalis major_ Bonaparte Cardinal Honey-eater 307 + _Myzomela cardinalis saffordi_ Wetmore Cardinal Honey-eater 309 + _Myzomela cardinalis kurodai_ Momiyama Cardinal Honey-eater 312 + _Myzomela cardinalis kobayashii_ Momiyama Cardinal Honey-eater 313 + + Family Zosteropidae--white-eyes + + _Zosterops conspicillata conspicillata_ + (Kittlitz) Bridled White-eye 316 + _Zosterops conspicillata saypani_ Dubois Bridled White-eye 318 + _Zosterops conspicillata rotensis_ + Takatsukasa and Yamashina Bridled White-eye 319 + _Zosterops conspicillata semperi_ Hartlaub Bridled White-eye 320 + _Zosterops conspicillata owstoni_ Hartert Bridled White-eye 321 + _Zosterops conspicillata takatsukasai_ + Momiyama Bridled White-eye 322 + _Zosterops conspicillata hypolais_ + Hartlaub and Finsch Bridled White-eye 323 + _Zosterops cinerea cinerea_ (Kittlitz) Micron. Dusky + White-eye 326 + _Zosterops cinerea ponapensis_ Finsch Micron. Dusky + White-eye 327 + _Zosterops cinerea finschii_ (Hartlaub) Micron. Dusky + White-eye 328 + _Rukia palauensis_ (Reichenow) Palau Greater + White-eye 330 + _Rukia oleaginea_ (Hartlaub and Finsch) Yap Greater + White-eye 331 + _Rukia ruki_ (Hartert) Truk Greater + White-eye 332 + _Rukia sanfordi_ (Mayr) Ponapé Greater + White-eye 333 + + Family Ploceidae--weaver-finches + + _Erythrura trichroa trichroa_ (Kittlitz) Blue-faced + Parrot-finch 336 + _Erythrura trichroa clara_ Takatsukasa + and Yamashina Blue-faced + Parrot-finch 337 + _Erythrura trichroa pelewensis_ Kuroda Blue-faced + Parrot-finch 338 + _Lonchura nigerrima minor_ (Yamashina) Black-faced + Weaver-finch 339 + _Lonchura punctulata cabanisi_ (Sharpe)[+] Phil. Nutmeg + Mannikin 340 + + + + +DISCUSSION OF THE BIRDS OF MICRONESIA + +Of the 206 kinds of birds found in Micronesia, 30 kinds are classed as +sea birds, 29 kinds as migratory shore birds, and 147 kinds are classed +as land and fresh-water birds. For purposes of discussion these birds +are arranged in these three categories, following the system used by +Mayr (1945a). + + +OCEANIC BIRDS + +Oceanic birds found in Micronesia belong to the following families: +Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Phaëthontidae, Pelecanidae, Fregatidae, +and Laridae. Following Wynne-Edwards (1935:240) and Murphy (1936:326), +these birds may be grouped as inshore birds (Laridae and others), +offshore birds (Pelecanidae, Fregatidae and others), and pelagic birds +(Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Phaëthontidae). As shown in table 2 there +are 30 kinds of oceanic birds in Micronesia, 18 kinds that are resident +and 12 kinds that are regarded as visitors to the area. Records of +nestings are few; field work in the future probably will yield evidence +that more kinds of oceanic birds are actually resident in the +Micronesian islands. + + +TABLE 2. LIST OF RESIDENT AND NONRESIDENT OCEANIC BIRDS OF MICRONESIA + + -------------------+----------+------------- + Genera | Resident | Nonresident + | kinds | kinds + -------------------+----------+------------- + _Diomedea_ | 0 | 1 + _Puffinus_ | 4 | 1 + _Pterodroma_ | 1 | 1 + _Phaëthon_ | 2 | 1 + _Sula_ | 3 | 0 + _Fregata_ | 1 | 1 + _Larus_ | 0 | 1 + _Chlidonias_ | 0 | 1 + _Sterna_ | 2 | 4 + _Thalasseus_ | 1 | 0 + _Procelsterna_ | 0 | 1 + _Anoüs_ | 2 | 0 + _Gygis_ | 2 | 0 + -------------------+----------+------------- + + +INSHORE OCEANIC BIRDS + +The inshore zone, according to Wynne-Edwards (1935:240), "extends from +high-water mark to a maximum of four or five miles out to sea, including +islands and reefs within sight of shore." In Micronesia the majority of +the Laridae occur in this zone including such residents as _Sterna +sumatrana_, _S. anaetheta_, _Thalasseus bergii_, _Anoüs stolidus_, _A. +tenuirostris_, _Gygis alba_. These birds, especially _S. anaetheta_, +_Thalasseus_, and _Anoüs_, may venture into the offshore zone. Visitors +to Micronesia include several terns which probably normally range in +the inshore (as well as in offshore) zones, such as _Childonias +leucopterus_ and _Sterna hirundo_. These birds feed to a considerable +extent inside the outer reefs surrounding the lagoons, coming to shore +frequently in small or large groups. _Gygis alba_ probably spends +considerable time on shore; stomachs examined contained fish, +crustaceans and insects, indicating that they obtain some of their food +ashore. + + +OFFSHORE AND PELAGIC OCEANIC BIRDS + +Wynne-Edwards (1935:241) defines the offshore zone as extending to the +continental edge; however, in Micronesia where small islands rise +abruptly out of the ocean's depths, there is no useful way to separate +the offshore zone from the pelagic zone. Since certain species go +farther from the land than others, the two zones may be combined as a +single zone extending beyond the sight of land. Birds which frequent +this area beyond the inshore zone but may not range extensively at sea +include _Fregata_, _Sula_, _Sterna fuscata_, _S. hirundo_, _S. +anaetheta_, and others. The Herring Gull (_Larus argentatus_), which has +been taken in the northern Marianas, may be classed with this group +although it probably ranges widely in the open sea. Birds which spend +considerable time at sea and may seldom approach land include _Diomedea +nigripes_, the petrels (_Puffinus_ and _Pterodroma_), and possibly the +tropic birds (_Phaëthon_). + +In numbers of individuals the birds inhabiting the inshore zones are +relatively more numerous than those preferring the offshore and pelagic +zones, although 12 of the 18 resident kinds of oceanic birds apparently +prefer the offshore zone, while only 6 kinds appear to be restricted +primarily to the inshore areas. + + +FAUNAL COMPONENTS + +The oceanic birds were probably among the earliest birds to reach the +islands of Micronesia. The presence of phosphate deposits on islands +(Fais, Angaur), denoting deposition of guano by oceanic birds (possibly +boobies, noddies, sooty terns), indicates long time residence by these +birds. A person is prone to think that these deposits must have been +made by larger concentrations of oceanic birds than are found in these +islands today. Whether there were actually more individuals present +during the period of deposition of phosphate in the lagoons of these +islands is not known, although the elevation of the lagoons (forming the +raised islands of Fais and Angaur) with the resulting freshening of the +water probably was a great attraction to oceanic birds, especially to +those which prefer to drink fresh water. According to Leonard P. Schultz +(_in litt._), the abundance of fish in the areas about these Pacific +islands has been approximately the same since Pleistocene times, so that +there was apparently no greater concentration of fish near these islands +to attract large populations of fish-eating sea birds. Probably the time +element is of sufficient magnitude to account for such deposition by +birds with a population similar to that found there today. + +The oceanic avifauna of Micronesia contains birds which are apparently +from ancestral homes in the Palearctic Region, in the North and Central +Pacific, in Polynesia, in Melanesia and Malaysia, and from homes the +positions of which are uncertain because of the widespread +circumtropical occurrence of the birds. There are no sea birds that are +endemic in Micronesia. + +Oceanic birds whose range is in the Northern Hemisphere (especially +Palearctica) reach the northern and western edges of Micronesia as +winter visitors. These include _Larus argentatus_, _Chlidonias +leucopterus_, and _Sterna hirundo_. Another northern gull, _Larus +ridibundus_, has been reported in the Marianas. + +One bird of the North and Northcentral Pacific, _Diomedea nigripes_, +reaches the northern Marianas where it has been taken at Agrihan. It is +not unlikely that other birds of the North Pacific reach northern +Micronesia as occasional visitors. + +Species of oceanic birds which are restricted in their distribution to +Polynesia and some adjacent islands and which range to Micronesia, +either as visitors or residents, include _Puffinus tenuirostris_, _P. +nativitatis_, _Pterodroma rostrata_, _P. hypoleuca_, _Sterna lunata_, +and _Procelsterna cerulea_. The islands of the vast Pacific basin offer +havens for many kinds of oceanic birds. Apparently there has been +considerable speciation among sea birds in Polynesia, especially in its +marginal areas. Micronesia has received only a small part of this +avifauna. + +Two terns, _Sterna sumatrana_ and _Thalasseus bergii_, have reached +Micronesia, either directly or indirectly, each from a dispersion point +somewhere in the Melanesian or the Malayan area. These two birds are +restricted in their ranges to the western Pacific and the Indian oceans. + +Many of the species of oceanic birds found in Micronesia have +circumtropical ranges. These include _Puffinus pacificus_, _P. +lherminieri_, _Phaëthon_, _Sula_, _Fregata_, _Sterna anaethetus_, _S. +fuscata_, _Anoüs stolidus_, _A. tenuirostris_, and _Gygis alba_. Some of +these kinds range along continental shores as well as in island +archipelagoes. Others, like _Gygis alba_, are rarely found along the +shores of continents or even at coastal islands. + + +MIGRATORY SHORE BIRDS + +Twenty-eight species of shore birds of the families Charadriidae and +Scolopacidae have been recorded from Micronesia, and one other of the +family Phalaropodidae apparently occurs in the area, making a total of +29 kinds. From the entire Southwest Pacific, Mayr (1945a:28-47) lists 31 +species and subspecies of shore birds and mentions six other species +which may occur there. Thus, of a possible 37 kinds of shore birds in +this large area (which includes Micronesia), 29 are present in the +islands of Micronesia. For purposes of discussion, shore birds are here +placed in one of two groups: regular visitors or uncommon visitors. A +regular visitor is one which has been recorded in the literature or in +unpublished field accounts as being frequently observed in Micronesia in +periods of migration. An uncommon visitor is one which has been +infrequently observed in Micronesia. Of the 28 kinds of shore birds +recorded from Micronesia, 17 are classed as regular visitors and 11 are +classed as uncommon visitors. + + +ORIGINAL HOMES OF THE SHORE BIRDS THAT VISIT MICRONESIA + + +TABLE 3. BREEDING AND WINTERING GROUNDS OF THE SPECIES OF MIGRATORY +SHORE BIRDS IN MICRONESIA + + PART A. Location of breeding grounds + ==================+========+================+=========+========== + CLASS | Number | Circumpolar[A] | Asiatic | American + ------------------+--------+----------------+---------+---------- + Regular visitors | 17 | 5 | 10 | 2 + Uncommon visitors | 11 | 2 | 8 | 1 + +--------+----------------+---------+---------- + Totals | 28 | 7 | 18 | 3 + ------------------+--------+----------------+---------+---------- + + PART B. Location of wintering grounds + ------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------- + CLASS | Number | Circum- | Asiatic | American | Oceanic + |tropical| | | | + ------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------- + Regular visitors | 17 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 1 + Uncommon visitors | 11 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 + +--------+---------+---------+----------+--------- + Totals | 28 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 1 + ------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------- + + [A] Denotes birds which breed on both American and Asiatic sides of the + Pacific Ocean. + + +The shore birds which are known to visit Micronesia breed in the +Northern Hemisphere. Table 3 summarizes the data concerning the +breeding and wintering areas of these birds. As shown in part A of table +3, 18 of the 28 species which visit Micronesia come from Asiatic +breeding grounds. Seven have circumpolar breeding ranges and three (two +are regular visitors) come from American breeding grounds. As shown in +part B of table 3, 21 of the 28 waders have their winter ranges on the +Asiatic side of the Pacific with eastern extensions to Micronesia and +other parts of Oceania. Of the 7 remaining species, the winter ranges of +three are circumtropical; the winter range of a fourth is restricted to +Oceania; and the winter ranges of the remaining three (two classed as +uncommon visitors) are American. + +Bryan and Greenway (1944:109-115) record 14 species of shore birds from +the Hawaiian Islands. One of these, _Himantopus himantopus knudsoni_, is +a resident, probably of New World origin, according to Mayr (1943:56). +The others, listed in table 7, include three species unknown in +Micronesia. One of these, _Phalaropus fulicarus_, apparently winters at +sea off the west coast of South America. The other two species +(_Charadrius vociferus vociferus_ and _Gallinago delicata_) are +classified by Bryan and Greenway as "accidental" and "occasional" +visitors from North America. The ten species common to both the Hawaiian +Islands and Micronesia include seven whose breeding grounds are +circumpolar, two whose breeding grounds are in Arctic America and one +whose breeding ground is in Arctic Asia. The winter ranges of these ten +species include four which are circumtropical, three which are Asiatic, +one which is restricted to Oceania, and only two which are American. + +The ability of the shore birds to migrate almost as well over water as +over land may explain their spread into Oceania. The likelihood that +shore birds, when migrating may have ventured to Micronesia and +Polynesia initially from the Asiatic side of the Pacific is strongly +suggested by the data given in the paragraph above. Also, on the Asiatic +side of the Pacific there are large numbers of islands, which form +several archipelagoes extending from Kamchatka south to Malaysia. Once +accustomed to migrating along these chains of islands from the Arctic to +Australia, birds would probably have to make only minor adjustments to +extend the breadth of their migratory routes eastward into the islands +of the Pacific Ocean. In contrast, on the Pacific coast of North America +there are few coastal or offshore islands and there is a vast area of +open water separating the Hawaiian Islands from the American mainland. +Probably the vastness of this area of water offers little stimulus to +birds to expand their migratory ranges westward, and in part accounts +for the small North American contingent in the population of shore birds +of the Central Pacific. Some North American shore birds do visit the +Pacific. The brisk trade winds from the northeast might be an aid to the +birds in their flights from Nearctica to Hawaii. + +The long flight now made by shore birds going from the Aleutians to the +Hawaiian Islands may have commenced as a gradual expansion from the +west, or perhaps such a route was initiated by birds flying northward +through the Hawaiian Chain to the Arctic in migrating to their breeding +grounds, and then later returning _via_ the same route to reach their +wintering grounds. + + +ROUTES OF MIGRATION + +[Illustration: FIG. 6. Routes of migration used by shore birds in the +Pacific area. From west to east these are: The Asiatic-Palauan Flyway, +the Japanese-Marianan Flyway, the Nearctic-Hawaiian Flyway.] + +The small and isolated islands of Oceania might, upon first inspection, +seem to offer but little attraction to shore birds. Hesse, Allee and +Schmidt (1937:172, 173) point out that the "open southeastern Pacific" +being least supplied with water from land sources, which is an important +means of fertility, is known to have one of the poorest faunas found +anywhere in the oceans. However, there are extensive tidal flats, +especially on the leeward sides of the islands, and these flats +apparently afford extensive feeding grounds for these birds. Also, the +absence of competition from resident birds as well as the virtual +absence of predatory animals (native man and his domesticated animals +excepted) are other factors which may help to make the islands +attractive wintering grounds for shore birds. + +Only a few birds have been banded in the Pacific, and the knowledge +which comes from the recovery of banded birds gives but little aid to +the student of movements of birds in the Pacific. The probable flyways +for migratory shore birds there have to be deduced from sight records, +data from specimens collected, known stations of breeding and wintering +(summarized by Peters, 1934:234-293), and from a study of maps of the +region. Analysis of information from the above-mentioned sources +indicates that there are three routes taken by shore birds which migrate +from Micronesia to and from their northern breeding grounds (see figure +6): (1) Asiatic-Palauan Flyway; (2) Japanese-Marianan Flyway; (3) +Nearctic-Hawaiian Flyway. + +1. ASIATIC-PALAUAN FLYWAY. For shore birds, there appears to be a +migration route extending almost due south from the Riu Kiu and the +Japanese islands to the Palau Islands. Some birds may migrate _via_ the +Philippines and others may pass to the east of the Philippines. This +route is considered to be distinct from that used by birds which follow +the Asiatic Coast and coastal islands, because the Palau Islands are +situated approximately 600 miles east of the Philippines. Moreover, +there are fewer species--only 20 recorded from the Palaus as compared +with the number recorded from islands closer to the mainland of Asia. +Delacour and Mayr (1946:68-74) list 46 species of shore birds from the +Philippines; the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al_, 1942) +lists 34 species from the Riu Kiu Islands. + +The information available indicates that migrant shore birds which +utilize this flyway move east into the Carolines (examples, _Tringa +nebularia_, _Charadrius leschenaultii_); however, the recording of 20 +species from the Palaus as compared with only 12 species in the western +Carolines (table 4) indicates that this spread eastward may not be very +pronounced. Migrants in autumn probably move from the Palaus in a +southerly direction toward the New Guinea area. Eight species of shore +birds which reach the Palaus (and adjacent islands in the western +Carolines), are not recorded from other parts of Micronesia. Species +which apparently utilize the Asiatic-Palauan Flyway are listed in table +5. + +2. JAPANESE-MARIANAN FLYWAY. Shore birds from Asiatic, and probably +Aleutian and Alaskan, breeding grounds may follow the Asiatic Coast or +the adjacent island chains southeast to the Japanese Archipelago. From +there some of the birds apparently fly south through the Bonin and +Volcano islands to the Marianas, from where they may spread in fanlike +fashion to the southeast, south and southwest, even reaching to the +Palau Islands (example, _Heteroscelus incanus_). The number of species +of shore birds recorded from the Marianas (see table 4) is greater than +that found in the Carolines, but it must be remembered that more +intensive investigations have been made by ornithologists in the +Marianas, which might account for the recording of more species +(especially stragglers, such as _Gallinago gallinago_). Species which +apparently use this flyway are named in table 6. + +3. NEARCTIC-HAWAIIAN FLYWAY. Shore birds from breeding grounds in +western Canada, Alaska, the Aleutians, the Bering Sea area, and probably +northeastern Asia may fly in a southerly direction along a broad front +to the Hawaiian Islands. This flyway is probably the one which supplies +to central and eastern Oceania the largest wintering populations of +shore birds. From the Hawaiian Islands birds may fly directly south +through the scattered islands to southern Polynesia, or they may fly in +a southwesterly direction and reach the Marshall Islands. The shore +birds which visit the Marshall Islands apparently move south through the +Gilbert, Ellice and other more southern island groups rather than west +into the Carolines as exemplified by the fact that _Numenius +tahitiensis_, a characteristic migrant through the Marshalls from the +Hawaiian Islands, is rarely found west of the Marshall Islands in +Micronesia. Species which apparently use this flyway are listed in table +7. + +Flyways additional to the three suggested above may be utilized by some +shore birds on their southward (and northward) migrations. Species +reaching Wake and the Marcus Islands may fly directly south from the +islands of the North Pacific. Bryan (1903:115, 116) lists four species +of shore birds from Marcus (_Erolia acuminata_, _Heteroscelus incanus_, +_Pluvialis dominica_, _Arenaria interpres_). + + +TABLE 4. LIST OF SPECIES OF SHORE BIRDS KNOWN FROM FIVE GEOGRAPHICAL +AREAS OF MICRONESIA + + Western Central Eastern + Palaus Carolines Marianas Carolines Carolines Marshalls + + Number of species 20 12 17 11 10 10 + + +TABLE 5. SHORE BIRDS WHICH MAY USE THE ASIATIC-PALAUAN FLYWAY + + Regular Visitors Uncommon? Visitors + + _Pluvialis dominica fulva_ _Charadrius dubius curonicus_ + _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ _Charadrius alexandrinus_ + _Charadrius leschenaultii_ _Calidris tenuirostris_ + _Numenius phaeopus variegatus_ _Erolia ferruginea_ + _Numenius madagascariensis_ _Erolia subminuta_ + _Limosa lapponica baueri_ _Limicola falcinellus sibirica_ + _Tringa nebularia_ + _Tringa glareola_ + _Actitis hypoleucos_ + _Heteroscelus brevipes_ + _Arenaria i. interpres_ + _Gallinago megala_ + _Erolia minuta ruficollis_ + + +TABLE 6. SHORE BIRDS WHICH MAY USE THE JAPANESE-MARIANAN FLYWAY + + Regular Visitors Uncommon? Visitors + + _Pluvialis dominica fulva_ _Squatarola squatarola_ + _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ _Numenius tahitiensis_ + _Numenius phaeopus variegatus_ _Numenius madagascariensis_ + _Limosa lapponica baueri_ _Tringa glareola_ + _Actitis hypoleucos_ _Gallinago gallinago gallinago_ + _Heteroscelus brevipes_ _Erolia minuta ruficollis_ + _Heteroscelus incanus_ + _Arenaria i. interpres_ + _Gallinago megala_ + _Crocethia alba_ + _Erolia acuminata_ + + +TABLE 7. SHORE BIRDS WHICH MAY USE THE NEARCTIC-HAWAIIAN FLYWAY + + Regular Visitors Uncommon? Visitors + + _Pluvialis dominica fulva_* _Squatarola squatarola_* + _Numenius tahitiensis_* _Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus_[+] + _Heteroscelus incanus_* _Charadrius v. vociferus_ + _Arenaria i. interpres_* _Limosa lapponica baueri_* + _Crocethia alba_* _Tringa melanoleuca_*[+] + _Phalaropus fulicarius_ _Gallinago delicata_ + _Phalaropus lobatus_*? _Erolia melanotos_* + _Erolia acuminata_* + + * Indicates species which are found in Micronesia.] + + [+] Indicates species not recorded from the Hawaiian Islands; see Bryan + and Greenway (1944:109-115).] + + +POPULATIONS OF SHORE BIRDS IN MICRONESIA + +Although shore birds have been observed in Micronesia on many occasions, +actual counts of numbers of individuals of the different birds have +rarely been made. Kubary, Finsch, Marche, Seale and other early +collectors and observers record some data of this kind as have the +Japanese investigators in later times. William Coultas of the Whitney +South Sea Expedition obtained considerable information of this nature at +Guam, Saipan, Kusiae, Ponapé, and the Palaus, but it is unpublished. His +records were made in fall, winter and spring, when migrants were present +in large numbers and these observations offer evidence that many of the +migrants are comparatively numerous, especially in the Carolines, +throughout the winter months. McElroy's observations made on his trip +for NAMRU2 to Truk in December, 1945, offer further evidence of this. + + +TABLE 8. POPULATIONS OF MIGRATORY SHORE BIRDS SEEN AT GUAM IN 1945 + + Column headings: + + A: _Pluvialis dominica_ + B: _Charadrius mongolus_ + C: _Numenius phaeopus_ + D: _Actitis hypoleucos_ + E: _Heteroscelus_ spp. + F: _Heteroscelus incanus_[+] + G: _Heteroscelus brevipes_[+] + H: _Limosa lapponica_ + I: _Arenaria interpres_ + J: Unidentified + K: Total No. of individuals + L: Total No. of species + + =============+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+==== + | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L + -------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---- + March 11 | x | | | | | | | | | | x | 1 + March 17 | 10 | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | 13 | 3 + March 19 | x | | x | | x | | | | x | | x | 5 + April 24 | x | | | | | | | | | | x | 1 + April 26 | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 1 | 1 + May 19 | | | | | 3 | 2 | | | | | 5 | 1 + May 21 | | | | | 4 | | | | | | 4 | 1 + May 26 | | | | | x | 2 | | | | | x | 1 + June 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 + June 6* | | 1 | x | | x | | 1 | | | x | x | 4 + June 11 | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 + June 12 | | | 12 | | 2 | | | | | | 14 | 2 + June 22 | | | 2 | | | | | | | 1 | 3 | 2 + June 30 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 2 | 1 + July 7 | | | 2 | | | | | | | | 2 | 1 + July 8 | 3 | | x | | 1 | | | | | | x | 3 + July 16* | 6 | | 3 | 3 | 4 | | 1 | | | | 17 | 4 + July 19 | x | | x | | x | | | | | | x | 3 + July 24* | 10 | | 6 | | 3 | | 2 | | 3 | 5 | 29 | 5 + July 26 | | | 8 | | | | | | | | 8 | 1 + August 2 | | | x | | | | | | | x | x | 2 + August 3 | | | 1 | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 + August 6* | | | 6 | | 12 | | | | | | 18 | 2 + September 29 | x | | x | | | | | | x | | x | 2 + October 3* | x | | | | x | | | | | | x | 2 + October 10 | x | | x | | x | 2 | | | x | | x | 4 + October 11 | | | | | | | | | 2 | | 2 | 1 + October 23* | x | | x | | x | 1 | 1 | | x | | x | 5 + October 24 | x | | | | | | | | | | x | 1 + -------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---- + + x Observed but numbers not recorded. + + * Observations made on beach at Agfayan Bay area. + + [+] Figures based on identified skins. + + +None of the above workers, however, obtained very much information on +comparative numbers of species. + +Tables 8, 9, and 10 present the writer's findings on populations of +migratory shore birds in Micronesia in 1945. At Guam, as shown in table +8, the records for March, April and early May are few, owing to a +limited amount of field observation. Beginning in late May and until +October 24 a greater amount of time was spent in the field and more +regular records were obtained. No observations were made by the author +at Guam in the period from August 11 to September 25. The dates marked +with an asterisk are those on which observations were made on the +extensive tidal flats at Agfayan Bay and vicinity. These flats, at low +tide, present excellent feeding grounds for waders and in 1945 were +undisturbed by parties of service personnel, because the area was +"off-limits." + +Table 8 shows that _Pluvialis dominica_, _Numenius phaeopus_, and +_Heteroscelus_ spp. were the shore birds most frequently found at Guam +in this period. _Pluvialis dominica_ was the most numerous of the three +species. Of _Heteroscelus_ there was approximately equal representation +of _H. incanus_ and _H. brevipes_ as indicated by specimens collected. +These birds were not identified to species in the field. + +Although records were made only infrequently in the spring migration, +such information as was obtained indicates that the populations were +largest in March and early April. On April 24, _Pluvialis dominica_ was +the only bird observed on beaches and in upland openings. On April 26, a +single _Limosa lapponica_ was recorded. On May 15, no shore bird was +seen on a trip along several beaches. In late May and early June, single +individuals of _Heteroscelus_ were found. Of this genus, those collected +in May were in nuptial plumage, and those collected in June were in +winter plumage and probably should be classed as non-migrants. _Numenius +phaeopus_ was occasionally recorded beginning in early June, but waders +were totally absent from beaches at Agfayan Bay and vicinity on June 18 +and 19. Few shore birds were seen in early August. In late September, +birds, especially _Pluvialis dominica_, _Numenius phaeopus_, and +_Heteroscelus_ spp., were numerous. These species were numerous until +October 24, when observations were discontinued. + +Of the 17 species of migratory shore birds recorded from the Mariana +Islands, eight were identified. Of these eight, three species, _Limosa +lapponica_, _Actitis hypoleucos_, and _Charadrius mongolus_, were found +on only one occasion. Never more than four species were identified on a +single field trip. These data give an idea of the lack of variety of +species that may be observed on Micronesian islands. + + +TABLE 9. POPULATIONS OF MIGRATORY SHORE BIRDS SEEN AT ULITHI ATOLL IN 1945 + + Column headings: + + Fas.: Fassari + Man.: Mangejang + Los.: Losiep + + ======================+================================================ + | ISLAND AND DATE + +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+------ + SPECIES | Potangeras | Fas.| Man.| Pau | Los. + +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+------ + | Aug.| Aug.| Aug.| Aug.| Aug.| Aug.| Aug.| Aug. + | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 + ----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------ + _Pluvialis dominica_ | | | 6 | 5 | 4 | | 10 | 5 + _Charadrius mongolus_ | | | | | | | x | 2 + _Numenius phaeopus_ | 1 | 4 | | 1 | | | 1 | 2 + _Actitus hypoleucos_ | | | | | | | 2 | 2 + _Heteroscelus_ spp. | | | | | 2 | | 6 | 3 + _H. incanus_* | | | | | | 1 | | 2 + _Crocethia alba_ | | | | | | | 30 | 5 + +=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+====== + Total No. | | | | | | | | + of Individuals | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 49 | 21 + Total No. of | | | | | | | | + Species | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 + ----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------ + + x Observed but numbers not recorded. + + * Figures based on identified skins. + + +Table 9 lists the shore birds seen at Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, on +eight field excursions in the period from August 14 to August 22, 1945. +Of seven species of shore birds known to visit the atoll, six were taken +in this period. As observed at Guam, _Pluvialis dominica_ and _Numenius +phaeopus_ were the species most frequently found. _Heteroscelus_ was +seen on three occasions; those collected were identified as _H. +incanus_. Most of the shore birds were seen at Pau and Losiep, islands +unoccupied by man. Similar tidal flats are present at most of the other +small islands in the atoll, but these islands (Asor, Fallalop, +Potangeras, Fassarai and Mangejang were visited) were occupied by small +detachments of service personnel or by natives, which may have tended to +keep many of the shore birds away. At the more populated islands of Asor +and Fallalop, no shore birds were seen. Almost as many species were +recorded at Ulithi on the eight field trips as were found by the author +at Guam in eight months of observations. + + +TABLE 10. POPULATIONS OF MIGRATORY SHORE BIRDS SEEN AT THE PALAU ISLANDS +IN 1945 + + =======================+==========================================+====== + | Peleliu |Angaur + +---------+--------------------------------+------ + SPECIES | August | September | + +----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+ Sept. + | 24 | 28 | 1 | 6* | 8* | 9[+]| 16* | 20* | 21 + -----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+------ + _Pluvialis dominica_ | x | | x | x | 25 | | 20 | x | x + _Charadrius mongolu_ | | | | x | 25 | | 5 | x | x + _C. leschenaultii_ | | | | x | 25 | | 5 | x | x + _Numenius phaeopus_ | | | 3 | x | 30 | | 20 | x | x + _N. madagascariensis_ | | | | | 1 | 1 | | 15 | + _Limosa lapponica_ | | | | | 3 | | 4 | | + _Tringa nebularia_ | | 6 | | | | | 3 | | + _T. glareola_[++] | | | | | | | | | 1 + _Actitis hypoleucos_ | | | | | | 2 | | | + _Heteroscelus_ sp. | | | x | x | 75 | | x | x | x + _H. brevipes_[++] | | | | 3 | 2 | | 2 | | + _Arenaria interpres_ | | | | | 20 | | | | + _Capella megala_ | | | | | | | | | 4 + _Calidris tenuirostris_| | | | | 15 | | 20 | | + _Erolia minuta_ | | | | x | 50 | | 50 | x | x + _E. acuminata_[++] | | | | | | | | | 3 + _E. ferruginea_[++] | | | | 1 | | | | | + _Limicola | | | | | | | | | + falcinellus_[++] | | | | | | | | | 1 + Unidentified | x | | | x | x | | x | x | x + +====+====+====+====+====+=====+=====+=====+====== + Total number + of individuals | x | 6 | x | x |271+| 3 |129+ | x | x + Total + number of species | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 10 + -----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+------ + + * Observations made on beaches at Akarakoro Point, Peleliu. + + [+] Observations made at fresh water ponds. + + x Observed but numbers not recorded. + + [++] Figures based on identified skins. + + +Table 10 presents field counts at the Palau Islands in the period from +August 24 to September 21, 1945. Of 20 species of shore birds known from +the Palaus, 17 species were collected or identified on this trip. It was +apparent that the fall migration was at its height at this time. Birds +were numerous at inland openings and ponds, air field strips, and on the +extensive tidal flats at Akarakoro Point. The latter area is between +Peleliu and the adjacent island of Ngesebus to the north. Several +observations were made at this area (as indicated by the dates marked +with asterisks in the table); on September 8, 271+ shore birds were +counted; on September 16, 129+ were counted. Six species were observed +to be abundant. The majority of the birds found at these beaches were in +small flocks which consisted of several birds of one or more species. + +The birds observed at Angaur on September 21 were seen at several fresh +and brackish ponds. Four species (_Tringa glareola_, _Erolia acuminata_, +_Limicola falcinellus_, _Gallinago megala_), which were not taken on the +tidal flats or elsewhere at Peleliu, were found at these ponds. + +The abundance, and more especially the variety, of shore birds at the +Palau Islands during this period was in marked contrast to the smaller +and less diversified populations of shore birds in rather similar +insular environments at Ulithi and Guam. These differences offer support +for the supposition that the Asiatic-Palauan Migratory Shore Bird Flyway +is distinct from the Japanese-Marianan Migratory Shore Bird Flyway. + + +LAND AND FRESH-WATER BIRDS + +The land and fresh-water avifauna of Micronesia consists of 147 kinds of +birds. Of these, 37 kinds are non-residents, 104 kinds are residents, +and 6 kinds have been introduced by man. The 104 resident birds include +98 kinds (94 percent) which are found only within the confines of +Micronesia. Included in these 98 kinds which are restricted to +Micronesia are 5 endemic genera, 31 endemic species and 76 endemic +subspecies. + +Gulick (1932: 407, 413) stresses that the fauna and flora of the oceanic +islands may be "disharmonic" (he uses Easter Island as his example) and +says, "It is evident that mature groups of islands will attain an +internal harmony, from the standpoint of the systematist. But this +harmony, instead of reflecting the pre-existing harmony of some +continental source (as in the case of the continental islands or +land-bridge remnants) will be recognizably derivable by descent from a +quite limited number of original importations, at the start distinctly +miscellaneous and 'disharmonic'." Analysis of the land and fresh-water +avifauna of Micronesia supports Gulick's view. + +[Illustration: FIG. 7. Divisions of the islands of part of the Pacific +Basin from the standpoint of the distribution of land birds and +fresh-water birds: (1) Micronesia; (2) Hawaii; (3) Central Polynesia; +(4) Eastern Polynesia; (5) Southern Melanesia; (6) Melanesia.] + +As mentioned previously, the islands of Micronesia, from the +zoogeographical viewpoint, have been regarded as a part of the +Polynesian Subregion of the Australian Region. Mayr (1941a: 192) defines +the Polynesian Subregion as comprising "all the tropical and subtropical +islands of the Pacific Basin which indicate by their impoverished fauna +that they have had no recent continental connection (after early +Tertiary) and which derived the major part of their fauna directly or +indirectly from the Papuan Region or jointly from Australia and the +Papuan Region." As based on the distribution of the resident avifauna, +Mayr (1941a:193) subdivides the Polynesian Subregion into the following +districts: Micronesia ("including Palau, the Marianne, Caroline, +Marshall, and Gilbert islands"); Central Polynesia ("including Fiji, +Tonga, Samoa, Phoenix, Ellice, Union islands, and a number of small +islands, such as Rotuma, Fotuna, Keppel, Niue, Niouafu, and Uvea"); +Eastern Polynesia ("all the islands east of 165° W"); and Southern +Melanesia ("including the Santa Cruz group, Banks Islands, New Hebrides, +Loyalty Islands, and New Caledonia"). He considers that the Hawaiian +Islands, Solomon Islands, and possibly New Caledonia are bordering +districts to the Polynesian Subregion. Figure 7 shows the divisions of +the islands of the Pacific Basin from the standpoint of the distribution +of the land and fresh-water birds. I have placed the Gilbert and +Marshall islands in the Central Polynesian rather than in the +Micronesian District. For purposes of discussion in this report, +however, I am considering the Marshalls to be a part of Micronesia. The +birdlife of the Bonin and Volcano islands northward of the Marianas is +regarded as having its closest affinities to the Japanese avifauna. The +Papuan or Melanesian Subregion of the Australian Region includes the +districts of New Guinea and Northern Melanesia, including the Bismarck +Archipelago, the Admiralty Islands, and the Solomon Islands. + +The resident land and fresh-water birds of Micronesia have been derived +from several sources. Studies of these birds and their closest relatives +in adjacent areas indicate that the avifauna has been derived from five +different sources: Polynesia, Melanesia, the Moluccas and Celebes, +Philippines, and Palearctica. + + +POLYNESIAN COMPONENT + +_Aphanolimnas monasa_ (extinct?), _Ptilinopus porphyraceus_, and _Ducula +oceanica_ are the only species of birds which have reached Micronesia +directly from Polynesia. There are in Micronesia, as Mayr (1941b: 204) +points out, eight species "which are members of typically Polynesian +species or genera" and six species which are either Papuan or +Polynesian. The relationships between Polynesian and Micronesian birds +is evident, but insofar as the pathways of colonization are concerned +the majority of these Micronesian species listed by Mayr have come from +elsewhere than Polynesia and the birds of these two areas are thought to +have arisen from common ancestors. _Aphanolimnas_, _Ptilinopus_, and +_Ducula_ apparently invaded Micronesia from Central Polynesia _via_ the +Marshall Islands through a rather continuous chain of islands and +atolls. _Aphanolimnas_ is known only from Kusaie in the extreme eastern +part of the Carolines while _Ptilinopus_ and _Ducula_ are known from the +Marshalls, Carolines, and Palaus. + + +MELANESIAN COMPONENT + +The Papuan or Melanesian Region (New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, +Solomon Islands) has supplied to Micronesia its greatest number of +endemic land and fresh-water residents. Fifty kinds of birds belonging +to the following species reached Micronesia from Melanesia: _Nycticorax +caledonicus_, _Megapodius lapérouse_, _Ptilinopus roseicapillus_, +_Gallicolumba xanthonura_, _G. canifrons_, _Caloenas nicobarica_, +_Halcyon cinnamomina_, _Trichoglossus rubiginosus_, _Collocalia +inquieta_, _Edolisoma tenuirostre_, _Rhipidura rufifrons_, _Metabolus +regensis_, _Monarcha godeffroyi_, _M. takatsukasae_, _Colluricincla +tenebrosa_, _Aplonis opacus_, _A. pelzelni_, _A. corvinus_ (extinct?), +_Cleptornis marchei_, _Myzomela cardinalis_ (probably by way of Southern +Melanesia), _Rukia palauensis_, _R. oleaginea_, _R. ruki_, _R. +sanfordi_, _Erythrura trichroa_. The colonization of Micronesia by these +species has probably extended over a considerable period of time. +_Megapodius_, _Trichoglossus_, and _Aplonis corvinus_ may represent +older colonizations which have become well differentiated from the +ancestral forms; _Nycticorax_, _Myzomela_, and _Erythrura_ may have +become established later and have had "less time" to become modified +from the ancestral forms. Birds from Melanesia have reached Micronesia +probably by direct flight to the Caroline Islands. Aided by favorable +winds which blow from the southwest, south and southeast during the +period from May to November, birds, particularly the young of the year, +might conceivably be blown in the direction of the Carolines, where 57 +percent of the birds derived from Melanesia reside. The Palaus are +populated with 15 percent, the Marianas with 28 percent, and the +Marshalls (lacking "high" islands) with none; these may be secondary +colonizations from the Carolinas excepting _Ptilinopus_, _Megapodius_, +_Gallicolumba canifrons_, _Cleptornis_, and _Colluricincla_. The +Marshall Islands have received no avian components from Melanesia. The +absence of "high" islands in the Marshalls and the possible inability of +birds accustomed to life on the luxuriant islands of Melanesia to become +established on relatively barren atolls are logical reasons for this. +Instead of New Guinea itself, the outlying islands of Melanesia +(Bismarck Archipelago, Solomons, Southern Melanesia) probably have been +the principal "taking-off" places for birds invading Micronesia. + + +MOLUCCAN AND CELEBESIAN COMPONENTS + +Birds which reached Micronesia by way of the islands of Celebes and the +Moluccas may have been derived originally from Melanesia. The following +birds appear to have used this route: _Porphyrio porphyrio_, probably +_Halcyon chloris_, _Rhipidura lepida_, _Myiagra oceanica_, _Zosterops +conspicillata_, and _Z. cinerea_. These birds apparently became +established initially in the Palaus; _Porphyrio_ and _Rhipidura lepida_ +have not been recorded elsewhere in Micronesia, but _Myiagra_ and the +two species of _Zosterops_ have spread to the Carolines and Marianas, +although not into the Marshall Islands. Wind from the southeast in +summer and fall has probably been a factor aiding these colonizations. +The population of _Gallinula chloropus_ resident at Palau may also have +arrived by this route. + + +PHILIPPINE COMPONENT + +Ten of the kinds of birds of Micronesia have come from or by way of the +Philippine area. These are known principally from the Palaus and the +Marianas and include: _Rallus philippinus_, _R. owstoni_, _Poliolimnas +cinereus_, _Caprimulgus indicus_, _Corvus kubaryi_, _Psamathia annae_, +_Artamus leucorhynchus_, possibly _Lonchura nigerrima_, and _Collocalia +inexpectata_. The Philippines may have been the actual point of +dispersal of the birds (example, _Psamathia_), or may have been used as +a stepping stone to Micronesia by birds coming from Melanesia (examples, +_Rallus_ and _Artamus_), by birds from Malaysia (example, _Collocalia_), +and by birds from Asia (example, _Caprimulgus_). Two birds of this +component have reached the islands of eastern Micronesia. A subspecies +of _Lonchura nigerrima_ is endemic at Ponapé, and a subspecies of +_Poliolimnas cinereus_ occurs on several islands in the Carolines and +has even been recorded at Bikini in the Marshall Islands. Three species +are known only from the Palaus; two are known only from the Marianas. + + +PALEARCTIC COMPONENT + +[Illustration: FIG. 8. Faunal areas from which the resident land birds +and fresh-water birds of Micronesia have been derived. (1) Palearctica; +(2) Philippines; (3) Moluccas and Celebes (Malaysia); (4) Melanesia (New +Guinea and northern Melanesia); (5) Polynesia.] + +Birds of Micronesia which have been derived directly from Palearctica +are _Gallinula chloropus guami_, _Otus podarginus_, _Asio flammeus_, +_Acrocephalus luscinia_ and _Anas oustaleti_. Apparently _Gallinula_, +_Asio_, and _Acrocephalus_ arrived in Micronesia by way of the chain of +islands from Japan southward to the Bonins, Volcanoes, and Marianas. +_Otus_ reached Palau from Asia, possibly by way of the Philippines. The +smallness of the representation of this component may result partly from +lesser ability of the northern birds to adapt themselves to, and to +establish themselves on, the semi-tropical and tropical islands of +Micronesia as compared with birds from Melanesia where the climate and +ecologic conditions resemble more closely those found in Micronesia. +Evidence supporting this possibility is the large number of Palearctic +residents in the Bonin and Volcano islands as compared with fewer in the +Marianas; the Bonins and Volcanoes are less tropical and more temperate +in climate. + +Table 11 lists the birds concerned, by faunal areas from which the birds +have been derived and shows the number of kinds of birds which are +present as a result of these colonizations. There is some overlap in the +numbers since some endemics may be found in more than one area in +Micronesia. Figure 8 shows the faunal areas from which the endemic land +and fresh-water birds of Micronesia have been derived. Melanesia (Papua) +supplied 52 percent of this population. Birds reaching Micronesia by way +of the Moluccas and Celebes include 21 percent of the total population. +The Philippines have supplied 10 percent; Polynesia, 9 percent; and +Palearctica, 8 percent. This population of endemic land birds and +fresh-water birds has seemingly evolved from 46 colonizations, of which +27 have been derived from Melanesia, 6 from the Philippines, 5 from the +Moluccan and Celebean areas, 5 from Palearctica, and 3 from Polynesia. + +The Palaus have received a large part of their avifauna from the west +(Moluccas, Philippines, Palearctica). Their Melanesian component is +mostly the result of secondary colonization from the Carolines. The +Carolines have received a greater share of their land birds and +fresh-water birds from Melanesia and a smaller share from Polynesia. The +Marshalls are definitely associated with the Polynesian element. The +Marianas exhibit a considerable amount of secondary colonization from +other Micronesian islands, as well as some unique components from the +Philippines, Melanesia, and Palearctica. Thus, the number of endemics in +Micronesia provides little information concerning the actual number of +successful colonizations by birds from other areas. Many of the endemics +probably have resulted in this way: Individuals of an endemic subspecies +flew to another island and there underwent further differentiation, +producing another endemic subspecies. Such secondary colonization +probably is going on now. + +This analysis of the avifauna shows that Micronesia, with the exception +of the Marshall Islands (and the Gilbert Islands), has but little +affinity to Polynesia. It has greater affinity, from the zoogeographical +standpoint, with the Papuan Region (Melanesia). + + +TABLE 11. AVIFAUNAL COMPONENTS WHICH MAKE UP THE ENDEMIC RESIDENT LAND + AND FRESH-WATER BIRD POPULATION OF MICRONESIA + + =================+=======+=============+===========+==========+========== + | | Western | | | + FAUNAL COMPONENT | Palau | and central | Eastern | Marianas | Marshalls + | | Carolines | Carolines | | + -----------------+-------+-------------+-----------+----------+---------- + Polynesian | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 + Melanesian | 11 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 0 + Moluccan-Celebean| 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 + Philippine | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 + Palearctic | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 + +-------+-------------+-----------+----------+---------- + Totals | 27 | 23 | 29 | 28 | 4 + -----------------+-------+-------------+-----------+----------+---------- + + +SPECIATION + +Of the 104 native fresh-water birds and land birds which are resident in +Micronesia, only 7 kinds or 6.5 percent remain undifferentiated from +populations elsewhere. These birds are _Phalacrocorax melanoleucus_, +_Pandion haliaetus_, _Demigretta sacra_, _Ixobrychus sinensis_, _Anas +poecilorhyncha_, and possibly _Lonchura punctulata_ (may be an +introduction by man). Another bird, _Gallinula chloropus_, a resident at +Palau, may or may not be distinct from the gallinule of Malaysia, _G. c. +orientalis_. Of the 104 resident birds, 97 kinds or 93.5 percent have +become differentiated and can be separated taxonomically from +populations elsewhere. Of the kinds of birds which are found only in +Micronesia, there are 5 endemic genera (16 percent), 31 endemic species +(32 percent) and 76 endemic subspecies (75 percent). If we consider the +avifauna of Micronesia as a single element, the endemism is high as +compared with that on larger and less isolated islands. For example, +Mayr (1944a:174) found 137 resident birds on Timor including 22 endemic +species (16 percent) and 67 endemic subspecies (47.5 percent). +Stresemann (1939b:313) found 220 species including 84 endemic species +(38.2 percent) on Celebes. Mayr (1944a:174) also writes that on Java, of +337 breeding species, 16 (4.8 percent) are endemic, and on New +Caledonia, of 68 species 19 (27.9 percent) are endemic. Speciation in +Micronesia has not progressed much farther than that at New Caledonia +and not so far as at Celebes, but subspeciation has progressed +considerably more than at the island of Timor. The avifauna of the +Hawaiian Islands, as recorded by Bryan and Greenway (1944), has 73 +resident land birds and fresh-water birds, all of which are endemic, +including one family, 23 genera and 36 species. The North American night +heron, _Nycticorax n. hoactli_, may be included in this list as the only +resident which is undifferentiated. The development of full specific +differentiation within the resident avifauna is greater in the more +isolated Hawaiian chain where 49 percent of these birds are regarded as +endemic species, while in Micronesia, which is less remote from other +bodies of land, the specific endemism is only 32 percent. + + +TABLE 12. ENDEMISM IN FAMILIES OF NATIVE LAND AND FRESH-WATER BIRDS IN + MICRONESIA + + ==================+===========+=========+=========+============+========= + | | Endemic | Endemic | Endemic | Total + FAMILY | Residents | genera | species | subspecies | endemic + ------------------+-----------+---------+---------+------------+--------- + Phalacrocoracidae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 + Ardeidae | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 + Anatidae | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 + Accipitridae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 + Megapodidae | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 + Rallidae | 7 | 1* | 2 | 4 | 6 + Columbidae | 13 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 + Psittacidae | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 + Strigidae | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 + Caprimulgidae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 + Apodidae | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 + Alcedinidae | 7 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 + Campephagidae | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 + Corvidae | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 + Sylviidae | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 + Muscicapidae | 14 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 14 + Artamidae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 + Sturnidae | 9 | 0 | 3[+] | 7 | 9 + Meliphagidae | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 + Zosteropidae | 14 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 14 + Ploceidae | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 + +-----------+---------+---------+------------+--------- + Totals | 104 | 5 | 31 | 76 | 97 + ------------------+-----------+---------+---------+------------+--------- + + * _Aphanolimonasa_ is included but may be extinct. + + [+] _Aplonis corvinus_ is included but may be extinct. + + +Table 12 lists the families of land birds and fresh-water birds which +have resident members as part of the avifauna of Micronesia. It can be +observed from the table that only two families are represented by no +endemic kinds, several families are represented by one or two endemic +kinds, and others are represented by as many as 14 endemic kinds. +Endemism has reached its greatest development in the families Rallidae +(6), Columbidae (13), Apodidae (5), Alcedinidae (7), Sylviidae (5), +Muscicapidae (14), Sturnidae (9), Meliphagidae (7), and Zosteropidae +(14). Generic endemism is greatest in the Sylviidae where one endemic +genus occurs among 5 endemic species and subspecies (20 percent), in +Rallidae one in 6 (17 percent), in Meliphagidae one in 7 (14 percent). +Specific endemism is greatest in Psittacidae and Corvidae where the +single representative of each family in Micronesia is considered +specifically distinct (100 percent), in Megapodidae and Strigidae one in +2 (50 percent), in Muscicapidae and Zosteropidae 6 in 14 (43 percent) in +Sylviidae 2 in 5 (40 percent), in Rallidae 2 in 6 (33 percent), in +Sturnidae 3 in 9 (33 percent) in Columbidae 4 in 13 (31 percent). +Subspeciation within species which are endemic in Micronesia has +occurred in 8 families, occurring within two species in each of the +families Columbidae and Zosteropidae and once in each of the families +Megapodidae, Apodidae, Alcedinidae, Sylviidae, Muscicapidae, and +Sturnidae. + +In summary, the families of land and fresh-water birds found in +Micronesia which have the greatest number of endemic forms are +Muscicapidae (14), Zosteropidae (14), Columbidae (13), and Sturnidae +(9). Speciation has occurred in the single representative of the +families Psittacidae (_Trichoglossus rubiginosus_) and Corvidae (_Corvus +kubaryi_). Where family representation is large, speciation has occurred +most frequently, as in the Muscicapidae (6 in 14 = 43 percent), in the +Zosteropidae (6 in 14 = 43 percent), and in the Columbidae (4 in 13 = 31 +percent). Subspeciation has occurred in 8 families, in two species in +the Columbidae and Zosteropidae and in one species in each of 6 other +families. + + +TIME OF COLONIZATION + +Previously (and in the accounts of the species to follow), comments are +made concerning the subjects of _from where_ and _by what route_ the +various kinds of birds have arrived at Micronesia. The problem of _when_ +these birds arrived is a difficult and usually unanswerable one. +Although geology provides some evidence on the relative age of the +islands, and although deposits of bird guano on now elevated coral +islands show that oceanic birds have inhabited these islands for a long +time, there is no evidence to show the time of the first colonization by +land birds. No fossil remains of land birds or fresh-water birds have +been found in Micronesia. The relative extent of differentiation in +color and structure, which has taken place between different birds, +offers one means for estimating the relative length of residence in the +area, provided all other factors are equivalent. Concerning the birds of +the Galapagos, Lack (1947:113) writes "That Darwin's finches are so +highly differentiated suggests that they colonized the Galapagos +considerably ahead of the other land birds." Evidence from this source +actually is of little value, because the speed of evolution is unknown +and its rate may be different in different species, even though they +live under the same circumstances. Dobzhansky (1941) says that evolution +is a modification of the genetic equilibrium, which, if true, may not +result in similar manifestations in different kinds of birds living +under the same conditions of life. Relative antiquity of the birds might +be ascertained by measuring their ecologic adaptations. The Guam Rail +(_Rallus owstoni_) and the Micronesian White-browed Rail (_Poliolimnas_) +can be examined in this way. _R. owstoni_ has the ability to live in +both brackish and fresh water swamps, as well as in the scrub and grass +of the uplands and in the virtually barren, rocky areas in the dense +jungles. _Poliolimnas_, on the other hand, appears to be restricted to +swampy areas in Micronesia. If the swampy areas were removed this rail +probably would become extinct. _R. owstoni_ appears to have been +resident in Micronesia longer than _Poliolimnas_. However, ability to +live in a variety of habitats might be acquired by _R. owstoni_ in a +relatively short time. + +Another possibility is that the birds, which are less differentiated +from their ancestral stocks, may be less differentiated because of +suppression of newly evolved characters by dilutions, which result from +interbreeding with new birds, which may be arriving at irregular +intervals from the ancestral home. Interbreeding of the resident +population with newcomers may overshadow any modifications which might +have appeared as a result of insular isolation, especially modifications +which have little adaptive significance. One would suspect, from their +modifications, that _Rallus owstoni_, _Metabolus rugensis_, _Corvus +kubaryi_, and other endemic forms have experienced less of this +"dilution," than such birds as _Rallus philippensis pelewensis_, +_Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_, _Myzomela cardinalis_, and others. +Murphy (1938) mentions this "dilution" effect in his discussion of +"strong" and "weak" subspecies among warblers of the Marquesas. He +writes that "strong" subspecies may develop if the birds are present on +islands which are upwind from islands containing related subspecies. The +wind acts to block interisland migration in these weak-flyers. On the +other hand, "weak" subspecies may show the effect of "dilution," being +situated on islands downwind from islands containing related +subspecies. The direction of the wind acts to aid the weak flyers to +move to the downwind islands and continually "dilute" the resident +subspecies. Similar examples can be cited for Micronesian birds. Hesse, +Allee, and Schmidt (1937:87) write, "Endemism on islands is most +frequent in forms for which the difficulty of reaching the island is +most extreme, so that new increments of the parent form are unlikely to +follow." + +Employing the criteria mentioned above, the birds of Micronesia can be +tentatively divided into four groups as regards the relative time when +they arrived at the islands: + +1. Birds of ancient colonizations which reached certain individual +islands, became modified, and dispersed no farther. Examples are +_Aphanolimnas_, _Rallus owstoni_, _Aplonis corvinus_, _Metabolus +rugensis_, and _Corvus kubaryi_. + +2. Birds of ancient colonizations which reached or dispersed through a +number of islands but are now restricted to relatively few islands. +Examples are _Ducula oceanica_, _Ptilinopus porphyraceus_, _Megapodius +lapérouse_, _Asio flammeus_, and _Acrocephalus luscinia_. + +3. Birds of ancient, or possibly more recent, colonizations which +initially reached or subsequently dispersed to many of the islands of +Micronesia possessing habitat suitable for them. Examples are _Myzomela +cardinalis_, the two species of _Halcyon_, _Aplonis opacus_, and +_Zosterops conspicillata_. + +4. Birds of rather recent colonizations, which may have reached only a +few islands and are relatively unmodified from their parental stocks. +Examples are _Artamus leucorhynchus_, _Caprimulgus indicus_, +_Poliolimnas cinereus_, and _Nycticorax caledonicus_. + + +FACTORS CAUSING DISPERSAL + +Darlington (1938:274) in discussing the origin of the fauna of the +Greater Antilles uses the term "over-water dispersal" in referring to +the spread of terrestrial animals across water. He is against the use of +the term "accidental dispersal" since many factors besides accident are +involved. He contends, as do others, that certain forms of organisms, +owing to their "nature and behavior" cross water barriers more +successfully than others. These observations may be applied to the +"over-water dispersal" of birdlife to the islands of Micronesia. Certain +groups of birds are more evident in Micronesia than others. Certain +groups of birds which are found on other islands of the Pacific basin +are found in Micronesia only in small numbers or may not be +represented; Mayr (1945a:284) writes, "Remarkable is the almost complete +absence of parrots and honey-eaters, the small number of pigeons and the +absence of such widespread genera as _Lalage_, _Turdus_, and +_Pachycephala_." The absence of some species and the presence of others +produces the characteristic insular effect termed "disharmonic" by +Gulick (1932:407), as compared with the continental area or island which +derived its avifauna by way of a land bridge. One would think from +looking at table 12 that members of the families Rallidae, Columbidae, +Muscicapidae, Sturnidae, and Zosteropidae were the most successful +colonizers in Micronesia on the basis of the number of successful +colonizations (not necessarily on the number of endemics developed from +a single colonization). Of these families, Sturnidae and Zosteropidae +and possibly Columbidae contain species which often move in flocks. +Furthermore, these families as well as the Muscicapidae feed on either +fruits, seeds, or insects, any one of which is a type of food which +might "give out" suddenly, stimulating a migratory behavior within the +birds. From a flock embarking seaward in "search" of more food, a part +or even all of the birds might survive in a chance flight to an isolated +island in Micronesia. If a flock containing both males and females +reaches an island, the species has a good chance of becoming +established. Evidence that such a rapid colonization by flocks of birds +can take place is found in the remarkable colonization of New Zealand by +_Zosterops lateralis_ from the Australian area. The bird was first seen +as a winter migrant in New Zealand in 1856 and records of nestings were +obtained at North Island in 1862, according to Oliver (1930:489). In the +case of rails there is no evidence that they move in flocks; however, +they are among the most successful colonizers and are on many of the +oceanic islands in the tropical and subtropical oceans. Representatives +of several species of the family Rallidae have invaded Micronesia and +have successfully established 6, or possibly 7, "colonies." + +Darlington (1938:274) further writes that "it is no accident that some +islands, because of their nature and position, the direction of winds +and currents, and the nature of the neighboring land, receive more +organisms than other islands do." Semper (1881:294) writes that the +distribution of flying creatures "must be in a great degree dependent on +the direction and strength of atmospheric currents." These statements +are applicable to the history of the avifauna of Micronesia. The +Caroline Islands, for example, present a "broad front" for wanderers +from the Melanesian islands. As mentioned previously, the prevailing +winds in the late spring, summer, and early fall are from the south, +southwest, and southeast and would favor bird flight to the northward +towards the Carolines. In addition, the breeding season of many of the +birds in Melanesia is from November to February, and in the spring and +summer, restless young birds seeking living space might fly seaward and +aided by the winds fly northward towards Micronesia. Adults, which may +have well-established home territories, may be less likely to attempt +such a movement. + +One could conclude from the above discussion that the Micronesian +islands, especially the Carolines, might be well populated with a large +variety of birds from Melanesia, a scant 500 or more miles away. As it +turns out, there are only a few islands in this extensive archipelago +possessing proper vegetation, fresh water, and other qualities which +make them capable of supporting the land and fresh-water birds of +Melanesia. The few islands which have these qualities are the so-called +"high" islands, including the entire Mariana chain, the Palaus, and four +widely separated islands in the Carolines: Yap, Truk, Ponapé, and +Kusaie. The other islands of Micronesia are "low" coral islands, which +often lack fresh water and have a meager variety of fruits, insects and +other foods. Thus, if birds do reach Micronesia but arrive at the atolls +instead of the "high" islands, these birds may be doomed. It is +noteworthy that the Micronesian islands are small compared with the +Solomons, Fijis, and others. The smaller the island, the fewer the +number of ecologic niches and the fewer the kinds of birds present. + +Mayr (1941b:215) writes that the distance from the nearest land mass and +the climatic conditions are important factors controlling dispersal. +With regard to the degree of remoteness of the islands, table 13 lists +the number of resident land and fresh-water birds present in the Palaus +and the "high" islands of the Carolines. Also, the approximate distance +from the nearest large land mass and the area in square miles are given. +There is some correlation between the distance from the nearest land +mass and the number of resident land birds and fresh-water birds. For +example, Palau, with 32 resident birds, is only 410 miles from the +nearest land mass whereas Kusaie, with only 11 resident birds, is 720 +miles from the nearest land mass. The comparative size of the land mass +must also be taken into account, as shown by the fact that the large +island of Ponapé contains more kinds of birds but is more remote from +large land masses than either Yap or Truk. + + +TABLE 13. CORRELATION BETWEEN NUMBER OF RESIDENT LAND AND FRESH-WATER + BIRDS AND DISTANCE FROM LARGE LAND MASSES OF "HIGH" ISLANDS OF + MICRONESIA + + Column headings: + + A: No. of Birds + B: Approximate distance from nearest land mass (statute miles) + C: Area in square miles + + ========+====+=====+===================================+===== + ISLAND | A | B | Nearest land mass | C + --------+----+-----+-----------------------------------+----- + Palau | 32 | 410 | Approximately equal distance from | 171 + | | | Mindanao, Morotai, New Guinea | + | | | | + Yap | 13 | 580 | New Guinea | 83 + | | | | + Truk | 17 | 525 | New Ireland | 50 + | | | | + Ponapé | 20 | 630 | New Ireland | 145 + | | | | + Kusaie | 11 | 720 | Malaita (Solomons) | 42 + --------+----+-----+-----------------------------------+----- + + +Climatic factors are important in the dispersal of bird life; +Micronesia, where the climate is tropical to subtropical, is better +suited for colonization by birds from the tropics (Melanesia) than by +birds from the temperate or cold climates (Palearctica). The climatic +factor may be one of the principal reasons why birds from Palearctica +make up only a small part of the avifauna of Micronesia. + + +ANALYSIS OF SPECIATION + +The process of speciation within insular populations has been discussed +by many authors. Hesse, Allee, and Schmidt (1937:517) list the motives +for differentiation as, "Special character of insular faunae rests on +the conditions common to all islands--isolation, freedom from +competition, space restriction, and special insular climates." This +combination of characteristics is seldom found elsewhere in nature, and +as Murphy (1938:357) points out, an island is the nearest approach to a +"man-controlled laboratory." Isolation of small populations is probably +the most influential factor in the process of speciation in insular +organisms. Lack (1947:134) writes that "in all organisms the isolation +of populations is an essential preliminary to the origin of new +species." Buxton (1938:265) also stresses this point with regard to the +formation of species of insects in Samoa and emphasizes that evolution +may occur more quickly in small populations. When mutations appear in +such small and isolated populations, they have a greater chance to +become fixed than do mutations in less restricted populations in a +larger land mass, where such a mutation might be lost by the swamping +effects of outbreedings. In addition, Wright (1931 and elsewhere) +suggests the possibility of change by accidental elimination and +recombination of hereditary characters in micropopulations. This +mechanism could well be a factor in Micronesian bird populations, many +of which possess no more than a few hundred individuals. Huxley +(1938:256) emphasizes that "accidental" mutations may be perpetuated in +small, isolated groups. It might be added that such changes might be +either advantageous or disadvantageous to the organism concerned. Huxley +(1938:263) states also that geographic isolation may promote nonadaptive +differentiation, which may be caused by "colonization by a random +sample" or by subsequent "preservation of nonadaptive mutations in +numerically small isolated groups." Mayr (1942b:237) cites the +importance of the "founder" principal for reduced variability in small +populations. He points out that if the "founders" of the population +carried with them only "a very small proportion of the variability of +the parent population," one would expect to see divergence from the +ancestral stock. + +Freedom from competition, especially interspecific strife, is an +important factor in differentiation; this is especially true in the +early period of colonization. Lack (1947:113) points to the absence of +food competitors, especially in the initial period of colonization, as +an important influence in the evolution of Darwin's finches at the +Galapagos Islands. Once a population has become established and +"adjusted" to a given environment on a small island, intraspecific +competition might bring about adaptative selection. Subsequent colonists +might be eliminated by the competition brought about by these previously +adapted organisms, especially if both organisms were adapted for life in +the same ecologic niche. Space restriction may be important in such +Micronesian birds as _Rhipidura_ and _Myiagra_, which appear to possess +recognizable territories. A new colonist entering the territory of one +of these birds might be forced out. This competition might not play such +an important part among birds, which live in flocks and do not range in +closely guarded territories; birds in this group include some pigeons, +starlings, and white-eyes. + +Freedom from the pressure of predation probably exerts a direct +influence on formation of species. Aside from a few migrant hawks and +two kinds of resident owls, most of the avifauna feeds on vegetable and +invertebrate foods. The large lizard _Varanus_ may be classed as the +only native predator on many of the islands. Man has been responsible +for the introduction of rats, house cats, and other mammals, which may +be destructive to birds. Thus, before the advent of man the factor of +predation may not have been of great consequence. As mentioned +previously, nonadaptive modifications may be perpetuated where the +"weeding-out" process by predation is not an influence. Flightless rails +have apparently developed in the absence of predation. + +The absence of the pressure of predation should remove a certain amount +of control on the population turn-over. As Hesse, Allee, and Schmidt +(1937:521) write, a characteristic of the faunas of oceanic islands is +the fact that they are distinguished by the occurrence of +"disproportionately developed taxonomic groups in which one or a few +basic types have undergone adaptative radiation and come to fill unduly +large proportions of the population as compared with conditions that +obtain on neighboring continents." Lack (1947:114) writes, "that the +absence of predators may well have accelerated the adaptative radiation" +in the Galapagos finches. In Micronesia, the starling (_Aplonis opacus_) +dominates much of the available habitat on some of the Caroline atolls, +and even on "high" islands, where other land birds are present. There +appears to be no tendency towards selective adaptations occurring, or +towards ecologic isolation. + +Available data indicate that the life spans of individual birds in +Micronesia may be short. For example, it was obvious on many of the +islands visited by the NAMRU2 party that starlings (_Aplonis opacus_) in +immature plumage outnumbered starlings in adult plumage, although it is +possible that immature plumages are retained longer in these island +birds than in others. Similar observations were made by Coultas, who +noted the ratio of birds in immature plumage to birds in adult plumage +at Kusaie to be 5 to 1. If the life span is shorter in these insular +forms as compared with that of the ancestral stocks, the higher annual +population turn-over would allow for the speed of genetic changes to be +accelerated. + +The origin of species by hybridization between different kinds of +organisms has been a subject of frequent discussion. Lack (1947:100) +concludes that it is improbable that hybridization has played an +important part in the origin of new kinds of birds. Nevertheless, the +absence of sufficient mates in the confines of a small island probably +stimulates the crossbreeding between two species of birds. Fertile +offspring of such a cross might conceivably account for some of the +populations, the origins of which are puzzles to present day +taxonomists. Such Micronesian forms as _Metabolus_ and _Cleptornis_ +could conceivably have been derived in such a manner. Yamashina (1948) +has described the origin of _Anas oustaleti_ as a result of +hybridization between _A. platyrhynchos_ and _A. poecilorhyncha_. It +might be difficult to explain every case of the formation of other +insular species on the basis of the effects of isolation and paucity +alone. However, Mayr (1942b:236) includes the development of +questionable and unusual kinds of insular forms in a general statement: +"The potentiality for rapid divergent evolution in small populations +explains also why we have on islands so many dwarf or giant races, or +races with peculiar color characters (albinism, melanism), or with +peculiar structure (long bills in birds), or other peculiar characters +(loss of male plumage in birds)." + +Nutrition may be also a factor influencing speciation in bird life. The +types of food plants (coconut, papaya, breadfruit, pandanus, etc.) might +be similar on a Micronesian island and on a continental island in the +Philippine region; however, the value of these plants as foods might +vary and might reflect differences in mineral content of the soils. For +example, if the soils on an island lack, or by leaching out have lost, +sufficient amounts of potassium and other elements, plants may store +foods, not as proteins, but possibly as carbohydrates, simple sugars, or +alkaloids. Whether nutritional influences might have a selective effect +on the bird populations, has not been ascertained. + +In summary, it may be said that genetic change altering the phenotypic +expression of avian characteristics is no more apt to happen in insular +populations than in continental populations but genetic change may have +a greater chance of being perpetuated in small insular populations where +isolation, limited competition, freedom from the selective influences of +predation, and other factors exert influences. + + + + +CONSERVATION OF THE AVIFAUNA OF MICRONESIA + + +The islands of Micronesia are small and their occupation by man often +produces serious effects on the endemic animal life of the islands. The +vulnerability of insular bird populations is well attested by the fact +that the majority of birds, which have become extinct in the past two +hundred years, have been insular forms. Two birds in Micronesia, the +Kusaie Rail (_Aphanolimnas_) and the Kusaie Mountain Starling (_Aplonis +corvinus_), are known to be either extinct or so rare that they have not +been taken since the time of Kittlitz, who visited the island of Kusaie +in December, 1827, and January, 1828. Other birds (_Anas oustaleti_, +_Caloenas nicobarica_, _Megapodius l. lapérouse_, and _Metabolus +rugensis_) have become reduced in numbers and may be threatened with +extermination. + +Nelson (1921:270-274) has described the following agencies destructive +to island life of the Pacific: fire, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, +hurricanes, clearing of the land, introduction of domestic animals and +grazing, introduction of wild animals and birds. Mayr (1945c) also +presents a discussion of conservation problems in these islands. + +Fire is a serious hazard to island life, especially to the land birds. +It destroys both food and cover, these two habitat requirements being +most essential to the birds. The firing of open lands to improve grazing +conditions was a practice which persisted in the Marianas during the +time of the Spanish. This practice has declined, but the resultant +vegetational changes and erosion have adversely affected the avifauna. +Tidal waves and hurricanes (typhoons) are occasionally of such intensity +as to flood low coral atolls. Such events are damaging to, or might even +exterminate populations of land birds (_Aplonis_, _Acrocephalus_ and +others), and prevent colonizations which might otherwise occur. Clearing +of the land for agricultural use probably has affected the avifauna, +especially on the island of Tinian where much of the island has been +placed in cultivation. The occurrence of domestic stock, especially +feral hogs and cats, has affected the birds. Hogs, apparently, have been +in the islands for a long time. The English privateer, Lord Anson, +visited Tinian in October, 1742, and noted a large number of hogs +present at that time. At Guam, in 1945, the NAMRU2 party found both hogs +and cats moving freely in all parts of the island. Stomachs of cats +examined showed that they had been feeding principally on rodents. + +Introduction of wild animals and plants have not been so extensive as in +the Hawaiians or other islands. There have been at least five +importations of land birds to Micronesia as well as several mammals, +other vertebrates and invertebrates. The effect of these established +colonies on the native bird life has not been studied. + +The late world war has brought changes to the population of bird life in +Micronesia. The author (1946b) has elsewhere described some of the +effects of the bombing, invasion, and occupation of small islands. Some +islands, like Peleliu, suffered severely from bombing and invasion +operations. Some islands, especially smaller ones like Kwajalein and +Ulithi, were partly or almostly entirely cleared of vegetation by +occupation forces. Other effects were caused by "recreational" shooting +of birds by garrison forces; introductions of pests in materials +unloaded; and pest control by clearing, draining, and spraying with DDT +and other insecticides to the detriment of inoffensive species. + +It is obvious that a well-planned program of conservation should be +placed in operation to insure survival of the endemic avifauna of +Micronesia. + + + + +THE FUTURE OF ORNITHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN MICRONESIA + + +Collections of birds have been made at most of the major islands of +Micronesia, and it is thought that there are but few if any unnamed +birds in the region. The distribution of several species has not been +completely investigated, especially those land birds (_Ducula_, +_Ptilinopus_, and _Aplonis_) which inhabit coral atolls in the Carolines +and Marshalls. The bird life of the northern Marianas is also +incompletely known. Continued observations in the Micronesian islands +will increase our knowledge of the kinds of migratory shore birds and +migratory land birds which reach the island as winter visitors. Further +information is needed concerning the breeding activities of sea birds in +Micronesia, especially in the Marshalls and Carolines. + +The systematic status of most of the birds in Micronesia is already +established. It is hoped that the present account advances our knowledge +of the methods of colonization. Although these fundamental +investigations have been nearly completed in Micronesia the field of +avian ecology has been relatively untouched. In the past, expeditions +have visited Micronesia with the aim of obtaining within a short time +collections of the animal life as large and as representative as +possible. Many of the collectors made few or no field notes on the bird +life; some, like Finsch, Kubary, Marche, and Coultas, made valuable +observations on the habits of the birds. Intensive ecological researches +may be accomplished more thoroughly by resident investigators, who can +devote full time to such pursuits. + + + + +METHODS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS + + +My own opportunity to study the bird life of Micronesia came as a member +of the scientific staff of the Laboratory of Mammalogy of United States +Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU2) in the late war. The primary +duty of this laboratory was to obtain examples of the vertebrate fauna +for examination for ectoparasites by the Laboratory of Acarology and to +preserve specimens for identification. As a result sizeable collections +of mammals, birds, and other vertebrates were obtained. In addition, +ecological data were obtained (as time permitted), especially as an aid +in studying the distribution of ectoparasites which affected man. In +1945, I spent eleven months in Micronesia; for most of this time I was +stationed at Guam, the headquarters of the Unit, although one month was +spent in the Palau Islands, two weeks were spent at Ulithi Atoll, and +short stop-overs were made at Eniwetok and Kwajalein atolls. Other +members of the laboratory staff visited Rota and Truk islands. + +Subsequent to the field studies in the Pacific, I was sent to Washington +and spent approximately eight months at the United States National +Museum studying the collections of birds and preparing several reports +for publication. In this period other material was studied, both in the +United States National Museum and at the American Museum of Natural +History, New York, and the literature dealing with the birds of +Micronesia was explored and a bibliography of Micronesian birds was +prepared. At the University of Kansas, I continued the bibliographic +work, borrowed and studied some specimens, and completed accounts of the +avifauna of Micronesia. + +Under the account of each bird, all known references in the literature, +which mention the scientific name of the bird and its distribution in +Micronesia, are listed. The references are arranged as follows: (1) +citation to the original description, and (2) citations to names in +literature in the order of their first appearance. When a name is a pure +synonym, it may be recognized as such by the fact that the type locality +is given immediately following the citation. In compiling these +references the writer made use of the invaluable work by Wiglesworth +(1891) and of Utinomi's "Bibliographica Micronesia," made available +through the translation by Fisher (1947). The arrangement of the +families follows that of Peters (1931-1945) and Wetmore (1940). + +Specimens examined are designated as to collection in which catalogued +by the following abbreviations: USNM, the United States National Museum; +AMNH, the American Museum of Natural History; MCZ, the Museum of +Comparative Zoölogy; and KMNH, the University of Kansas Museum of +Natural History. Average and extreme measurements of specimens are +usually listed in tables; unless otherwise indicated, measurements are +in millimeters, and are of adult specimens. The wings have been measured +by flattening them on a ruler. Weights are in grams. Unless otherwise +indicated, descriptions of the birds have been written by the author. +Descriptions of shore birds are not given; for these the reader may +refer to Mayr (1945a:28-47) where characters useful for identification +of the birds in the field also are given. The writer is especially +indebted to Dr. Ernst Mayr for making available the descriptions of +Micronesian birds made by Miss Cardine Bogert, especially those dealing +with color of the irides, feet, and bill. Color terms in quotation marks +refer to those in Ridgway (1912). + +In dealing with insular forms the criterion of intergradation as +indicative of subspecies cannot be applied as it can in kinds of birds +on the mainland which have geographically continuous distributions. +Instead, degree of difference in combination with geographic position +plus other factors such as degree of variation in the geographic races +of the same species or a related species on continental areas are used +in deciding whether two closely related kinds are subspecies or full +species. Many kinds of birds in the islands are modified but little from +island to island (examples, _Rhipidura rufifrons_, _Aplonis opacus_, +_Ducula oceanica_, and _Myzomela cardinalis_), and can be treated as +subspecies. Others show much variability from island to island and it is +uncertain whether they should be treated as subspecies or as separate +species (examples, _Myiagra oceanica_, _Zosterops cinerea_, _Rukia_, and +possibly _Acrocephalus luscinia_). Decisions on generic status are +equally difficult to make. In many cases the experience and judgment of +the taxonomist may be the only criteria by which he can decide whether a +bird is different enough to be considered as a distinct genus. This +"human element" has caused some disagreement. Knowing whether the bird +is to be considered as a distinct genus or instead merely as a species +may not be as important as knowing its correct phylogenetic +relationship. The circumstance that variation in these insular birds is +in general less predictable than in mainland birds adds, I think, to the +pleasure inherent in the classification of the variations. + +First, I thank Commodore Thomas N. Rivers (MC) USNR, then commanding +officer of NAMRU2, for the opportunity to join the Unit, for his +interested cooperation in seeing that the plans for field trips were +successful, and for his thoughtfulness in obtaining for me the orders +for duty at the United States National Museum subsequent to our field +investigations. Greatly appreciated also is the help rendered by my +former colleagues of NAMRU2, including Dr. David H. Johnson, Dr. George +W. Wharton, Dr. Aaron B. Hardcastle, Mr. Odis A. Muennik, Mr. L. P. +McElroy, Mr. Charles O. Davison, Mr. Merle H. Markley, Mr. Walter L. +Necker, Dr. Wilbur G. Downs, Dr. Bernard V. Travis, and Mr. E. W. +Coleman. Other personnel, then stationed in Micronesia, who contributed +data used in this report include: Dr. Joe T. Marshall, Jr., (who +generously loaned some of the specimens taken by him in Micronesia), +Dr. C. K. Dorsey, Dr. George Hensel, Mr. Tom Murray, Dr. Irwin O. Buss, +Mr. James O. Stevenson, Dr. Wilfred D. Crabb, Mr. Herbert Wallace, and +Dr. M. Dale Arvey. Authorities of the United States National Museum +provided generously for using the collections there, and I am especially +grateful to Dr. Alexander Wetmore, Dr. Herbert Friedman, and Mr. Herbert +G. Deignan for their cooperation and assistance. Doctor Wetmore kindly +made available many of the birds collected at Bikini during the atomic +bomb experiments. Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy, Dr. Ernst Mayr, and Dr. +Dean Amadon of the American Museum of Natural History made available the +collections in their charge. Doctor Murphy allowed me to examine some of +the heretofore unstudied collections of sea birds of the Whitney South +Sea Expedition. Doctor Mayr generously helped me with taxonomic and +evolutionary problems and made available to me some of his own +unpublished taxonomic notes, the unpublished field accounts of Mr. +William F. Coultas and a partly completed manuscript on the birds of +Micronesia by Miss Cardine Bogert. Mr. James L. Peters generously loaned +specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy. The use of unpublished +field notes made by Mr. Larry P. Richards at Ponapé and Truk in 1947 and +1948 is also gratefully acknowledged. I am grateful also to my +colleagues at the Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas +and would single out for special mention Dr. E. Raymond Hall who gave +critical assistance with the manuscript, Drs. Edward H. Taylor and +Herbert B. Hungerford who made helpful suggestions, and Mrs. Virginia +Cassell Unruh who drew the distributional maps. + + + + +ACCOUNTS OF THE KINDS OF BIRDS OF MICRONESIA + + +=Diomedea nigripes= Audubon + +Black-footed Albatross + + _Diomedea nigripes_ Audubon, Ornith. Biog., 5, 1839, p. 327. (Type + locality, Pacific Ocean, lat. 30°44´N., long. 146°W.) + + _Diomedea fuliginosa_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 261 (Mariannes). + + _Diomedea nigripes_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris + (3), 8, 1896, p. 51 (Agrigan); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. + 68 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 1, 1901, + p. 22 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); + _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam?); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 32 (Marriane); Peters, + Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, p. 43 (Marshalls); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 188 (Marianas); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3rd ed., 1942, p. 210 (Marianas); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 5 (Marshalls). + + _Geographic range._--North Pacific Ocean. Breeds on islands + northwest of Hawaii. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agrigan. + + _Characters._--A large oceanic bird with sooty-brown coloration; + darker on nape, wings and tail; lighter on forehead, sides of head, + and abdomen; area surrounding bill whitish; tail whitish at base; + bill dark reddish-brown; feet black. + +_Remarks._--This albatross has been recorded from waters near the +Mariana Islands. Quoy and Gaimard (1824:145) observed "albatross" +between the Mariana and the Hawaiian Islands. The only actual specimens +obtained from the islands were reported on by Oustalet (1896:51). These +were eight Black-footed Albatrosses which were taken on the coast of +Agrigan by Marche in December, 1888, and January, 1889. Oustalet gives +the following measurements: total length, 680-785; wing, 485-525; tail, +180-225; tarsus, 80-90; culmen, 108-125. The specimens are apparently in +the Paris Museum. + +Peters (1931:43) lists the Marshall Islands as part of the range of _D. +nigripes_. + +In the period of the late war Gleise (1945:221) observed eight +Short-tailed Albatrosses (_D. albatrus_ Pallas) "off Saipan." Specimens +of _D. albatrus_ have not been taken in Micronesia. According to Austin +(1948b:32) this albatross "is now virtually extinct," and this record +may be questioned. + + +=Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus= Lesson + +Wedge-tailed Shearwater + + _Puffinus chlororhynchus_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 8, 1931, p. + 613. (Type is from Shark's Bay, West Australia.) + + _Puffinus sphenurus_ Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 299 (Mortlock). + + _Puffinus chlororhynchus_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 80 (Luganor?); Godman, + Monogr. Petrels, pt. 2, 1908, p. 88 (Carolines); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 33 (Luganor or Ruk?). + + _Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 187 (Lukunor or Truk?, Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 209 (Lukunor or Truk?, Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds at the Seychelles, Australia, Lord + Howe, Norfolk, and other islands in the Australian area. Ranges + throughout most of the warmer parts of the Indian and Pacific + oceans. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Caroline + Islands--Lukunor or Truk?, Kusaie. + + _Characters._--A large shearwater with long wedge-shaped tail; + upper parts sooty-brown with crown, neck, and wings darker and + forehead paler; under parts paler than upper parts; bill dark; + feet flesh-colored. + +_Remarks._--This shearwater was taken by Kubary either at Lukunor or at +Truk in the Caroline Islands. At a later date, apparently between 1922 +and 1932, the Japanese recorded the bird at Kusaie. In using this +subspecific name, I am following the Hand-list of Japanese Birds +(Hachisuka _et al._, 1932:187). + +At Guam on August 10, 1931, Coultas obtained a male shearwater, which is +tentatively placed in this subspecies. Its measurements are as follows: +wing, 290; tail, 128; exposed culmen, 39; tarsus, 47. Coultas (field +notes) writes that he was told by natives that petrels nest and roost on +the high cliffs behind the city of Agaña on Guam. At sea south of the +eastern Caroline islands, Coultas obtained five other birds which appear +to be the same as the bird from Guam. All specimens are in the +collections of the American Museum of Natural History. + + +=Puffinus pacificus cuneatus= Salvin + +Wedge-tailed Shearwater + + _Puffinus cuneatus_ Salvin, Ibis, 1888, p. 353. (Type locality, + Krusenstern Island==Ailuk, Marshall Islands, _fide_ Fisher, Auk, + 63, 1946, pp. 587-588.) + + _Puffinus cuneatus_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 80 (Krusenstern); Salvin, + Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 371 (Krusenstern); Godman, + Monogr. Petrels, pt. 2, 1908, p. 76 (Marshalls). + + _Puffinus pacificus cuneatus_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 2, 1912, + p. 84 (Marshall Group); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, + pp. 55-56 (Krusenstern); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 209 (Krusenstern); Fisher, Auk, 63, 1946, pp. 587-588 (Ailuk). + + _Thyellodroma cuneata cuneata_ Mathews and Iredale, Ibis, 1915, p. + 597 (Krusenstern); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, + p. 113 (Marshall Group). + + _Thyellodroma cuneata_ Oberholser, Auk, 34, 1917, p. 474 + (Krusenstern). + + _Thyellodroma pacificia cuneata_ Mathews, Novit. Zool., 39, 1934, + p. 186 (Caroline Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Pescadores east to the Hawaiian Islands and + south to eastern Micronesia. In Micronesia: Marshall + Islands--Ailuk. + +_Remarks._--Osbert Salvin received two specimens of this shearwater from +H. J. Snow, who got them at the Krusenstern Islands in 1883. In +describing them, Salvin (1888:353) comments that the locality is +seemingly in the Marshall Islands at approximately 10°17´ N. and 190° W. +This locality was confusing to Seebohm (1891:191) who thought it was +between the Hawaiians and the Marshalls, while Hartert (1926:352) +decided it was really Krusenstern Rocks in the Hawaiian Group. To clear +the matter up, Fisher (1946:587-588) writes that Salvin was correct and +suggests that the name of the island should be the better established +one, Ailuk, rather than the little used one, Krusenstern. + +_P. p. cuneatus_ resembles _P. p. chlororhynchus_ but is whiter on the +underparts, especially the breast. These two subspecies are inseparable +according to the twenty-fourth supplement to the American +Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds (Auk, vol. 66, +1949:281). + + +=Puffinus tenuirostris= (Temminck) + +Short-tailed Shearwater + + _Procellaria tenuirostris_ Temminck, Pl. Col., livr. 99, 1835, text + to pl. 587. (Type locality, Seas north of Japan and shores of + Korea.) + + _Puffinus tenuirostris tenuirostris_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam). + + _Puffinus tenuirostris_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 + (Kinajon, Marshall Islands); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 210 (Kinajon, Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Tasmania, southeastern Australia, + islands in Bass Straits, and Bounty Islands. Ranges north to the + Bering Sea. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam?; Marshall + Islands--Kinajon. + + _Character._--A rather large shearwater with short, rounded tail; + upper parts sooty brown; underparts paler and more grayish than + back; throat may be occasionally whitish; bill lead-gray; feet + grayish, browner on outer side. + +_Remarks._--On migration this shearwater probably reaches most parts of +Micronesia. It has been recently recorded by the Japanese at Kinajon in +the Marshall Islands. Bryan (1936:15) includes this species as a "chance +arrival" in his list of the birds of Guam. + + +=Puffinus nativitatis= Streets + +Christmas Shearwater + + _Puffinus (Nectris) nativitatis_ Streets, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 7, + 1877, p. 29. (Type locality, Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean.) + + _Puffinus nativitatis_ Salvin, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, + p. 389 (Krusenstern); Lister, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1891, pp. + 295-300 (Krusenstern); Godman, Monogr. Petrels, pt. 3, 1908, p. + 153 (Marshalls). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds at Wake and Laysan Islands south to + Christmas, Phoenix, Marquesas, Tuamotu, and Austral Islands. In + Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Ailuk. + + _Characters._--Upper parts chocolate brown; underparts resemble + upper parts but throat may be slightly grayer; bill and feet + black. _P. nativitatis_ resembles _P. pacificus_ but is similar + with black feet. + +_Remarks._--The only specimens of this bird known from Micronesia, are +those taken in the spring of 1883 by H. J. Snow at Krusenstern (Ailuk) +in the Marshall Islands. For two birds from this island in the +collections of the British Museum, Godman (1908:154) gives the following +measurements: wing, 9.6 and 10.0; tail, 3.35 and 3.4; culmen, 1.15 and +1.2; tarsus, 1.7 and 1.8; middle toe and claw, 2.0 and 2.1. + + +=Puffinus lherminieri dichrous= Finsch and Hartlaub + +Dusky Shearwater + + _Puffinus dichrous_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Centralpolynesiens, + 1867, p. 244. (Type locality, McKean Island, Phoenix Group.) + + _Puffinus dichrous_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 90, 108 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 6, 44 (Palau). + + _Puffinus opisthomelas_ var. _minor_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1867 (1868), p. 832 (Type locality, Pelew); Finsch, Journ. + f. Ornith., 1872, p. 57 (Pelew). + + _Puffinus opisthomelas_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1870, p. 371 + (Pelew). + + _Puffinus tenebrosus_ Pelzeln, Ibis, 1873, p. 47, fig. 1 (Type + locality, unknown==Pelew Islands, _ex_ Mathews); Oustalet, Nouv. + Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 55 (Rota); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 69 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice + P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 23 (Marianas?); Safford, The Plant World, + 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam). + + _Puffinus obscurus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. + 18, 40 (Ponapé, Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p. + 786 (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 782 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295, 309 (Ponapé, + Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); + _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 109 (Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, + 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Salvin, Ibis, 1888, p. 357 (Pelew); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 79 (Ruk, Ponapé, Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 54 (Saypan, Palaos); Salvin, + Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 382 (Carolines, Pelews); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. + Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 23 (Marianas?); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. + 1031 (Pelew, Carolines); Godman, Monogr. Petrels, pt. 2, 1908, pp. + 126, 127 (Pelew, Ruk, Ponapé). + + _Puffinus obscurus obscurus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 + (Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 32 (Saipan, + Ruk, Ponapé, Pelew). + + _Puffinus lherminieri minor_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 2, 1912, p. + 70 (Pelew, Carolines). + + _Puffinus assimilis minor_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 111 (Pelew). + + _Puffinus lherminieri dichrous_ Murphy, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 276, 1927, p. 10 (Pelews, Carolines); Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 1, 1931, p. 60 (Pelew); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 408 + (Arakabesan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 188 + (Saipan, Truk, Ponapé, Palaus); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3rd ed., + 1942, p. 209 (Saipan, Truk, Ponapé, Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 10 (Carolines, Palaus); Baker, Smithson. Misc. + Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 37 (Palau). + + _Alphapuffinus lherminieri minor_ Mathews, Novit. Zool., 39, 1934, + p. 182 (Pelew Islands). + + _Puffinus obscura_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, No. 2, 1936, p. 15 + (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Known from Phoenix, Nauru, Micronesia, and + south to the Samoan, Society, Tuamotu, and Marquesas islands. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, Saipan; Palau + Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Arakabesan; Caroline Islands--Truk, + Ponapé, Kusaie. + + _Characters._--A small shearwater with upper parts sooty-black; + under parts white except for sides of breast grayish and under + tail-coverts blackish; bill blackish; feet yellowish, outer toe + black. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of 17 adult birds (9 males, 7 + females, 1 unsexed) from Micronesia (Palau, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie) + and 10 adult birds (6 males, 4 females) from the Phoenix Group + (Enderbury, Canton) are listed in table 14. + + +TABLE 14. MEASUREMENTS OF _Puffinus lherminieri dichrous_ + + ===========+=============+============+==============+============== + LOCALITY | Wing | Tail |Exposed culmen| Tarsus + -----------+-------------+------------+--------------+-------------- + Micronesia |203 (197-211)|83.6 (77-89)| 27.9 (26-30) |38.5 (37.5-40) + Phoenix |197 (193-203)|82.2 (79-85)| 26.3 (25-28) |37.2 (36-39) + -----------+-------------+------------+--------------+-------------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 72 (44 males, 19 females, 9 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not + given, 64 (Oct., Nov., Dec.); Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk, 4 (June + 15, 16)--Ponapé, 3 (undated)--Kusaie, 1 (April 25). + + _Nesting._--The Dusky Shearwater in Micronesia nests in holes on + high, and usually isolated, coral cliffs. Owston's collectors, + according to Hartert (1900:10), found a nest with one egg at Truk + on June 16. The nest was in a hole four feet deep in the side of a + cliff. The egg is white and measures 42 × 35. Yamashina (1932a:408) + records the taking of one egg at Arakabesan, Palau Islands, on May + 26. Coultas (field notes) gives an interesting account of nesting + activities of this shearwater at the Palau Islands. He found the + bird nesting on small islands of the group from October to + December, 1931; however, he states that the natives told him that + the bird nests throughout the year. Land crabs and shearwaters were + often found together in the same burrow. Apparently the adult birds + did not remain in the burrow with the young during the day. At + Kusaie, Coultas was told by the natives that the adult birds were + caught by tying the mandibles of the young together. When the + parent birds approached and hovered over the young birds expecting + their mouths to open, the natives had the opportunity to strike + them down with clubs. Coultas collected six downy nestlings at + Palau in November and December. + +_Remarks._--The first published account of this shearwater in Micronesia +was apparently by Kittlitz (1858, pt. 1:358) when he recorded his +"Schwärzlicher Sturmvogel" at Kusaie, according to Wiglesworth +(1891a:79). Finsch (1875:44 and 1881b:113, 115) studied specimens taken +by Tetens, Heinsohn, and Kubary at the Palau Islands and those taken by +Kubary at Ponapé. Earlier, Hartlaub (1868:832) used some of these +specimens from the Palau Islands to describe his _Puffinus opisthomelas_ +var. _minor_, which was destined to be placed in synonymy (Murphy, +1927:10). Oustalet (1896:54, 55) recorded specimens taken by Marche at +Saipan in May, 1887, and at Rota in July, 1888. Oustalet referred to +them as _P. obscuras_ and _P. tenebrosus_, respectively. T. W. Gulick +obtained undated skins at Ponapé. Hartert (1900:10) reported on +specimens taken by Owston's collectors at Truk. In 1931, Coultas with +the Whitney South Sea Expedition took one shearwater at Kusaie and a +series of 64 skins at the Palau Islands. He failed to find birds at +Ponapé and wrote that their scarcity there may have been due to +persistent hunting of them by the inhabitants of the island. The NAMRU2 +party obtained no information concerning the birds at Guam, Rota, or +Truk, but at the Palau Islands observed shearwaters at sea approximately +6 miles east of Babelthuap Island on September 2, 1945. + +Murphy (1927:6-15) revised the shearwaters of the _Puffinus lherminieri_ +group, and recognized several subspecies. _P. l. dichrous_ was assigned +a range consisting of Micronesia, the Phoenix Islands, and Nauru Island. +The breeding range of _P. l. polynesiae_ was given as the Samoan, +Society, Tuamotu and Marquesas islands. Color differences between the +two subspecies are very slight, and he separated them on the basis of +the length of the exposed culmen as follows: _P. l. dichrous_ 22.6-27 +(26) in _P. l. polynesiae_ 25.5-30 (28.9). In other measurements they +closely resembled one another. At the time of his study, Murphy did not +have the shearwaters from Micronesia collected by Coultas and actually +did not have a large series from these islands. On studying this new +material, I find the length of the exposed culmen of 17 adult birds from +Micronesia (including 12 from the Palaus) to be 26-30 (27.9). In +comparison with Murphy's findings, my measurements of Micronesian birds +fall almost midway between the measurements which he recorded as +characteristic of _P. l. dichrous_ (from the Phoenix Islands) and _P. l. +polynesiae_. The intermediate position of the measurements of the +Micronesian birds, together with the absence of other distinguishing +characters, suggests that these shearwaters belong to only one +subspecies which consists of a group of isolated and variable +populations. Unless the old specific name, _obscuras_ of Gmelin, is +revived, the name for the entire group in Micronesia and Polynesia would +be _P. l. dichrous_. I agree with Murphy that the Bonin form, _P. l. +bannermani_, is a well-defined subspecies. + + +=Pterodroma rostrata rostrata= (Peale) + +Tahiti Petrel + + _Procellaria rostrata_ Peale, U. S. Expl. Exp., 8, 1848, p. 296. + (Type locality, Mountains about 6,000 feet on Tahiti, Society + Islands.) + + _Procellaria desolata_ Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, 3, 1853, p. 138 + (des îles Carolines); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen). + + _Procellaria (Aestrelata) desolata_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. + Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 55 (Caroline Islands). + + _Oestrelata rostrata_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 82 (Caroline Is.); Godman, + Monogr. Petrels, pt. 3, 1908, p. 190 (Caroline Is.). + + _Pterodroma rostrata_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 33 (Carolines). + + _Pterodroma rostrata_ subsp. (?) Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 188 (Carolines); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 210 (Carolines). + + _Geographic range._--Known to breed on the Society and Marquesas + Islands. In Micronesia: Caroline Islands--exact locality unknown. + + _Characters._--A large petrel with blackish-brown plumage except + for belly and under tail-coverts white and throat, upper breast + and flanks pale brown; bill black; legs yellowish; feet black. + This oceanic bird differs from other petrels and shearwaters of + Micronesia by the presence of a white abdomen in contrast with + dark plumage on upper parts, throat, and breast. + +_Remarks._--A petrel which is referred to this subspecies has been taken +once in Micronesia, by Hombron and Jacquinot in the Caroline Islands. It +may be pointed out that the subspecies _P. r. becki_ Murphy is known +from the sea east of the Bismarck Archipelago and might range into +Micronesian waters. + + +=Pterodroma hypoleuca hypoleuca= Salvin + +Stout-billed Gadfly Petrel + + _Oestrelata hypoleuca_ Salvin, Ibis, 1888, p. 359. (Type locality, + Krusenstern Island = Ailuk, Marshall Islands, _fide_ Fisher, Auk., + 63, 1946, pp. 587-588). + + _Oestrelata hypoleuca_ Salvin, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, + p. 409 (Krusenstern); Godman, Monogr. Petrels, pt. 3, 1908, p. 212 + (Krusenstern). + + _Cookilaria hypoleuca hypoleuca_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 122, (Marshall Group). + + _Pterodroma leucoptera hypoleuca_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 188 (Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 210 (Krusenstern); Fisher, Auk, 63, 1946, pp. 387-388 (Ailuk). + + _Pterodroma hypoleuca hypoleuca_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 11 (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Ranges from the Bonins east to the Hawaiians + and south to Micronesia. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Ailuk. + + _Characters._--Upper parts grayish except for forehead whitish, + crown and nape sooty-black; underparts whitish except for sides of + breast sooty-black; legs and feet flesh color except for tips of + toes and webs which are black. + +_Remarks._--In Micronesia, this petrel is known only from the type +locality, Krusenstern or Ailuk, Marshall Islands. Fisher (1946: 587-588) +has corrected the confusion regarding the exact position of this type +locality. + + +=Phaëthon aethereus mesonauta= Peters + +Red-billed Tropic-bird + + _Phaëthon aethereus mesonauta_ Peters, Occ. Papers Boston Soc. Nat. + Hist., 5, 1930, p. 261. (Type locality, Swan Key, Almirante Bay, + Panama.) + + _Phaeton aethereus_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 329, 333, (Ratak + Chain, Marshalls); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 310 + (Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 109 (Kuschai); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 73 (Kushai, Marshalls); Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus. 26, + 1898, p. 457 (Kushai, Marshalls); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, + 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 34 (Kusaie, Marshall Islands). + + _Phaethon aethereus [?mesonauta]_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 187 (Kusaie, Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 208 (Kusaie, Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Tropical parts of Atlantic and eastern Pacific + from Cape Verde Islands west to Panama and Galapagos Islands. In + Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Ratak + Chain. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, white sea bird with a long white + tail; dorsal surface marked with blackish, transverse + vermiculations; bill red; tarsus and foot flesh-colored with a + yellowish hue, with plantar surface grayish. Immature: Resembles + adults but dark transverse bars are broader; crown blacker; bill + yellow. + +_Remarks._--No specimens have been examined. The Red-billed Tropic-bird +is placed in the list of birds known from Micronesia on the basis of +two observations by the German ornithologist, Otto Finsch. It has not +been reported since his time, and may be considered as an unusual record +for the area. I am following the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka +_et al._, 1942:208) in assigning the bird to the subspecies, _P. a. +mesonauta_. + + +=Phaëthon rubricauda rothschildi= (Mathews) + +Red-tailed Tropic Bird + + _Scaeophaethon rubricauda rothschildi_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 4, + 1915, p. 303. (Type locality, Laysan and Niihau.) + + _Phaeton rubricaudus_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 296 + (Carolines); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé). + + _Phaeton rubricauda_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 + (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 73 (Ruk, Ponapé, Marshalls). + + _Phaeton rubricauda_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, + 1898, p. 451 (Caroline Islands); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, + p. 11 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 187 (Pagan, + Truk, Ponapé, Marshalls). + + _Scaeophaethon rubricauda_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 34 (Mariannes, Ruk, Ponapé, Marshalls). + + _Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 406 + (Pagan); _idem_, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 676 (Maug). + + _Phaethon rubricaudus rothschildi_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 209 (Maug, Pagan, Truk, Ponapé, Marshalls). + + _Geographic range._--Bonin and Hawaiian islands south to + Micronesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Maug, Pagan; Caroline + Islands--Truk, Ponapé; Marshall Islands--exact locality unknown. + + _Characters._--Adult: Long-tailed sea bird white with pinkish tint + except for black lores and eye streak; black shafts on feathers of + secondaries, flanks, and tail coverts; black bases on feathers of + head; central tail feathers elongate with black shafts and bright + red webs; bill orange-red with black nasal streak; tarsus and foot + bluish-yellow, distal part blackish. Immature: Resembles adult but + barred with black above; bill blackish. + + _Measurements._--Yamashina (1940:676) lists the measurements for + seven adult birds from Maug in the northern Marianas as wing + 304-319 and exposed culmen 55-62. + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:406) reports the taking of one egg at + Pagan in the Marianas on February 15, 1931. + +_Remarks._--The Red-tailed Tropic Bird has been recorded from the +Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. On the basis of our present +knowledge it appears to be uncommon in most of Micronesia and may be +established as a resident bird only in the northern Marianas, as shown +by Yamashina (1932a:406 and 1940:676), Coultas obtained an immature male +at 3° N and 158° E, which is at a point in the ocean south of the +eastern Carolines. Possibly this bird and others obtained in the +Carolines are representatives of the subspecies, _P. r. melanorhynchos_ +Gmelin, which is known from the Palmerston, Society and Turtle islands. + + +=Phaëthon lepturus dorotheae= Mathews + +White-tailed Tropic Bird + + _Phoethon lepturus dorotheae_ Mathews, Austr. Avium. Rec., 2, 1913, + p. 7. (Type locality, Queensland.) + + _Phaeton candidus_ Kittlitiz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und + Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 382 (Ualan); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1872, p. 57 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 114 (Pelew, Ualan); Finsch, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1875, pp. 6, 47 (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1877 (1878), p. 782 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1880, pp. 296, 309 (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. + Mus., Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, + Nukuor, Ruk); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 + (Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 73 (Pelew, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Ualan, Marshalls); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 8, 1896, p. 62 (Agrigan, Palaos, Ruk, Kushai, Marshalls); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne). + + _Phaeton flavirostris_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 329, 333 (Ratak + Chain); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponapé). + + _Phaethon candidus_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 426 + (Pelews, Carolines, Marshalls); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 23 (Agrigan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. + 70 (Mariannes); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 50 + (Pelew, Ponapé); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 489, + 492 (Palau). + + _Phaëthon lepturus_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, + 1898, p. 453 (Pelew, Carolines, Marshalls); Hartert, Novit. Zool., + 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 + (near Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9 1905, p. 80 + (northern Marianas); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 17 + (Palau); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 535 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 64, + 1947, p. 416 (Agrihan); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 524 (Saipan). + + _Phaeton lepturus_ Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 + (Marschall Inseln). + + _Leptophaethon lepturus dorothea_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 4, + 1915, p. 309 (Pelew). + + _Phaethan lepturus_ Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (northern + Marianas). + + _Leptophaethon lepturus lepturus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 33 (Agrigan, Saipan, Pelew, Ruk, Luganor, + Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls). + + _Phaethon lepturus dorotheae_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 407 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 187 (Agrigan, + Pagan, Saipan, Agiguan, Palaus, Truk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Kusaie, Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 209 + (Agrigan, Pagan, Saipan, Agiguan, Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, + Angaur, Unusuto, Truk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Namorik); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 38 (Guam, + Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Islands in the southwestern Pacific area. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agrigan, Pagan, Saipan, Agiguan, Rota, + Guam; Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, Peleliu, + Anguar, Unusuto; Caroline Islands Truk, Ulithi, Luganor, Nukuor, + Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Namorik. + + _Characters._--Adult: White often with pinkish shade but lores and + eye streak black; feathers of head, flanks and under tail-coverts + with bases black; black on outer and subterminal part of inner + webbing of primaries; black, subterminal coloring on scapulars and + secondaries; black on shafts of elongated tail plumes; bill horn + yellow, dark basally; tarsus dark yellow; feet blackish. + + Immature: Resembles adult but upper parts barred with black, bill + black on terminal part. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of adult birds from Micronesia are + given in table 15. + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party recorded weights of five adult males + from Guam as 294 (267-321) grams. + + +TABLE 15. MEASUREMENTS OF _Phaëthon lepturus_ FROM MICRONESIA + + ---------------------------+-----+---------+--------+---------+------- + | | | | Exposed | + | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + ---------------------------+-----+---------+--------+---------+------- + Marianas: Asuncion, Guam | 6 | 264 | 107 | 47 | 21 + | | 256-287 | 97-117 | 44-50 | 20-21 + | | | | | + Palaus: Peleliu | 11 | 257 | 108 | 45 | 21 + | | 242-270 | 98-122 | 40-49 | 19-21 + | | | | | + Carolines: Ponapé, Kusaie | 11 | 261 | 105 | 47 | 21 + | | 252-271 | 97-114 | 44-49 | 21-22 + +-----+---------+--------+---------+------- + Total: Micronesia | 28 | 260 | 107 | 46 | 21 + | | 242-287 | 97-122 | 40-50 | 19-22 + ---------------------------+-----+---------+--------+---------+------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 37 (22 males, 10 females, 5 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 5 (June 11, July + 21); AMNH--Asuncion, 1 (June?); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 5 + (Aug. 29, 31, Sept. 5, 6); AMNH--exact locality not given, 7 (Oct. + 13, 26, Nov. 15, 23, Dec. 18); Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé, 9 + (Dec. 8, 9, undated)--Kusaie, 10 (March 1-8, April). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party observed nests of the White-tailed + Tropic Bird at Peleliu in August and September, 1945. Several + nests were seen in hollows of the Australian pine (_Casuarina + equisetifolia_) between 20 and 30 feet above the ground. Birds + could be seen in the nest hollows because the plumes of their long + tail usually extended well out of the entrance. One nest was found + in a dead tree in a battle-cleared area; others were observed in + jungle habitat. Coultas observed nesting at Ponapé between + November 1 and December 30, 1930, and found nests in the tops of + trees and in hollow trees; a few were observed in holes in cliffs. + Yamashina (1932a:407) records the taking of one egg at Ponapé on + August 18, 1931. At Guam the NAMRU2 party found birds along the + high cliffs which edge the beach. There was no evidence that they + were nesting from May to July; nevertheless males taken in June + had enlarged gonads. The bird is known to breed at Namorik in the + Marshall Islands, according to the Hand-list of Japanese Birds + (Hachisuka _et al._, 1942:209). + + _Food habits._--The NAMRU2 party found small fish in the stomachs + of these birds taken at Peleliu. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:489, 492) records the bird lice + (Mallophaga), _Colpocephalum epiphanes_ and _Menopon eulasius_, + from the White-tailed Tropic Bird from Palau. + +_Remarks._--Birds taken in Micronesia differ only slightly from those +from other areas in Oceania. Within Micronesia (see table 15) the birds +from the Palaus have the shortest wing and shortest exposed culmen. + +The White-tailed Tropic Bird appears more numerously in western and +northern Micronesia than in the Marshall Islands. This distribution may +be correlated with a preference for the "high" islands; especially those +which have rocky cliffs, including Guam, Rota, Peleliu, Angaur, and +Truk. Reports were received in 1945 that the birds were only +infrequently seen at Ulithi, a low atoll. Stott (1947:524) observed +birds flying into rocky crevices at Saipan on December 18. Gleise +(1945:221) also recorded the bird in the vicinity of Saipan. Borror +(1947:416) reports seeing birds at Agrigan on July 29, August 5 and 6, +1945. Coultas (field notes) found tropic birds common at Ponapé in +November and December, 1930, in forested regions and along the cliffs. +He made similar observations at Kusaie and Palau. At Ponapé and Palau, +Coultas noted the use of the eggs, young and adults as food by the +natives. At Palau the plumes are used in headdresses worn by the +natives, the birds being taken with the blowgun. + +Murphy (1936:807) states that the principal enemy of the White-tailed +Tropic Bird at Bermuda is the introduced rat (_Rattus rattus_). +Introduced rats, particularly _Rattus mindanensis_ on Guam, may prey on +the nesting birds. Baker (1946c:404) writes that this rat is a good +climber and may spend considerable time in trees. The rat was trapped +also in rough coral jungle at the edge of the cliffs, where tropic +birds, Micronesian Starlings and other species, may have been nesting. + +Little has been recorded concerning the post-breeding season wanderings +of these tropic birds in Micronesia. They seemingly spend considerable +time at sea, but whether they move as far from their breeding areas as +do birds in the Atlantic, as reported by Murphy (1936:803), Baker +(1947a:253) and others, is not known. + +Murphy (1936:796) notes that the northward distribution of the tropic +birds in the Atlantic is dependent on the warm currents of water. In the +western Atlantic, the poleward-flowing, warm currents of the Gulf Stream +allow for the northern extension of the range of these birds to Bermuda. +In the eastern Atlantic, cool currents flowing toward the equator +restrict the northern range. The same condition prevails in the eastern +Pacific where warm current flowing toward the pole enable the birds to +range north to the Bonins and other islands. + +The three species of tropic birds known from Micronesia overlap very +little in their ranges in this area. The White-tailed Tropic Bird has +become firmly established in the western part of Micronesia, but there +are only a few records from the extreme eastern part. The Red-tailed +Tropic Bird appears to be resident only in the northern Marianas +although it has been recorded in the Carolines and Marshalls. +Interspecific competition may prevent considerable intermingling of +breeding populations in Micronesia, or it may be that each species +requires different ecologic conditions. + + +=Sula dactylatra personata= Gould + +Masked Booby + + _Sula personata_ Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1846, p. 21. (Type + locality, North and northeast coasts of Australia = Raine Island.) + + _Sula cyanops_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 219 (Taluit); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 72 (Marshalls); Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, + p. 430 (Marshalls). + + _Parasula dactylatra personata_ Kuroda, in Momiyana, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 35 (Marshall Islands); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 232 (Marshall Islands). + + _Sula dactylatra personata_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 407 + (Medinilla); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 187 + (Medinilla, Marshall Islands); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 208 (Medinilla, Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Central and western Pacific from the Hawaiian + Islands south to Australia, probably also in the Indian Ocean. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Medinilla; Marshall Islands--Jaluit? + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, white sea bird, with brown wings + and tail; face dark blue; bill horn-colored with base + orange-yellow in males and pink or light red in females; feet + olive in males and lead gray in females. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head, wings, tail, chin and throat + dark brown; some white mottling may be present on back and rump; + bill dark; feet lead colored. + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:407) reports the taking of 12 eggs on + February 19, 1931, at Medinilla Island in the Marianas. + +_Remarks._--No specimen has been examined by me from the area reported +upon. Little is known regarding the distribution of the Masked Booby in +Micronesia. It is found on the island groups which surround Micronesia +and future field observations probably will add to our knowledge of its +occurrence in this area. It is known to be resident only in the northern +Marianas. + + +=Sula sula rubripes= Gould + +Red-footed Booby + + _Sula rubripes_ Gould, Syn. Birds Australia, pt. 4, 1838, app., p. + 7. (Type locality, New South Wales = Raine Island.) + + _Pelecanus piscator_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 296, 299 (Lougounor = Lukunor); _idem_, + Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 351 + (Lugunor). + + _Dysporus piscator_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelews); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 90 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, + 1875, pp. 6, 47 (Palau). + + _Sula piscatrix_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 72 (Pelew, Luganor); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 64 + (Rota, Palaos, Carolines); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 + (Marianne); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Rota); _idem_, The Plant + World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, + 1905, p. 80 (Guam); _idem_, Guam, 1912, p. 19 (Guam); Cox, Island + of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam). + + _Sula piscator_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, + p. 432 (Pelew); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, + p. 24 (Guam). + + _Piscatrix sula rubripes_ Kuroda, in Momiyana, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 34 (Pelew, Luganor, Rota). + + _Sula sula rubripes_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 + (Medinilla, Saipan, Rota, Palau, Lukunor, Likieb); Bryan, Guam + Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Yamashina, Tori, 10, + 1940, p. 676 (Maug, Bikar); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 208 (Maug, Medinilla, Saipan, Rota, Palau, Lukunor, + Bikar, Likieb). + + _Geographic range._--Indian Ocean east to central Pacific islands. + In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Maug, Medinilla, Saipan, Rota; + Palau Islands--exact locality unknown; Caroline Islands--Lukunor; + Marshall Islands--Bikar, Likieb, Bikini, Eniwetok. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large sea bird with plumage of variable + color, mainly white or partly buff with black primaries and + black-tipped secondaries, or grayish or brownish with white or + grayish tail; throat blackish; face blue or green; bill bluish and + lighter at tip; legs and feet red. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but often wholly brownish, lighter + ventrally; bill blackish; feet yellowish red. Immature resembles + that of _S. leucogaster_. + + _Nesting._--Morrison obtained a male nestling at Bikini on May 3, + 1946. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (3 males, 7 females) from + Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini (April 28, May 1, 2, 3). + +_Remarks._--The writer saw several birds approximately 20 miles east of +Eniwetok on January 7, 1945. Morrison obtained a series of birds at +Bikini in April and May, 1946. Murphy (1936:861-870) presents a wealth +of information concerning the bird. He points out the need for a better +understanding of the plumages of the adult birds and gives evidence that +the birds of different colors may occur within the same population. He +describes the Red-footed Booby as nesting in trees and shrubs. This type +of nesting environment is present at many of the islands in Micronesia. + + +=Sula leucogaster plotus= (Forster) + +Brown Booby + + _Pelecanus Plotus_ Forster, Descr. Anim., ed. Licht., 1844, p. 278. + (Type locality Near New Caledonia.) + + _Dysporus sula_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. + 831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, + pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 90 + (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 6, 47 + (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 11 (Ruk). + + _Sula fusca_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 218 (Taluit). + + _Sula leucogastra_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 423 + (Pelew, Carolinis); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 72 (Pelew, Ruk, Marshalls); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 63 + (Palaos, Mariannes, Marshalls, Carolines); Hartert, Novit. Zool., + 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne). + + _Sula sula_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Museum, 26, 1898, p. + 436 (Asuncion, Pelew); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 24 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Mariannas); + _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. + S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); _idem_, Guam, 1912, p. 19 + (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 100 (Marianen); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 50 (Marianne); Cox, + Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, + 1918, pp. 487, 493 (Sea off Mariana Islands). + + _Sula leucogaster plotus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 34 (Pelew, Ruk, West Faiu, Uracas, Saipan, Marshalls); + Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 407 (Medinilla); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Uracas, Pagan, Medinilla, Saipan, Truk, + West Fayu, Grimes, Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 208 (Uracas, Pagan, Medinilla, Saipan, Grimes, West Fayu, + Truk, Marshalls); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 41 (Rota, Guam, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Throughout tropical Pacific area and south to + Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Uracas, Pagan, + Medinilla, Saipan, Rota, Guam; Palau Islands--exact locality + unknown; Caroline Islands--Grimes, West Fayu, Truk, Kusaie; + Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Eniwetok. + + _Characters._--Adult: A heavy sea bird dark brown except for white + lower breast, belly, under tail, and auxillars; bill heavy and + light bluish; face, gular pouch and feet greenish yellow. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but lower breast, belly and under tail + mottled with brown; feet light yellow. + + _Measurements._--Two adult males (Rota, Guam) measure: wing 386, + 408; tail 194; exposed culmen 93, 98; tarsus 45, 49; two adult + females (Rota, Kusaie): wing 380, 487; tail 193, 217; exposed + culmen 94, 99; tarsus 45, 50. + + _Weights._--The author (1948:41) records one immature female from + Rota weighing 1042 grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 6 (3 males, 3 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota, 3 (Oct. 24); AMNH--Guam, 1 + (July 23); Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given, 1 (Dec. + 1); Caroline Islands, AMNH--Kusaie, 1 (April 19). + + _Nesting._--Few records have been published concerning nesting of + the Brown Booby in Micronesia. Yamashina (1932a: 407) reports the + taking of 12 eggs at Medinilla in the Mariana Islands on February + 19, 1931. At Palau, Coultas (field notes) obtained reports that the + bird nests at Kiangat, a small islet north of Babelthuap. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:487, 493) obtained bird lice + (Mallophaga), _Menopan brevipalpe_ and _Lipeurus potens_, from the + Brown Booby from the "sea off Mariana Islands." + +_Remarks._--The Brown Booby has not been found abundantly by observers +in the Micronesian area. Coultas and Kubary, who spent considerable time +in this region, observed the bird at only a few of the islands. Probably +the bird does not nest abundantly in Micronesia, although small colonies +may be present. The NAMRU2 party observed a flock of twelve brown +boobies on high cliffs at Taipingot Peninsula at Rota on October 24, +1945. Birds were seen also at Guam in May, July and November, 1945, and +at Truk in December of the same year. Coultas obtained a single specimen +at Kusaie; the natives told him that it was not a resident of the +island. The writer observed several Brown Boobies approximately twenty +miles east of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on January 7, 1945. These +were in the company of other sea birds. + + +=Phalacrocorax melanoleucus melanoleucus= (Vieillot) + +Little Pied Cormorant + + _Hydrocorax melanoleucos_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 8, + 1817, p. 88. (Type locality, "Australasie," restricted to New South + Wales.) + + _Carbo melanoleucus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 90, 114 (Pelew). + + _Graculus melanoleucus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 48 (Pelew). + + _Microcarbo melanoleucus_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. + 410 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 72 (Pelew). + + _Phalacrocorax melanoleucus_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 26, 1898, p. 398 (Pelew); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. + 235 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 50 (Pelew); + Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, p. 486 (Palau). + + _Ph[alacrocorax] melanoleucos_ Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. + 127 (Palauinseln). + + _Microcarbo melanoleucus melanoleucus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 35 (Pelew). + + _Microcarbo melanoleucus melvillensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 228 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 186 (Babelthuap, Koror). + + _Haliëtor melanoleucos melanoleucos_ Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 1, 1931, p. 93 (Pelew). + + _Phalacrocorax melanoleucus melanoleucus_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., + no. 486, 1931, p. 5 (Pelew); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, + 1942, p. 2 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, pp. 50, + 284 (Palau, Marianas); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 41 (Palau). + + _Phalacrocorax melanoleucos melvillensis_ Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 207 (Pagan, Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Tasmania, Australia, Lesser Sunda north + through Melanesia to Palau Islands. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Ngabad, Peleliu, Anguar. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small cormorant with upper parts black + with dull greenish gloss; under parts white except vent and under + tail-coverts which are sooty-black. + + _Measurements._--The author (1948: 41) gives the following + measurements of two adult females from Peleliu: wing, 220 and 222; + tail, 153 and 157; culmen from notch of suture between maxilla and + quadratojugal bones, 35 and 36. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 15 (1 male, 12 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 6 (Aug. 27, + Sept. 7, 10, 16); AMNH--exact locality not given, 9 (Nov. part). + + _Nesting._--Nehkorn (1899:235) recorded eggs taken at Palau. Some + of the specimens obtained by Coultas in November, 1931, had swollen + gonads. The author found no evidence of nesting in August and + September, 1945, in the southern Palaus. + + _Food habits._--The author (1948: 41) found small fish in the + stomachs of birds taken in August and September. The contents of + each stomach averaged approximately 3 cc. in volume. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:486) found the bird louse (Mallophaga), + _Lipeurus subsetosus_, on the Little Pied Cormorant from Palau. + +_Remarks._--The Palaus mark the northernmost point of range of the +Little Pied Cormorant. It does not occur in the Philippines and must +have reached Palau from the New Guinea region. It is unknown at Yap and +other "high" islands in the Carolines. A sight record of this species at +Pagan in the northern Marianas, made by Orii and reported in the +Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1942:207), may be +questioned. Amadon (1942:1) has studied the races of this species and +points out that there is little geographic variation in the species; it +is divisible into three subspecies. One of these is confined to New +Zealand. Another occurs only on Rennell Island, Solomons. The six +specimens taken by the NAMRU2 party at Peleliu included only two adults, +whose measurements are within the range of those studied by Amadon. + +The NAMRU2 party found the birds numerously in the southern Palaus in +1945. Birds were concentrated in the areas of mangrove swamp and on the +tidal flats. In August and September, they were observed frequently in +groups of 10 to 15, either sitting on the ground or perched on low +mangroves or dead snags sunning themselves. Coultas (field notes) +received reports that they nested at a freshwater lake on the "main +island" (Babelthuap?) + +Ripley (1948) reports the occurrence of "about a dozen anhingas +(presumably _Anhinga melanogaster_)" at Babelthuap on 12 November 1946. + + +=Fregata minor minor= (Gmelin) + +Pacific Man-o'-War + + _Pelecanus minor_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 572. (No + type locality = Christmas Island, Indian Ocean.) + + _Pelecanus aquila?_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, + p. 154 (Carolines). + + _Pelecanus aquilus?_ Lesson, Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, p. 354 + (Carolines). + + _Atagen aquilus_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, + p. 61 (Ladrone or Marian Islands). + + _Tachypetes aquila_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 + (Ruk); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 11 (Ruk); Prowazek, Die + deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 100 (Marianen). + + _Tachypetes aquilus_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 333 (Taluit); _idem_, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 296, 310 (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, + Ibis, 1881, pp. 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 353 (Mortlock, Ruk). + + _Fregata aquila_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 403 + (Carolines, Marshalls); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, (1890-1891), p. 71 (Ruk, Luganor, Ponapé, Ualan, + Marshalls); Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, p. + 443 (Carolines, Marshalls); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schultze der + Vogelwelt, 25, 1900, p. 452 (Ponapé, Kuschai, Marshalls); Seale, + Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 24 (Guam); + Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. + Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln); Safford, Contr. + U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, + 1917, p. 22 (Guam). + + _Fregata aquila palmerstoni_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 35 (Carolines, Marshalls). + + _Fregata minor peninsulae_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 233 (Carolines, Marshalls); Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 1, 1931, p. 96 (Carolines?, Marshalls?). + + _Fregata minor palmerstoni_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 186 (Yap, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Namu, + Likieb); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); + Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 676 (Maug, Bikar). + + _Fregata minor minor_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 207 (Maug, Yap, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Namu, + Bikar, Likieb). + + _Fregata minor_ Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 416 (Agrihan). + + _Geographic range._--Eastern Indian Ocean to western Pacific Ocean. + Limits of range not certainly known. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Agrigan, Maug, Saipan, Guam; Caroline Islands--Yap, + Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Namu, + Bikar, Likieb, Kwajalein, Bikini. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Large sea bird with deeply forked tail; + blackish but wing-coverts paler; head and back glossy purple and + blue; breast lighter than belly. Adult female: Resembles adult + male, but head blacker; chin and throat grayer; breast more + whitish. Immature: Resembles adult, but head and throat whitish + washed with buff; breast dark brown; belly whitish. + + _Measurements._--Two adult males measure: wing, 572; tail, 354, + 396; exposed culmen, 98, 103; two adult females; wing, 583, 604; + tail, 365; exposed culmen, 119, 127. These four specimens are from + Bikini. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (3 males, 7 females), from + Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini (March 11, 22, 29, 30, April 13, 29, + May 3, 14). + +_Remarks._--The systematic position of the subspecies of _Fregata minor_ +in the Pacific area is not well established. I am following the +committee who prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et +al._, 1942:207) in using the name _F. m. minor_, although a thorough +study may show that these birds have closer relationships to one of the +other subspecies of the Pacific area. + +_Fregata minor_ has been reported only occasionally in the Marianas and +probably is not resident there. Borror (1947:416) reports the bird at +Agrihan on August 11, 1945, and Seale (1901:24) mentions one taken at +Guam in November, 1889. No records are known from the Palaus. In the +Carolines the birds are probably resident, especially in the eastern +part. In the Marshalls the species is a conspicuous member of the bird +colonies on the coral atolls. Wallace (field notes) observed two birds +at Loi Island in Kwajalein Atoll on May 7, 1944. Morrison obtained ten +specimens at Bikini in the period from March through May in 1946. + + +=Fregata ariel ariel= (Gray) + +Least Man-o'-War + + _Atagen (sic) Ariel_ Gray, Gen. Birds, 3, 1845, col. pl. [185]. + (Type locality, Raine Island, Queensland.) + + _Pelecanus minor_ Lesson, Traite d'Ornith., 1831, p. 607 + (Mariannes, Carolines). + + _Tachypetes minor_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), + p. 831 (Mackenzie Group); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 90 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, + p. 123 (Yap). + + _Fregata minor_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 405 + (Mariannes, Mackenzie); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 71 (Uap, Ngoli or Matelotas). + + _Tachypetes aquila_ var. _minor_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 65 (Rota, Carolines, Marshalls); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne). + + _Fregata ariel_ Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, + p. 447 (Marianas, Carolines); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop + Mus., 1, 1901, p. 25 (Guam?); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 + (Marianas); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam). + + _Fregata ariel ariel_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 4, 1914-15, p. 285 + (Carolines, Marshalls); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 36 (Yap, Ngoli, Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 186 (Rota, Yap, Ngulu, Uluthi); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 208 (Rota, Yap, Ngulu, Uluthi). + + _Geographic range._--China coast and Philippines south to Australia + and east to Pacific islands. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam?, + Rota; Caroline Islands--Yap, Ngulu, Ulithi. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _F. m. minor_, but smaller + and blacker with upper parts lustrous greenish-blue and white + patch on lower flank. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but browner with paler nape + and white breast. Immature: Resembles adult, but with head, chin, + throat, and belly white washed with rufous. + +_Remarks._--Like _F. minor_, the Least Man-o'-War has not been observed +often in Micronesia. Marche obtained one female at Rota in June, 1888. +D. H. Johnson saw a bird thought to be of this species at Agfayan Bay, +Guam, on 4 June 1945. Records from the western Carolines are few. There +are no reports of this bird from the Palaus and the Marshalls. It may +breed on some of the atolls in the Carolines. + +The two species of man-o'-war birds may be difficult to distinguish in +the field. The smaller size of _Fregata ariel_ is perhaps the most +useful character although it may be easily recognized also by the +presence of the white flank patch, if it can be observed. + +Both of the species of _Fregata_ discussed in this report have +representatives in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Murphy +(1936:920) has shown that the man-o'-war birds are able to cross the +Isthmus of Panamá between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This route +may also be the means of dispersal for other species. The irregular +distribution of these birds as well as of other sea birds in the oceanic +islands of the Pacific may be caused by their remaining over waters +which contain preferred foods and their avoidance of waters which lack +preferred foods. + + +=Butorides striatus amurensis= Schrenck + +Amur Green Heron + + _Ardea (Butorides) virescens_ var. _amurensis_ Schrenck, Reise Amur + Lande, 1, pt. 2, 1860, p. 441. (Type locality, Amurland.) + + _Butorides striatus javanicus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 183 (Koror, Babelthuap). + + _Butorides striatus amurensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 204 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia, China, Japan, + Bonins. Winters south to Philippines and Malaysia. In Micronesia: + Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 females, from Palau Islands, + AMNH--exact locality not given (Nov. 13, Dec. 17-18). + +_Remarks._--The Amur Green Heron has been recorded as a winter visitor +to the Palau Islands. Two females taken by Coultas in November and +December, 1931, are immature. He comments (field notes) that he saw, in +all, three birds in taro patch and mangrove swamp habitat. + + +=Bubulcus ibis coromandus= (Boddaert) + +Cattle Egret + + _Cancroma Coromanda_ Boddaert, Table Pl. enlum., 1783, p. 54. (Type + locality, Coromandel.) + + _Ardeola ibis coromanda_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 183 (Koror). + + _Bubulcus ibis coromandus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 204 (Koror, Babelthuap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--India, Ceylon, east to China and Japan and + south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Japanese ornithologists have recorded the Cattle Egret +from Babelthuap and Koror in the Palau Islands. It is a winter migrant. + + +=Egretta intermedia intermedia= (Wagler) + +Plumed Egret + + _Ardea intermedia_ Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 659. (Type locality, + Java.) + + _Egretta intermedia intermedia_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 183 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 203 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 42 (Rota, + Guam, Peleliu, Angaur, Ulithi). + + _Egretta intermedia_ Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, + 32, 1946, pp. 306, 310 (Ulithi); Baker, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, + p. 408 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--India and Ceylon east to Malaysia, + Philippines, China and Japan. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Saipan, Rota, Guam; Palau Islands--Koror, Peleliu, Angaur; + Caroline Islands--Ulithi. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large white heron with green facial skin; + black legs, feet and toes. In breeding plumage: Head with crest; + neck and back with ornamental plumes; bill black. Winter plumage: + Without crest or plumes; bill yellow with blackish tip. Immature: + Resembles adult in winter plumage, but feathers soft and downy. + + _Measurements._--Five males from Saipan, Rota, Guam, and Angaur + measure: wing, 295-321 (308); tail, 112-127 (119); culmen, 85-87 + (87); tarsus, 111-118 (114); three females from Saipan, Ulithi, + Angaur: wing, 294-301 (297); tail, 101-116 (110); culmen, 77-83 + (80); tarsus, 108-115 (107). + + _Weights._--The author (1948:43) records the weights of two males + from Guam as 445 and 463. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 8 (5 males, 3 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 2 (Sept. 29, Oct. 2)--Rota, + 1 (Oct. 31)--Guam, 2 (June 13); Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur, 2 + (Sept. 21); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 15). + + _Food habits._--The NAMRU2 party found grasshoppers, other insects, + spiders and lizards in the stomachs of egrets taken at Guam, + Ulithi, and Angaur. + + _Parasites._--Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:306, 310) obtained the + chiggers (Acarina), _Neoschöngastia egretta_ and _N. ewingi_, from + this egret from Ulithi. + +_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party obtained Plumed Egrets at Rota, Guam, +Ulithi, and Angaur in 1945. Previously, the only known record was from +Koror, as reported in the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et +al._, 1932:183). In addition, in 1945, Joe T. Marshall, Jr., obtained +two birds at Saipan, and Gleise (1945:220) reported seeing "white +herons" at Tinian, which probably were egrets. Gleise estimated the +number of these birds at Tinian to be fifty; he found them in swampy +areas. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found a flock of sixteen birds in a +cultivated field on October 31. At Guam, egrets were first observed on +February 25, 1945, when a flock of fourteen was found in a fallow rice +paddy near Piti. This flock remained in this area and were seen +occasionally until as late as June 13, when two were taken as specimens. +A short time later (June 30) the entire area was cleared for military +use and the birds were seen no more. At Agfayan Bay a flock of sixteen +birds was found on the beach on July 24 and on August 6. These birds +kept apart from Reef Herons which were also in the area. In June, 1946, +M. Dale Arvey observed egrets in swamps along the Ylig River at Guam. At +Ulithi Atoll, three egrets were seen on August 15 at Potangeras Island, +feeding in grassy areas adjacent to the beach. In the southern Palaus, +the NAMRU2 party found egrets in August and September on tidal flats and +open grasslands at Peleliu and Angaur. At Peleliu, a flock of +twenty-five birds was seen on September 8 and a flock of eight birds on +September 16. At Angaur approximately twenty birds were seen in groups +of five or more on September 21. These birds, unlike the Reef Herons, +preferred grasslands to beach areas for feeding and were usually seen in +sizeable flocks. + +There was no evidence of breeding; specimens examined were either +immatures or adults in winter plumage, since they had yellow bills +tipped with black and slight or no development of ornamental plumes. +Birds taken at Guam in June and at Angaur in September had no ornamental +plumes, while birds taken at Ulithi in August, at Saipan in September +and October, and at Rota in late October show some development of the +back plumes. Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:306) found the same species of +chigger on Plumed Egrets from Ulithi and from Okinawa in the Riu Kiu +Islands. The NAMRU2 party observed the birds in Micronesia from +February until October in 1945, and although the Plumed Egret may be +considered as merely a visitor to Micronesia, it would not be surprising +to find nests there. The fact that several new distributional records +were obtained for Micronesia in 1945 may indicate that the birds have +been overlooked by ornithologists in the past or that the birds are +increasing the breadth of their winter (or breeding?) range. + + +=Demigretta sacra sacra= (Gmelin) + +Reef Heron + + _Ardea sacra_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 640. (Type + locality, Tahiti.) + + _Ardea jugularis_ Kittlitz, Observ. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, 299, 304 (Ualan, Lougounor, Guahan); + Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Kittlitz, + Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 63 + (Ualan); Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 118, 162, 120, + 121 (Puynipet, Ualan). + + _Ardea (Herodias) atra_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 48 (Ladrone or Marian Islands, Caroline Islands). + + _Ardea sacra_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. + 831 (Matelotas Islands); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelews); Finsch and Hartlaub, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1870, p. 137 (Pelews, Matelotas); Gray, Hand-list Birds, + 3, 1871, p. 28 (Marian, Carolines, Pelews, Matelotas); Hartlaub + and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 104 (Pelew, + Uap, Ualan); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); + Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 32 (Palau); _idem_, + Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 38 (Ponapé, Ualan); + _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 306 (Ponapé, Kuschai); + _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 330, 332 (Taluit); _idem_, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. + 105, 106, 109, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 353 (Mortlocks, Ruk); Finsch, + Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 51 (Jaluit, Kuschai); Oustalet, + Le Nat., 1889, p. 261 (Mariannes); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1893, p. 211 + (Marshalls); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, + 1896, p. 36 (Guam, Marshalls, Palaos, Carolines); Schnee, Zool. + Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln). + + _Demiegretta sacra_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 348 + (Marshalls, Ualan, Ponapé, Ruck, Pelew, Mariannis); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 67 + (Marianne, Pelews, Luganor, Ruk, Ponapé, Ualan, Taluit); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 64 (Saipan); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 26, 1898, p. 137 (Pelew, Carolines, Marshalls); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 11 (Ruk); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 29 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 + (Marianas); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); + Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 129 (Micronesia); Bryan, Guam, + Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Bequaert, Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 266 (Kusaie). + + _Demigretta sacra_ Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. + 79 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Saipan, + Tinian); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Bequaert, Mushi, + 12, 1939, p. 81 (Kusaie); Warton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 175 + (Guam); Warton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. + 306, 316 (Ulithi, Guam). + + _Demiegretta jugularis_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 50 (Truk, Ponapé, Pelew). + + _Demiegretta jugularis grayi_ Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, + 1918, pp. 484, 488, 490 (Ponapé). + + _Demiegretta sacra sacra_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 36 (Guam, Saipan, Angaur, Luganor, Yap, Ngoli, Ruk, + Ponapé, Kusaie, Taluit). + + _Demigretta sacra sacra_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 171 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 198 (Carolines); Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1932, p. 406 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 183 (Saipan, Guam, Babelthuap, Peliliu, Angaur, Ngulu, Yap, Truk, + Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Majuro); Mayr and Amadon, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1144, 1941, p. 10 (Guam, Saipan, Palau, Ponapé, + Kusaie, Ruk, Tah); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 203 + (Saipan, Rota, Babelthuap, Peliliu, Angaur, Ngulu, Yap, Ulithi, + Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Arhno, Majuro, Moloclab, + Wotze, Likieb, Ailuk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, pp. 51, + 284 (Micronesia); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 90 + (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 535 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 64, + 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 524 (Saipan); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 42 (Rota, + Guam, Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Demigretta sacra micronesiae_ Momiyama, Tori, 5, no. 22, 1926, p. + 110 (Type locality, Caroline Islands; Pelew, Yap, Truk, Ponapé, + Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Coasts of Asia and adjacent islands from Korea + and Japan south to Malaysia, Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia and + Micronesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agrigan, Tinian, + Saipan, Rota, Guam; Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, + Ngesebus, Peleliu, Ngabad, Anguar; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Yap, + Ngulu, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, + Arhno, Majuro, Maloclab, Wotze, Likieb, Ailuk, Bikini, Eniwetok, + Kwajalein. + + _Characters._--A medium-sized heron with three color phases: in + gray phase color of body varies from "deep blackish-slate" to + light bluish-slate, particularly on the breast, with a white gular + stripe; wear and fading causes the color of the body to change to + brownish-slate; bluish-gray ornamental plumes may be present on + adult; in white phase color of body is pure white in adult stage; + plumage of immature may be mottled; in mottled phase there may be + a variable amount of gray and white (for complete study of + plumages of _Demigretta sacra_ see Mayr and Amadon, 1941:4). + + _Measurements._--Mayr and Amadon (1941:1) record the length of the + wing of thirty adults from the Marianas and Carolines as 268-309 + (284). Seven adult males obtained by the NAMRU2 party at Rota, + Guam and Peleliu measure: wing, 287-307 (294); tail, 95-114 (101); + culmen, 91-101 (96); tarsus, 78-87 (82); seven adult females, from + Rota and Guam: wing, 265-285 (275); tail, 87-96 (91); culmen, + 86-92 (89); tarsus, 72-79 (76). + + _Weights._--The author (1948:42) lists the following weights: four + adult males from Guam (gray phase) 590-667 (614); two adult males + from Guam (white phase) 600 and 662; five adult females from Guam + and Rota (gray phase) 477-553 (506). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 80 (38 males, 40 females, 2 + unsexed) as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota, 3 (Oct. 18, Nov. + 2, 5)--Guam, 21 (May 11, June 6, 18, July 6, 8, 16, 24, 27, Aug. 6, + 8, 27); AMNH--Saipan, 2 (July 22)--Guam, 9 (Feb. 11, Mar. 6, 7, + April 11, Aug. 15, Sept. 14, 16, Nov. 27, Dec. 20); Palau Islands, + USNM--Peleliu, 3 (Sept. 10, 16); AMNH--exact locality not given, 5 + (Nov. 8, 21, 23); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. + 15)--Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 8); AMNH--Truk, 3 (Feb. 18, May 20, Nov. + 5)--Tah, 2 (Oct. 18)--Ponapé, 2 (Nov. 21, undated)--Kusaie, 26 + (Jan. 25, 26, Feb., Mar. 10-20, 20-30, April 1-10, 18); Marshall + Islands, USNM--Bikini, 2 (March 29, April 2). + + _Nesting._--The Reef Heron apparently nests on most of the islands + in Micronesia. The eggs are laid in a nest of grass and twigs on or + near the ground. Hartert (1898:64) records a nest found in grass at + Saipan on July 28, 1895. Yamashina (1932a:406) reports on one egg + taken at Ponapé on July 23, 1931. Marshall (1949:219, fig. 37) + found a breeding bird in April at Tinian. Coultas (field notes) + learned from the natives at Ponapé that the Reef Heron builds + a nest of small sticks near the ground in the mangrove thickets. + Two or three eggs are laid, and nests can be found at various times + of the year. Mayr and Amadon (1941:4) comment on the prolonged + breeding season and report six sets of eggs from Polynesia taken in + January, March, April, September, October, and November. + + _Food habits._--The author (1948:42) found fish and crabs in the + stomachs of birds taken at Guam, Ulithi and Peleliu. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:484, 488, 490) found the following bird + lice (Mallophaga) on the Reef Heron at Ponapé: _Nirmus orarius_, + _Colpocephalum importunum_, and _Myrsidea teraokai_. Bequaert + (1939:81 and 1941:266) found the fly (Hippoboscidae), + _Ornithoctona plicata_, on the heron at Kusaie. Wharton (1946:175) + and Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:306, 316) obtained chiggers + (Acarina), _Neoschöngastia egretta_ and _N. carveri_, from the + Reef Heron at Guam and Ulithi. + +_Remarks._--The species _Demigretta sacra_ contains two subspecies, the +widespread _D. s. sacra_ and a larger form, _D. s. albolineata_ (Gray), +known from New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. The latter subspecies +is surrounded by the former, a distribution which closely parallels that +in each of the species _Phalacrocorax melanoleucus_ and _Gygis alba_ of +Oceania. Recently Delacour (in Delacour and Mayr, 1945b:105) has dropped +the name _Demigretta_ placing all of the forms of this genus in +_Egretta_. He says, "We cannot accept the genus _Demigretta_, which is +based on the more extended feathering of the tibia, the different length +and texture of the feathers of the trains, the shortness of the tarsus +and the presence of a dark gray color phase. The latter exists in the +Madagascan and African subspecies of _Egretta garzetta_." + +The Reef Heron is a conspicuous member of the bird life of Micronesia, +being recorded from most of the island groups. It prefers the placid and +shallow waters of the lagoons and tidal beaches where it obtains the +littoral animal life as food. The birds are seldom seen inland and +usually frequent the beaches and rocky coasts. In this respect there is +little opportunity for competition with the migratory Plumed Egret, +which prefers the grassy upland and marsh areas and inland ponds. The +Reef Heron is a quiet, usually solitary, and retiring bird, being +exceedingly difficult to approach, especially when found on the open +tidal flats. + +The problem of plumages and color phases in the Reef Heron has been +treated by Mayr and Amadon (1941:4-10). Specimens which they examined +from Micronesia were found to be 54 percent gray, 40 percent white, and +6 percent mottled. Of the birds obtained by NAMRU2 field parties, fewer +than 40 percent were white. Field counts showed a considerable variation +in the ratio of grays to whites: Guam--6 grays to 4 whites; Ulithi--4 +grays, 6 whites, 1 mottled; Palau--equal number of grays and whites; +Truk--2 whites, 1 gray, 1 mottled. For some unknown reason, the gray +birds were more easily approached than the white birds. Gleise and +Genelly (1945:221) saw one white Reef Heron at Eniwetok. Wallace (field +notes) found white herons more numerous than gray ones at Kwajalein in +1944 and 1945. Borror (1947:417) observed gray birds at Agrigan. Stott +(1947:524) saw one blue heron on December 24, at Saipan. The 150 birds +seen by him at Lake Susupe in December probably were Plumed Egrets. + +In discussing the variation in the color phases of the Reef Heron +throughout its range, Mayr (1924b:237) suggests that the reduced +variability of small populations may not be due to accidental gene loss, +but instead to the population having descended from a single pair or +from one fertilized female. The descendents would naturally possess only +those characters provided for in the genetic make-up of the parents. +Reef Herons on New Zealand and in the Marquesas Islands all are gray, +while at other island groups different proportions of gray and white +individuals occur; such phenomena may result because of the genetic +constitution of the "founders." + + +=Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax= (Linnaeus) + +Black-crowned Night Heron + + _Ardes Nycticorax_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 142. + (Type locality, Southern Europe.) + + _Nycticorax griseus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 105 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, + p. 123 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 69 (Uap). + + _Nycticorax nycticorax_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, + p. 146 (Yap). + + _Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 36 (Mackenzie, Yap); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 183 (Yap, Uluthi); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 204 (Yap, Uluthi); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 302 (Marianas, Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Europe and Africa east to Japan and Malaysia. + In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian; Palau Islands--Koror; + Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Truk. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 immature females, as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov. 27); Caroline Islands, + AMNH--Truk, 1 (June 18). + +_Remarks._--The Black-crowned Night Heron is a winter visitor to western +Micronesia. Marshall (1949:221) records six of these birds on Tinian on +April 4, 1945, and one on Koror on November 27. + + +=Nycticorax caledonicus pelewensis= Mathews + +Rufous Night Heron + + _Nycticorax caledonicus pelewensis_ Mathews, Bull. British Ornith. + Club, 46, 1926, p. 60. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Nycticorax caledonicus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 26, 1898, p. 158 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. + 10 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 255 (Palauinseln); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 50 (Pelew); Uchida, + Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, p. 486 (Palau); Wetmore, in Towsend + and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 172 (Uala, Truk + Atoll); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 37 (Pelew, + Ruk). + + _Nycticorax manillensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 105 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 5, 33 (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 577 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 69 (Pelew, Ruk). + + _Nycticorax caledonicus pelewensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 200 (Pelew, Carolines); Peters, + Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 39, 1930, p. 271 (Pelew, Carolines); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, p. 115 (Pelew); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 183 (Palau, Truk); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 204 (Babelthuap, Koror, Coracel, + Truk); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, 1942, p. 6 (Palau, + Ruk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 285 (Palau, Truk); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 43 + (Angaur, Peleliu, Garakayo, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Coracel, Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur; Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult: Size medium; head and nape dark slaty-black; + occipital plumes white with dark tips and shafts; back dark + reddish-brown, lighter on sides of neck, wings, wing coverts, + rump, and tail; under parts whitish with light reddish-brown on + sides of neck extending to throat and upper breast; tibia with + some brownish feathers; underwing pinkish; feet yellowish-brown; + bill black. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but upper parts mottled black with + reddish-brown; underparts with lighter streaks of brown and + whitish on breast; feet yellowish; bill black above, yellowish + below. + + Adult resembles _N. c. manillensis_ Vigors, but is duller above. + + _Measurements._--Two adult males from Peleliu measure: wing, 293, + 299; tail, 105, 107; culmen, 82, 89; tarsus, 79, 81; seven adult + females from Peleliu: wing, 269-286 (280); tail, 101-106 (104); + culmen, 76-84 (80); tarsus, 78-83 (80); one adult female from + Truk: wing, 280; tail, 97; culmen, 83; tarsus, 79. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (5 males, 18 females, 4 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 9 (Aug. 31, + Sept. 1, 5, 6, 8, Dec. 6); AMNH--exact locality not given, 16 (Nov. + 7, 8, 13, 23, 25, Dec. 1, undated); Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 + (Feb. 16); AMNH--Truk, 1 (May 25). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party observed a nesting colony of these + night herons at Peleliu on August 29, 1945. Approximately eight + nests were observed in a grove of saplinglike trees at the edge of + a mangrove swamp. These nests were 15 to 20 feet above the ground; + most of them contained one or two nestling birds. Two subadults and + three nestlings in postnatal molt were obtained; no eggs were + found. Marshall (1948:219) records breeding in August, September + and December. + + _Food habits._--Baker (1948:43) reports that stomachs of night + herons obtained by the NAMRU2 party at Peleliu contained a great + variety of animal foods, including eels, fish, lizards (skinks), + crabs, shrimp, and insects. The stomach of one adult contained 14 + large grasshoppers and four fish, totaling about 15 cc. in volume. + The nestlings had eels, skinks, and insects in their stomachs. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:486) found the bird louse (Mallophaga), + _Lipeurus baculus_, on the night heron at Palau. + +_Remarks._--Amadon (1942:4-8) has made the most recent study of the +species _Nycticorax caledonicus_ and recognizes eight subspecies from +Australia and New Calendonia north to the Caroline and Bonin islands. +This is one of the few tropical and subtropical species which has +extended its range to the Bonin islands. The discontinuous distributions +of this species prevents an accurate estimation of the route by which it +reached the Bonins. The presence of the bird at Palau and at Truk makes +it difficult to account for its absence at Yap and other intervening, +and seemingly suitable, islands. Populations at Palau and Truk appear to +be similar and are placed in the same subspecies, but when adequate +material is available from Truk, further study may reveal that the +populations on the two islands (Truk and Palau) are recognizably +different. + +At the southern Palau Islands, night herons were found by the NAMRU2 +party in mangrove swamps, lagoons and on beaches. I found them to be +inactive during the daytime; the birds were usually perched singly in +trees or at the edge of the water. The birds appeared to have special +roosting places and were observed sitting in the same place on several +different occasions. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party reported seeing three +night herons at Truk in December, 1945. + + +=Gorsachius goisagi= (Temminck) + +Japanese Bittern + + _Nycticorax goisagi_ Temminck, Pl. Col., livr. 98, 1835, pl. 582. + (Type locality, Japan.) + + _Gorsakius goisagi_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 184 + (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 204 (Koror); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Eastern China, Japan, Riu Kius, Formosa, and + Philippine Islands. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--_Gorsachius goisagi_ has been recorded from Koror in the +Palau Islands. It may be classed as a rare migrant to western +Micronesia. + + +=Gorsachius melanolophus melanolophus= (Raffles) + +Malay Bittern + + _Ardea melanolopha_ Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, 1822, p. + 326. (Type locality, Western Sumatra.) + + _Nycticorax goisagi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. London, + 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + p. 89 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 68 (Pelew). + + _Nycticorax melanolophus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 35 (Palau). + + _Gorsachius melanolophus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., 26, 1898, + p. 166 (Pelew). + + _Gorsahius melanolophus melanolophus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 184 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 204 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Palau). + + _Gorsachius melanolophus melanolophus_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 200 (Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--India, Ceylon, southern China, Formosa, + Indochina, Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality + unknown. + +_Remarks._--Captain Tetens obtained a specimen of this bittern at the +Palau Islands which was reported on by Hartlaub and Finsch (1868a:8, +1868b:118). It is probably a rare straggler to western Micronesia. The +specimen has not been seen by me; it may be of the subspecies _G. m. +kutteri_ (Cabanis), which is known from the Philippine Islands. + + +=Ixobrychus sinensis= (Gmelin) + +Chinese Least Bittern + + _Ardea Sinensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 642. (Type + locality, China.) + + _Ardea lepida_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 573 (Marianne); + Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen). + + _Ardea sinensis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, + 1871, p. 31 (Marian); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 105 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, + 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, + 33 (Palau, Yap); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 + (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + p. 353 (Ruk). + + _Ardea (Ardetta) sinensis_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 49 (Ladrone or Marian Islands). + + _Ardetta Sinensis_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 364 + (Pelew, Carolines, Mariannis); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 261 + (Mariannes); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 68 (Marianne, Uap, Ruk, Pelew); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch, Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, pp. 38, + 39 (Guam, Saypan, Ponapi, Ruk, Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, + 1898, p. 65 (Guam); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 26, 1898, p. + 227 (Marianne, Carolines, Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, + p. 11 (Ruk); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 + (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianan, 1913, p. 100 (Saipan); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam). + + _Ardetta bryani_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 27 (Type locality, Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 + (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, p. 266 (Guam). + + _Ardetta sinensis sinensis_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, + p. 50 (Ruk, Pelew). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis bryani_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, pp. 173, 175 (Guam); Kuroda, in + Momoyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 37 + (Guam,?Yap,?Mackenzie,?Pelew); _idem_, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. + 134 (Guam,?Yap,?Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, + 1927, p. 202 (Guam,?Pelew); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 1, + 1931, p. 121 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 184 + (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam); Oberholser, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., + 159, 1932, p. 18 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, + p. 15 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 205 + (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam); Amadon, Bull. Bernice P. Bishop + Mus., 186, 1945, p. 25 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 525 + (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. + 44 (Rota, Guam). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis moorei_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 173 (Type locality, Uala, + Truk group); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 + (Ruk); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 134 (Ruk); Mathews, + Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 202 (Middle Carolines); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, p. 121 (Truk); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 184 (Palaus, Yap, Truk); + Oberholser, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 159, 1932, p. 17 (Carolines, + ?Pelews); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 205 + (Babelthuap, Koror, Yap, Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 44 (Truk, Peleliu). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis_ Hartert, Vogel pal. Fauna, 10, 1920, p. 1260 + (Truk, Palau, Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 285 + (Marianas, Palau, Yap, Truk); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 + (Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 91 (Tinian); + Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Delacour and Mayr, + Birds Philippines, 1946, p. 29 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. + 536, (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis sinensis_ Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 1, + 1932, p. 365 (Guam, Truk); Robinson and Chasen, Birds Malay + Peninsula, 3, 1936, p. 195 (Marianne). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis palewensis_ Momiyama, Bull. Biogeogr. Soc. + Japan, 2, 1932, p. 333 (Type locality, Pelew); Mathews, Ibis, + 1933, p. 88 (Pelew). + + _Ixobrychus sinensis yapensis_ Momiyama, Bull. Biogeogr. Soc. + Japan, 2, 1932, p. 333 (Type locality, Yap); Mathews, Ibis, 1933, + p. 89 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Northeastern China and Japan south to + Micronesia, Malaysia, Burma, India and Ceylon. Winter visitor to + Papuan region. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan, Tinian, + Rota, Guam; Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu; Caroline + Islands--Yap, Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A small bittern with crown and short + occipital crest slaty-black; mantle light buffy-brown; back and + rump gray; tail black; wing-coverts brownish-buff; primaries and + secondaries slaty-black; underparts yellowish buff; chin and + throat whitish; sides of head and neck and a line of feathers + across chest blackish edged with buff; bill yellowish green; feet + greenish yellow. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but with upper parts mottled + brown and golden chestnut; underparts deep buff streaked with pale + brown on neck. + + Immature: Resembles adult, with upper parts heavily streaked with + blackish-brown, and underparts streaked with chestnut and dark + brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of specimens from Micronesia are + given in table 16. + + +TABLE 16. MEASUREMENTS OF _Ixobrychus sinensis_ FROM MICRONESIA + + ===========+=========+=====+=========+=======+========+======== + | | | | | Full | + LOCATION | Sex | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + -----------+---------+-----+---------+-------+--------+-------- + Yap, Truk | males | 6 | 132 | 43 | 56 | 44 + | | | 130-134 | 41-47 | 54-59 | 42-47 + | | | | | | + Guam | males | 11 | 134 | 47 | 57 | 46 + | | | 127-138 | 45-50 | 55-60 | 45-47 + | | | | | | + Guam | females | 10 | 130 | 46 | 57 | 45 + | | | 127-134 | 44-49 | 55-59 | 43-47 + -----------+---------+-----+---------+-------+--------+-------- + + + _Weights._--The author (1948: 44) records the weights of eight + adult males from Guam as 82-103 (92) and eight adult females from + Guam as 84-109 (95). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 69 (34 males, 27 females, 8 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 1 (Sept. + 30)--Tinian, 1 (Oct. 13)--Guam, 29 (May 16, June 4, 6, 7, 8, 14, + 18, 19, July 10, 16, 18, 24, 27, Aug. 4); AMNH--Saipan, 1 (Aug. + 6)--Tinian, 3 (Sept. 13)--Guam, 14 (Feb. 1, Mar. 13, 29, July 11, + 13, 25, Aug. 1, 7, 13, Sept. 4, 10, Dec. 8); Palau Islands, + AMNH--exact locality not given, 6 (Nov. 19, 21, 23, 25, Dec. 1, + 18); Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 (Feb. 16); AMNH--Yap, 1 (not + dated)--Truk, 12 (Feb. 9, Mar. 5, 17, May 7, June 13, 14, 15, Oct. + 3, Nov. 1, 5, Dec. 20). + + _Nesting._--The author (1948:44) records a nest found by the NAMRU2 + party near Achang Bay on Guam on June 6, 1945. It was found in a + cane thicket at the edge of a fallow rice paddy, approximately four + feet from the ground and was constructed of about three quarts of + reeds and cane. Two eggs found in the nest are oval, white with a + greenish cast and measure 33 by 24 and 34 by 24. On February 1, + 1945, the writer found two recently occupied nests of the Chinese + Least Bittern at Oca Point, Guam. These nests were in dense + inkberry brush approximately five feet above the ground. The area + was not marshy, the nearest water being at the beach some 300 yards + away. Nearby one of the nests was found a young bittern, which + apparently had only recently left the nest. The pin feathers were + growing. A parent bird remained in the vicinity with the young bird + until it left the area after March 9. + + _Food habits._--The Chinese Least Bittern feeds on animal foods + obtained along waterways, marshes and beaches as well as in + forests and fields. The NAMRU2 party observed several types of + insects in the stomachs of birds taken at Guam. Seale (1901:27) + found black crickets in stomachs of bitterns taken at Guam. + Coultas (field notes) learned from the natives of the Palau + Islands that the bittern feeds on land mollusks. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) obtained the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula acuscutellaris_, from the Chinese Least Bittern at + Guam. + +_Remarks._--The Chinese Least Bittern has been regarded by many workers +as consisting of several geographic races; as many as eight have been +recognized. Other workers have concluded that _I. sinensis_ is made up +of highly variable populations and that it lacks well-fined geographic +variation. Hartert (1920:1260), Hachisuka (1932:365), and Mayr +(1945a:285) have reached the latter conclusion. As yet this problem has +not been satisfactorily solved; a thorough study is needed, but may not +be possible until additional material, especially from the continental +areas, can be obtained. In coloration there appears to be little +difference between birds from the various localities in Micronesia. +These birds may average slightly paler than populations from the +continental areas, but on this basis I doubt that a person could +recognize the Micronesian birds in a group of skins from many other +localities. Birds in fresh plumage may show geographic differences +better than slightly worn specimens. Measurements made by the author +offer no clear-cut differences either. + +_I. sinensis_ was first recorded in Micronesia by Quoy and Gaimard +(1824:536), whose ship, the "Uranie," stopped at Guam. They called the +bird "Petit Héron aux ailes noires." Most of the ornithological +collectors in the years following Quoy and Gaimard obtained this bittern +in Micronesia. At Guam, its abundance and the ease with which it may be +approached and shot is attested by the large series obtained by +collectors: Seale (1901:27) took eight birds; Marche (Oustalet, +1896:36) took eighteen skins; the NAMRU2 party took twenty-nine skins. + +The Chinese Least Bittern is found in habitats associated with both salt +water and fresh water, as well as in upland habitat in Micronesia. The +bird appears to be well adapted to areas of open forest and coconut +groves. Coultas (field notes) found the birds in taro patches in the +Palaus. Although a considerable amount of field observing was done in +the southern Palaus, the NAMRU2 party saw only one bird (September 13, +1945, at Peleliu). Perhaps the birds prefer Babelthuap and other large +islands farther north in the chain. McElroy found bitterns in taro +patches at Truk in December, 1945. The NAMRU2 party did not find any +birds at Rota in October and November, 1945. Downs (1946:91) found the +birds in upland sugar cane and beach habitats on Tinian. + +Regarding the bittern in the Palaus, Coultas (field notes) writes, +"Always found alone, never a pair. A bird that is not easily frightened. +In the heat of the day, one finds it standing in the shade of a taro +leaf quietly viewing the intruder and very reluctant about moving. I +have tossed pieces of earth and sticks at the bird to encourage him to +fly so that I would not blow him to pieces when I shot, but my efforts +at dislodgement have been rewarded by harsh scolding squawks. It became +necessary for me to move into proper gun range. I have also found them +perched in low trees at the edge of taro swamps. In flight they are +atrociously awkward. They can't keep a course and their legs dangle +every-which way. Their jerky, slow flight usually ends abruptly when the +bird becomes entangled in weeds or the branches of trees. Extracting +himself from his predicament he is soon in another and invariably +resorts to blasphemy." + + +=Ixobrychus eurhythmus= (Swinhoe) + +Schrenck's Least Bittern + + _Ardetta eurhythma_ Swinhoe, Ibis, 1873, p. 74, pl. 2. (Type + locality, Amoy Shanghai.) + + _Ixobrychus eurythmus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Southeastern Siberia and Japan south to India + and Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 (2 males, 1 female), from + Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (Nov. 19, 21, Dec. + 3). + +_Remarks._--Coultas obtained three immature specimens at Palau in +November and December, 1931. + + +=Dupetor flavicollis flavicollis= (Latham) + +Black Bittern + + _Ardea flavicollis_ Latham, Ind. Ornith., 2, 1790, p. 701. (Type + locality, India.) + + _Dupetor flavicollis_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 26 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. + 15 (Guam). + + _Dupetor f. flavicollis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 302 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Central China south to Malaysia and India. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + +_Remarks._--Seale (1901:26) records a female shot at the Agaña River on +Guam on June 11, 1900. The skin probably is in the Bernice P. Bishop +Museum in Honolulu. + + +=Anas oustaleti= Salvadori + +Marianas Mallard + + _Anas oustaleti_ Salvadori, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 4, 1894, p. + 1. (Type locality, Mariannis Islands.) + + _Anas oustaleti_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895, p. + 189 (Guaham); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, + 1896, p. 49 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam, + Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); + Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 25 (Guam, + Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 110, 113 (Guam, + Saipan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Mariannas); _idem_, Amer. + Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 267 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 990 (Mariannes); + Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, pp. 80, 126 (Guam); + Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 47, 100 (Marianen); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Phillips, Nat. Hist. + Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 53 (Guam, Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 214 (Guam, Saipan); Berlioz, Bull. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 2d ser., 1, 1929, p. 67 (Guam); Peters, + Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, p. 159 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 184 (Guam, Tinian, + Saipan); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); + Kuroda, Tori, 11, 1941-42, pp. 99, 443 (Marianas); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 205 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan); + Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 1 (Marianne); Mayr, + Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 285 (Marianas); _idem_, Audubon + Mag., 47, 1945, p. 282 (Marianas); Baker, Trans. 11th N. Amer. + Wildlife Conf., 1946, p. 208 (Guam); Stott, Auk. 64, 1947, p. 525 + (Saipan); Baker, Smithson, Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. + 45 (Saipan, Tinian); Momiyama, Pacific Science, 2, 1948, p. 121 + (Saipan, Tinian, Guam). + + _Polionetta oustaleti_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 39 (Guam, Saipan). + + _Anas superciliosa oustaleti_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 36, 1930, p. + 112 (Guam, Saipan). + + _Anas platyrhynchos oustaleti_ Delacour and Mayr, Wilson Bull., + 57, 1945, pp. 21, 39 (Marianas). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Tinian, + Saipan. + + _Characters._--From study of a large series of specimens of _Anas + oustaleti_, Yamashina (1948) described two types of plumages: one + type resembles that of _A. platyrhynchos_ and another type + resembles that of _A. poecilorhyncha_. He based his conclusions on + both a study of prepared skins and observations of the molt of + living specimens as reported by Kuroda (1941-1942). The following + descriptions are quoted from Yamashina (1948:122). + + Adult male in nuptial plumage of _A. platyrhynchos_ type: "Whole + head is dark green, except at the sides where buff feathers are + plentifully intermingled, a dark brown streak through the eye, and + faint white ring on the lower neck. Feathers on scapulars and sides + of body are as those of _Anas poecilorhyncha_. Sides of body are + vermiculated but some brown feathers are found even in the full + nuptial plumage. Upper breast is dark reddish chestnut with dusky + spots. Upper and under tail-coverts are as in _Anas platyrhynchos_. + Speculum is as that of _Anas platyrhynchos_, but the tips of the + greater coverts are buff instead of white. Central tail feathers + are more or less curled upward. Base of bill is black, tip is olive + color. Iris is dark brown. Feet, reddish-orange, webs darker." + Eclipse plumage of adult male resembles that of _A. platyrhynchos_. + + Adult male in nuptial plumage of _A. poecilorhyncha_ type: + "Resembles _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_ from the Palau Islands + and Truk Island, but sides of head are browner, superciliary + stripes and ground color of cheeks are more buffy. Feathers on + upper breast and sides of body are more broadly edged with brown. + Speculum is usually violet-purple as in the _platyrhynchos_ type, + but in two specimens from Saipan and Tinian, respectively, it is + dark green as in _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_. Tips of the + secondaries are usually white, but sometimes very faint as in + _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_, and in one specimen from Saipan + they are buffy. Bill is olive color with a black spot in the + center of the upper mandible. Iris, dark brown. Feet, dark orange, + darker in joints and webs." Eclipse plumage of adult male + resembles the nuptial plumage. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of nine ducks from Guam and Saipan + are: wing, 238-266 (252); tail, 75-84 (81); exposed culmen, 49-53 + (51); tarsus, 41-43 (42). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 9 (5 males, 2 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 2 (Oct. 2, + 3)--Guam, 1 (June 6); AMNH--Saipan, 2 (Aug. 7, 11)--Guam, 4 (Jan. + 10, April 6, Dec. 11, 16). + + _Nesting._--At Guam, Seale (1901:25) found nests of the Marianas + Mallard "among the reedy swamps and streams of the island." He + obtained two downy young in June. Kuroda (1941-1942) reports + nesting at Lake Challankanoa, Saipan, in July. He writes that nests + contained 7 to 12 eggs. Ducklings and incubated eggs were obtained + in June and July, but he is of the opinion that the breeding season + may be longer. He notes that adults exhibit both nuptial plumage + and eclipse plumage at the same time, suggesting that breeding may + occur at various times in the year. A nest with seven eggs taken on + July 4, 1941, at Hagoi Lake, Tinian, is described by Kuroda as + having been found among rushes and constructed of dead leaves, + stems, and roots and lined with down. He describes the eggs as + being grayish-white with a pale greenish tinge, and measuring 61.6 + by 38.9. Marshall (1949:202) saw a family of ducklings in April. + +_Remarks._--The Marianas Mallard is rare; probably it never has been +very abundant in the small chain of islands to which it is restricted, +because fresh water marshes and swamps are not extensive. The bird was +first recorded by Bonaparte as _Anas boschas a. Freycineti_ in 1865. +This name was a _nomen nudum_ and later the same specimen in the Paris +Museum was named by Salvadori (1894) as _Anas oustaleti_. In 1888, +Marche obtained six specimens at Guam; these were reported on by +Oustalet (1896:49). Later collecting showed that the duck inhabited +also the islands of Saipan and Tinian. There have been no records of +this duck in the more northern islands of the Marianas. According to +Yamashina (1948:121) in the period from 1931 to 1940, the Japanese +obtained 38 specimens of the Marianas Mallard at Tinian and Saipan. In +1940, four birds from Tinian were shipped alive to Japan and kept in an +aviary by Kuroda. At Tinian in 1940, one of the collectors observed two +flocks of _A. oustaleti_, each containing 50 or 60 individuals. The +Japanese took specimens at a lagoon area and at fresh water lakes. +Yamashina describes one of the localities, Lake Hagoi on Tinian, as "a +small body of fresh water surrounded by about 40 acres of marsh." During +the war, servicemen reported the presence of the Marianas Mallard at +both Saipan and Tinian. Moran (1946:261) counted twelve ducks at Saipan. +Stott (1947:525) saw seven birds at Lake Susupe on Saipan in December, +1945. He writes that the birds were gentle and easily approached and +that they preferred winding channels in reed beds to open water. +Marshall obtained two ducks at Lake Susupe in early October, 1945. These +specimens are in the United States National Museum. He (1949:202) found +ducks at both Saipan and Tinian; twelve was the greatest number seen at +any one time. Gleise (1945:220) estimated that there were twelve birds +on Tinian in 1945, remarking that their habitat was swamp area. + +At Guam and Rota, the NAMRU2 party failed to obtain any specimens but +received reports of the presence of ducks on both islands. At Guam, +reports were obtained of ducks of unknown species at a fallow rice paddy +in August, 1944, and in a marsh near Agat on June 13, 1945. The presence +of Japanese soldiers in the interior of Guam made it inadvisable to +investigate marshes and swamps of the interior and the upper courses of +streams. H. G. Hornbostel, as quoted by Phillips (1923:54), reported +that ducks were found at Guam only in the Tolofofo River Valley. The +NAMRU2 field parties investigated the lower reaches of this valley and +found no evidence of the ducks. The upper part of this valley was used +as an artillery range in 1945. Probably the firing of field guns was a +disturbing influence to any birds that might have been there. If the +ducks were on Guam at that time, they must have been secretive and +restricted in their movements. At Rota, two ducks which might have been +_A. oustaleti_ were seen by the NAMRU2 party on October 20, 1945, in a +cultivated field. + +These recent reports indicate that the Marianas Mallard is secure for +the present on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, but thoughtful +conservation practices need to be placed in operation to insure its +survival in the future. + +_Evolutionary history of Anas oustaleti._--In the past, most of the +studies have pointed to a northern ancestry for _A. oustaleti_. Bryan +(1941:187) has noted a relationship between _A. oustaleti_ and the +Laysan Duck (_A. laysanensis_ Rothschild) and the Hawaiian Duck (_A. +wyvilliana_ Sclater). Amadon (1943:1) suggests that these three species +of ducks are rather recent derivatives of the Common Mallard (_A. +platyrhynchos_) and postulates the evolution of _A. wyvilliana_ from +migrants from North America. He further states that _A. laysanensis_ and +_A. oustaleti_ may have been derived from _A. wyvilliana_ or may +represent independent colonizations. Delacour and Mayr (1945:21) go a +step further and make these forms subspecies of _A. platyrhynchos_, +saying that they are "dull-colored editions" of the Common Mallard, that +because of isolation they have become reduced in size and have lost many +of the characteristics of their ancestors. Recently, however, Yamashina +(1948) has concluded that the Marianas Mallard has evolved as the result +of hybridization between the two species, _A. platyrhynchos_ and _A. +poecilorhyncha_. His conclusions are based on a study of a large number +of specimens, both museum skins and captive birds, in which he has been +able to detect plumages of the _A. platyrhynchos_ type and of the _A. +poecilorhyncha_ type (see Characters). He has noted specimens which have +ninety percent of the characteristics of _A. platyrhynchos_ and ten +percent of the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type. These percentages are reversed +in specimens favoring the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type. In his series of +skins he finds the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type of plumage most frequently, +in forty-four specimens out of fifty examined, while only six specimens +have the _A. platyrhynchos_ type of plumage. Yamashina cites also as +evidence favoring his conclusion that hybridization has taken place the +results obtained from the crossing of captive _A. platyrhynchos_ and _A. +poecilorhyncha_. It is his assumption that there has been a resident +form of _A. poecilorhyncha_ in the Marianas, apparently resembling +closely that which occurs in the Palaus and at Truk (_A. p. +pelewensis_), and that stragglers of _A. platyrhynchos_ from the north +occasionally reach the Marianas where hybridization between the two +species occurs. Yamashina remarks (1948:123): "The opportunity for +hybridization should occur more rarely in the south, and thus more +frequent back-crossing of the hybrid with the indigenous _Anas +poecilorhyncha_ on Tinian and Guam explains the superabundance there of +the _poecilorhyncha_ type. As the hybridization should have taken place +more frequently to the north in Saipan, the ratio of the occurrence of +the _platyrhynchos_ type is logically higher there." The Common Mallard +(_A. p. platyrhynchos_) has not been recorded in Micronesia, but +according to Yamashina (1948:123) "winters frequently just north of the +Marianas in the Bonin and Volcano Islands." + +This remarkable explanation for the development of the Marianas Mallard +is not questioned by this author, who feels that hybridization may be +found to be the cause for other unusual forms of life in island habitats +whose ancestry has not been explained. As Yamashina comments, the +special environments of islands together with small and restricted +populations of animals are factors which could favor such development. + + +=Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Australian Gray Duck + + _Anas superciliosa_ var. _pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 108. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Anas superciliosa_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. London, 1868, + pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1869, p. 659 + (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 82 (Pelew); Salvadori, + Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 395 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. + und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 70 + (Pelew); Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895, p. 206 + (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, + 1896, p. 50 (Palaos). + + _Anas superciliosa pelewensis_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 990 + (Pelew); Mathews, Birds Australia, 4, 1915, p. 90 (Pelew); + Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 113 (Pelew); Mathews, + Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 215 (Pelew); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 36, 1930, p. 112 (Pelew); Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 1, 1931, p. 160 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 184 (Palaus, Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 205 (Babelthuap, Peliliu); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 1237, 1943, p. 3 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 286 (Palaus, Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 45 (Peleliu, Truk). + + _Anas pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, + 40 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, + 1898, p. 71 (Palau). + + _Polionetta superciliosa pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Pelew). + + _Anas superciliosa rukensis_ Kuroda, "Gan to Kamo" (Geese and + Ducks), 1939, page not numbered, description between pls. 52 and + 53 (Type locality, Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 206 (Truk). + + _Anas poecilorhyncha superciliosa_ Delacour and Mayr, Wilson + Bull., 57, 1945, pp. 21, 39 (no locality given); Yamashina, + Pacific Science, 2, 1948, p. 122 (Palau, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Islands of Micronesia, Polynesia, and + Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Peleliu; + Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized duck with upper parts dark + brown, feathers edged with buff; top of head blackish merging into + gray on hind neck with narrow buff line below; eye-stripe broad + and blackish; lower parts uniformly dark brown to gray brown, + feathers edged with buff; face, chin and throat light buff with + some dark streakings; under wing white; speculum green; bill + plumbeous with nail black; legs yellow-brown to yellowish, webs + dusky. _A. p. pelewensis_ resembles _A. p. rogersi_ Mathews, but is + smaller with a wing length averaging as much as 20 mm. shorter. + + _Measurements._--As given by Amadon (1943:4) seven unsexed skins + from the Palaus, studied by Finsch (1875:40), have wing lengths of + 207, 212, 212, 214, 223, 235, 230. For an adult male taken by + Coultas at Palau, the exposed culmen measures 45 and the tarsus 37. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 males from Palau Islands, + AMNH--exact locality not given (Oct. 26, Nov. 25). + +_Remarks._--_A. p. pelewensis_ is apparently rare in the Palau Islands. +Coultas, who visited the Palaus in October to December, 1931, writes +(field notes) that he received reports that the birds were present and +nested in numbers on fresh water lakes. He took specimens in taro +patches and comments that the ducks probably feed at night and have +retiring habits during the day. At Peleliu in 1945, the NAMRU2 party +received several reports of ducks but failed to find the birds. At Truk, +in December, 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party found ducks to be fairly +numerous in rice paddies, marshes, and swamps. He observed that the +birds roosted at Moen Island at night but that they apparently flew to +outlying islands to spend the day. Richards observed ducks on Moen +Island on August 28 and 29, 1947, and again in the period from January +19 to February 10, 1948. He saw several flocks of ducks including one +containing "about a dozen ducks" at ponds along a roadway and at an +airstrip. Kuroda named the population at Truk as distinct in 1939. I +have not been able to examine his description and no specimens are +available for study, but if the birds at Truk represent an independent +colonization (different from that of the birds at Palau) they might +exhibit recognizable variation. Amadon (1943:5) has already pointed out +that the shortness of the wing of specimens in the Palaus may merit +subspecific status for the population. Delacour and Mayr (1945:21) +propose that the Palau Gray Duck is a subspecies of _A. poecilorhyncha_; +this treatment is followed in the present work. + +_Evolutionary history._--_A. p. pelewensis_, as Amadon (1943:1) has +stated, represents a population of mallards which became separated from +the ancestral stock in the Australian or Malayan area and when once +differentiated, invaded New Zealand and other parts of Polynesia, +Melanesia, and southwestern Micronesia. Amadon points out that its range +in the Pacific islands is more or less complimentary to that of _A. +oustaleti_ in the Marianas and the Philippine Mallard (_A. +poecilorhyncha luzonica_ Fraser), as well as to the Hawaiian forms (_A. +wyvilliana_ Sclater and _A. laysanensis_ Rothschild). The range of _A. +p. pelewensis_ gives one the impression that its present distribution +may be only a stage in a gradual spreading of the species, for it +certainly has not yet occupied all habitats suitable for it in southern +Micronesia nor elsewhere in Oceania. As in the case of _A. oustaleti_, +_A. p. pelewensis_ appears to prefer areas of fresh, and possibly +brackish, water on the larger islands. + +_A. p. luzonica_ is a near relative of _A. p. pelewensis_ but has +rufous-brown instead of buffy-brown coloring on the chin, throat, sides +of head, and superciliary region. The underparts of the Philippine +Mallard are much less mottled. The specula are similar. Both of these +forms were probably derived from a mallard of the _A. p. poecilorhyncha_ +type. + + +=Anas querquedula= Linnaeus + +Garganey Teal + + _Anas Querquedula_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. + (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Anas querquedula_ Marshall, Condor, 51, 1949, p. 221 (Tinian). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Europe and Asia. Winters from + northern Africa to New Guinea. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Tinian. + +_Remarks._--Marshall (1949:221) obtained one of a pair of these ducks +which he observed "daily in April on Lake Hagoi" at Tinian. + + +=Anas crecca crecca= Linnaeus + +European Teal + + _Anas Crecca_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type + locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Querquedula crecca crecca_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 185 (Pagan). + + _Anas crecca crecca_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 206 (Pagan). + + _Anas crecca_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe, Asia, and + Aleutians. Winters south to northern Africa, Asia and Philippines. + In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan. + +_Remarks._--The European Teal has been recorded by the Japanese at Pagan +in the northern Marianas. It appears to be an uncommon winter visitor to +Micronesia. + + +=Anas crecca carolinensis= Gmelin + +Green-winged Teal + + _Anas carolinensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 533. + (Type locality, Carolina to Hudson Bay.) + + _Anas carolinensis_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17 + (Jaluit); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls); + _idem_, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln); + Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 235 (Marshall Islands). + + _Querquedula crecca carolinensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 185 (Marshall Islands). + + _Anas crecca carolinensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 206 (Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North + America. Winters to West Indies, Central America and Mexico. In + Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--_Reichenow_ (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) record the +Green-wing Teal in the Marshall Islands. It is the only record known for +Micronesia. Bryan and Greenway (1944:104) record the teal as a migrant +to the Hawaiian Islands. + + +=Anas acuta acuta= Linnaeus + +Pintail + + _Anas acuta_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type + locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Dafila acuta acuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 + (Pagan). + + _Anas acuta acuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 + (Pagan). + + _Anas acuta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe and Asia. + Winters south to northern Africa, Asia and Philippines. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Guam; Palau Islands--exact + locality unknown. + +_Remarks._--The Pintail has been recorded from Pagan and Guam in the +northern Marianas and from the Palau Islands and is thought to be an +uncommon visitor to Micronesia. At Guam, Flavin (field notes) recorded +one female on October 27, 1945, and three females and two drakes on +January 19, 1946. Marshall (1949:221) saw a flock of fifteen Pintails at +Saipan on February 7, 1945. + + +=Anas acuta tzitzihoa= Vieillot + +Pintail + + _Anas tzitzihoa_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 5, 1816, p. 163. + (Type locality, Mexico, _ex_ Hernandez.) + + _Anas acuta americana_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17 + (Jaluit); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall + Inseln). + + _Anas acuta_ Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls); + Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 316 (Jaluit). + + _Anas acuta tzitzihoa_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 206 (Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North + America. Winters south to West Indies, Panamá, and west to Hawaiian + Islands. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--Reichenow (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) reported that +flocks of ducks belonging to this and other American species were +observed in the Marshall Islands in October, 1899, and May, 1900. This +species may winter in the Hawaiian Islands, according to Peters +(1931:167). If so it is not surprising that occasional visitors reach +eastern Micronesia. + + +=Anas penelope= Linnaeus + +Widgeon + + _Anas penelope_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. + (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Anas penelope_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 332, 333 (Taluit); Schnee, + Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln); Phillips, + Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 175 (Taluit); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Tinian, Yap, Jaluit); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia). + + _Mareca penelope_ Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56 + (Jaluit); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 71 (Taluit); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schultze + der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 458 (Marshalls); Kuroda, in Momoyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Taluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 185 (Tinian, Yap, Jaluit). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe and Asia. + Winters south to Africa, southern Asia and Philippines; casual to + eastern North America. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian; + Caroline Islands--Yap; Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--The Widgeon may be an occasional winter visitor to +Micronesia. The record at Jaluit in the Marshall Islands may be +questioned. + + +=Anas clypeata= Linnaeus + +Shoveller + + _Anas clypeata_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 124. + (Type locality, Coasts of Europe, restricted to southern Sweden.) + + _Spatula clypeata_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 + (Pagan); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 676 (Pingelap); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Pagan, Pingelap). + + _Anas clypeata_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Europe, Asia, North America + and adjacent islands. Winters to northern Africa, southern Asia, + Philippines, Hawaiians, southern United States to Central America. + In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Tinian; Caroline + Islands--Ponapé, Pingelap. + + _Specimens examined._--One female from Mariana Islands, + USNM--Tinian (Oct. 12). + +_Remarks._--The Shoveller is known from localities in the Marianas and +in the Carolines. In the collections of the American Museum of Natural +History there is a female taken by Rollo Beck at Kauehi, Tuamotu +Archipelago, on March 6, 1923. A specimen examined from Tinian was taken +there by Joe T. Marshall, Jr., at Lake Hogoya on October 12, 1945. +Richards obtained two Shovellers (one immature male and one immature +female) at Ponapé on December 21, 1947, and January 6, 1948, +respectively. He found them in a pond in a bomb crater. This duck +appears to be a casual winter visitor to Micronesia and other parts of +Oceania. + + +=Aythya fuligula= (Linnaeus) + +Tufted Duck + + _Anas fuligula_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 128. + (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Fuligula cristata_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + p. 90 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 40 + (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 71 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 50 (Mariannes, Palaos). + + _Fuligula fuligula_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895, + p. 363 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne); + Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 26 + (Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); _idem_, + The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Mariane, Pelew, Yap); _idem_, + Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 143 (Pelew, Marianne). + + _Marila fuligula_ McGregor, Man. Philippine Birds, 1909, p. 199 + (Marianne, Pelew). + + _Nyroca fuligula_ Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 3, 1925, p. 234 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Pagan, + Saipan, Palau, Yap); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 + (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia). + + _Aytha fuligula_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 207 + (Pagan, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Yap, Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, Europe, northern Asia. + Winters in Europe, Africa, Asia, Malaysia, and parts of Oceana. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Saipan, Tinian, Guam; + Palau--exact locality unknown; Caroline Islands--Yap. + +_Remarks._--The Tufted Duck is a winter migrant to western Micronesia. +It has been recorded only a few times and may be an irregular visitor. +Flavin observed a duck, which he thought to be of this species, at Guam +on January 19, 1946. Marshall (1949:221) reports that two Tufted Ducks +were seen at Lake Hagoi in April 1945. + + +=Aythya valisineria= (Wilson) + +Canvasback + + _Anas valisineria_ Wilson, Amer. Ornith., 8, 1814, p. 103, pl. 70, + f. 5. (Type locality, Eastern United States.) + + _Nyroca valilisineria_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17 + (Jaluit); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls); + _idem_, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln). + + _Nyroca valisineria_ Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 3, 1923, p. 124 + (Marshall Islands). + + _Aythya valisineria_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 207 (Marshall Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North + America. Winters south to Gulf States, Florida and Mexico. In + Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--Reichenow (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) reported three +species of American ducks (_Aythya valisineria_, _Anas acuta tzitzihoa_ +and _Anas crecca carolinensis_) in the Marshalls in October, 1899, and +May, 1900. These species may be stragglers to eastern Micronesia. + + +=Accipiter soloënsis= (Horsfield) + +Chinese Goshawk + + _Falco Soloënsis_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, 1821, p. + 137. (Type locality, Java.) + + _Accipiter soloënsis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 182 + (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 203 (Yap, Rota); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern China south to Kwangtung. + Winters to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota; Caroline + Islands--Yap. + +_Remarks._--The Chinese Goshawk is a winter visitor to Micronesia and +has been recorded at Rota and Yap. The NAMRU2 party saw several +unidentified hawks in Micronesia in 1945. At Mt. Tenjo, Guam, Muennink +saw a small hawk, resembling an accipiter, darting at swiftlets on June +8, 1945. At Angaur, the writer saw a small hawk flying through heavy +vegetation along the rugged coast line on September 21, 1945. A hawk +"_Butio_(?)" was reported at Saipan in 1945 by Moran (1946:262); this +hawk may have been _Butastur indicus_ (Gmelin). Marshall (1949:221) +reports seeing "three kinds of hawks" on Palau in November, 1945. +Obviously, further observations and collecting will increase our +knowledge of the known number of kinds of hawks which visit Micronesia. + + +=Accipiter virgatus gularis= (Temminck and Schlegel) + +Asiatic Sparrow Hawk + + _Astur (Nisus) gularis_ Temminck and Schlegel, in Siebold, Fauna + Japon., Aves, 1845, p. 5, pl. 2. (Type locality, Japan.) + + _Accipiter nisoides_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 7, 1895, p. 166 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 51 + (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 44 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas). + + _Accipiter gularis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 39 (Guam). + + _Accipiter virgatus gularis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 182 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 203 + (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia). + + _Accipiter virgatus nisoides_ Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, + 1936, p. 15 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Japan and northern China. Winters + south to Philippines and Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam. + +_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:166) records a male bird shot by Marche at +Guam in October, 1887. Seale (1901:44) records a specimen taken at Guam +by Owston's Japanese collectors. These are the only records found for +Micronesia, and the hawk may be classed as a casual winter visitor. +Strophlet (1946:535) observed "a small light-throated" falcon at Guam on +November 7, 1945, which may have been of this species. + + +=Pandion haliaetus melvillensis= Mathews + +Osprey + + _Pandion haliaëtus melvillensis_ Mathews, Australian Avium Rec., 1, + 1912, p. 34. (Type locality, Melville Island.) + + _Pandion leucocephalus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 49 (Palau). + + _Pandion haliaetus leucocephalus_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 1 (Pelew). + + _Pandion haliaëtus cristatus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 182 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 203 (Palau). + + _Pandion haliaëtus melvillensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, pp. 55, 286 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, + no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Guam, Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Malaysia, northern Australia, Melanesia. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Peleliu. + +_Remarks._--The Osprey was first recorded at Palau by Finsch (1875:49). +The author (1948:46) cites records obtained by C. K. Dorsey at Peleliu +in 1944 and 1945. Dorsey saw the Osprey on several occasions; the NAMRU2 +party did not find the bird while on their stay there in August and +September, 1945. B. V. Travis of NAMRU2 saw an Osprey at Agaña Bay, +Guam, in December, 1945. He observed the bird to be carrying a fish in +its talons. Flavin observed the Osprey at Guam on January 28, 1945, and +on December 23, 1945. Mayr (1945a:286) says that the Osprey apparently +breeds at Palau. The bird seen in the Marianas may have been _P. h. +haliaetus_ (Linnaeus), a visitor from Asia, which is known to winter in +the Philippines and adjacent areas. + +The Osprey is the only resident member of the order Falconiformes, and +it is principally a fish eater. The few records of mammal and bird +eating hawks in Micronesia indicate that predation on insular vertebrate +populations from this source is at a minimum. The absence of this +predation may have a pronounced effect on the resident land birds, +particularly from the standpoint of the perpetuation of nonadaptive +mutations, which might be "weeded out" under what might be considered as +normal predatory pressure in continental bird populations. + + +=Falco peregrinus japonensis= Gmelin + +Peregrine Falcon + + _Falco japonensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 1, 1788, p. 257. + (Type locality, Off the coast of Japan.) + + _Falco peregrinus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 90 (Mackenzie); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, + 1873, p. 122 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, + 8 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 1 (Yap, Pelew); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev. 1932, p. 182 (Yap, Palau); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Yap, Palau); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Yap, Palau); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Guam). + + _?Falco peregrinus calidus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 40 (Yap, Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Asia. Winters to southern + Asia, Malaysia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; + Palau Islands--exact locality unknown; Caroline Islands--Yap. + +_Remarks._--The Peregrine Falcon may be classed as a casual winter +visitor to Micronesia. It has been recorded by Hartlaub and Finsch at +Yap and Palau. A specimen from Yap was taken by Kubary in November, +1870. On November 2, 1945, at Guam as previously recorded (Baker, +1948:46) Irvin O. Buss saw a falcon alight on the superstructure of his +ship. He watched it catch and eat a Common Noddy (_Anous stolidus_). As +the ship approached the island, the bird flew to the rugged cliffs near +Facpi Point. Strophlet (1946:535) saw a large falcon, "presumed to be a +Duck Hawk," at Guam on November 16, 1945. Possibly these two observers +saw the same bird. In July, 1945, Flavin observed a Peregrine Falcon at +Guam. _F. p. fruitii_ Momiyama, which is known from the Volcano Islands, +may occur in Micronesia. + + +=Megapodius lapérouse senex= Hartlaub + +Micronesian Megapode + + _Megapodius senex_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), + p. 820. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Megapodius senex_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 7, 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 256 + (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. + 89, 103 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, + 29, pl. 5, fig. 2, 3 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. + 547 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat., (6), art. 2, 1881, + pp. 63, 140, 145, 171, 175 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. + 30 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 58 (Pelew); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat. + Zool., 11, 1891, p. 196 (Peleu); _idem_, Nouv. Arch Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 30 (Palaos); Ogilvie-Grant, Hand-book + Game-birds, 2, 1897, p. 182 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, + 1898, p. 62 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil, Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, + 1898, p. 69 (Palau); Finsch, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 + ser., 1900, p. 659 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 113 (Palau); Lister, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1911, p. 757 + (Pelew). + + _Megapodius laperousii_ Ogilvie-Grant (part), Cat. Birds British + Mus., 22, 1893, p. 460 (Pelew); Takastukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 51 (Pelew); Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 27, 1915, p. 390 + (Pelew); _idem_, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 28, 1916, p. 69 (Pelew). + + _Megapodius laperousi_ Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop + Mus., 1, 1901, p. 39 (Pelew); Safford (part), The Plant World, 7, + 1904, p. 265 (Pelew); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. + 486, 487 (Palau). + + _Megapodius laperousii_ var. _senex_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, + p. 787 (Pelew). + + _M[egapodius] lapeyrousei_ Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913, + p. 273 (Palauinseln). + + _Megapodius laperousei senex_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Pelew). + + _Megapodius lapérouse senex_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 14 (Pelew); Takastukasa, Birds Nippon, vol. 1, pt. 1, + 1932, p. 13, pl. 4, 5 (Pelew); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 412 + (Ngesebus, Auror, Peliliu); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 198 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 6 + (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 679 (Gayangas, Arumidin); + Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, 1942, p. 9 (Palau); Mayr, + Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 286 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Garakayo, Peleliu, + Ngabad). + + _Megapodius la pérouse senex_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 223 (Babelthuap, Koror, Auror, Ngesebus, Peliliu, + Gayangas, Arumidin). + + _Megapodius laperouse_ Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. + Parasitology, 32, 1946, p. 294 (Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Auror, Kayangel, Garakayo, Ngesebus, Peleliu, Ngabad, Gayangas, + Arumidin. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small megapode with top of head near + "mouse gray"; forehead, sides of face and neck, chin, and throat + thinly covered with feathers of the same color; mantle and upper + breast grayish-black becoming dark olive-brown on wings; lower + back, rump and upper tail-coverts dark brown; tail blackish-brown; + underparts grayish-brown, lighter on midline of belly; under wings + dark brown; exposed skin of head reddish to yellowish-red; bill + yellowish, basally blackish; legs yellowish; feet and claws black; + iris tan. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of three adult males: wing, 178, + 182, 188; tail, 55, 63; culmen, 22.7, 23.3; tarsus, 55, 56, 57; of + seven adult females: wing, 171-189 (182); tail, 46-68 (58); + culmen, 25-30 (27); tarsus, 45-60 (55). Takatsukasa (1932:14) + lists the following measurements: males--wing, 176-181; tail, + 59-67; culmen, 25.5-26.0; tarsus, 58-61; females--wing, 177-187; + tail, 62-68; culmen, 24.0-26.0; tarsus, 55-58. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (11 males, 8 females, 4 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov. + 28)--Garakayo, 5 (Sept. 17, 18, 19)--Peleliu, 2 (Aug. 31, Sept. + 1)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH--Palau, 16 (Nov., Dec., not dated). + + _Nesting._--The megapodes do not incubate their eggs, but the + female deposits them in a moundlike structure of sand, volcanic + ash, and forest litter or some other type of soil in which there is + warmth sufficient to hatch the eggs after an extended period + (perhaps 40 days or more) without further attention from the parent + bird. The young dig out and lead an independent existence. Several + megapodes may utilize one nest site, which ordinarily is at a low + elevation near a beach or lagoon. + + The NAMRU2 party obtained two downy chicks at Gayakayo Island on + September 18 and 19, 1945. A female taken on September 1 at + Peleliu contained large eggs. Coultas obtained two chicks (one in + postnatal molt) in November and December, 1931. Kubary, as quoted + by Takatsukasa (1932:15), says that eggs may be found in the + mounds throughout the year at Palau but are found most numerously + in the south-east monsoon (April to November). Yamashina + (1932a:412) reports on eggs taken in 1932 as follows: eight eggs + from Auror Island on January 15; one egg from Ngesebus Island on + January 16; and four eggs from Peleliu Island on January 16. + Takatsukasa (1932:15) states that eggs are most numerous in the + mounds in the months of May and June. The chicks obtained by + NAMRU2 in September were of such a size as to suggest that they + too had been laid in June. + + Takatsukasa (1932:15) comments, "Whilst Dr. Yaichir[=o] Okada was + in the Pelew Group, he found two nests on Kajangel Island, which + is an uninhabited island about twelve sea-miles southeast of the + island of Malacal. He says that he found two nests, one of which + was obsolete and the other was in use. + + The first one was oval in shape; the diameter of the largest part + was twenty-four feet, and the smallest part was twenty feet, and it + had a height of four feet. The second one was fan-shaped, as an + obstacle existed at one side of the nest, and its diameter was + twelve feet and the height was a little more than four feet, and + the native whom he asked to dig out the eggs got three. One of the + eggs contained a well-advanced embryo and the others were not so + advanced as the first one. This distance from the top of the mound + to the spot where the eggs were laid was about two and a half feet, + and the natives made a great deal of effort to get these eggs. + These nests were found in the bush by the natives." The NAMRU2 + party observed a mound on Ngabad Island, a small islet near + Peleliu, on September 11. It was much like those described by + Takatsukasa, being approximately six feet high and some twelve or + fifteen feet across. It was not excavated. + + _Molt._--Birds taken in August, September and November were molting + body feathers. Birds taken in December were molting wing feathers. + + _Food habits._--Takatsukasa (1932:16) comments, "My collector + reports to me that this bird diets on insects and tender shoots + which it gets from under the soil by scratching with its large and + powerful feet." According to Captain Tetens, as noted by + Takatsukasa, the food of the bird consists of insects and berries. + Birds taken by the NAMRU2 party had the following food items in + their stomachs: adult female--2 cc. seeds, grit; adult female--3 + cc. crab parts, grit; adult female--2 cc. seeds, sand; male + chick--1 cc. ground food, grit; female chick--1 cc. ground food, + grit, in crop 3 cc. small wood roaches (Blattidae). + + _Parasites._--Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:294) obtained the + chigger (Acarina), _Neoschöngastia yeomansi_, from the megapode at + Palau. Uchida (1918:486, 487) found the bird lice (Mallophaga), + _Goniocotes minor_ and _Lipeurus sinuatus_, on megapodes from the + Palaus. + +_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party arrived at the Palau Islands on August 23, +1945, with little notion that the megapode would be found on the +war-torn island of Peleliu. As reported by the author (1946b:209 and +1948:46) we found birds in small numbers in the relatively undisturbed +areas of rough coral covered by jungle and a few birds in the heavy +matting of viny and brushy vegetation which was rapidly covering the +battlefields. The finding of a higher population on the more isolated +and relatively undisturbed offshore islets (Ngabad, Garakayo) by the +NAMRU2 party was an observation similar to those of Takatsukasa +(1932:15, 16) and Coultas (field notes). Takatsukasa (1932:16) remarks, +"Dr. Finsch said that this Megapode frequents nearly all the islands of +the Pelew Group ... but it is very noticeable that this bird has either +disappeared, or only very rarely exists in the following islands: Koror, +Ngarekobasanga, and especially the main island of Babelthuap." He quotes +Otto Finsch as remarking that, "It seems that the bird occasionally +moves from one island to another, as the bird is a good flier." +Takatsukasa continues, "According to Tetens, this Megapode runs very +swiftly among the bushes, and when it is startled it takes to the +nearest tree.... Captain Wilson says nothing about the Megapode, but Dr. +Finsch wrote that Captain Wilson is probably referring to the egg of +this bird under 'Wild Fowls,' when he said that the natives of the +Palaus do not eat the flesh of the birds, but they go to the woods and +bring back the eggs; they do not appreciate the newly laid eggs, but +they consider it as a delicacy to swallow the well advanced embryo." + +The NAMRU2 party found the birds to prefer rough, coral jungle where +there was considerable heavy undergrowth and ground litter. The birds +were located by their loud screeches and cackles but were difficult to +stalk. It was best to remain quiet and let them approach within shooting +distance. Young chicks were extremely active and wild. One of the two +chicks taken at Garakayo was obtained by a fortunate shot as the bird +was flying rapidly through the brush. The natives use them as food, and +I learned of one serviceman who had worked out a technique for trapping +the birds. He traded the live birds to the natives for island souvenirs. +As Wilson and Takatsukasa note, the natives apparently prefer the eggs +to the adults as food, and in normal times of food abundance they +probably do not molest the adults but hunt for their eggs. This seems +logical, since if a determined trapping program were in operation by the +natives, it should not take many decades to eliminate completely the +entire population. On four islands visited by the NAMRU2 party in August +and September, 1945, I estimated the following populations: Garakayo--20 +to 30; Ngabad--5 to 10; Peleliu--10 to 20; Angaur--less than 10. + + +=Megapodius lapérouse lapérouse= Gaimard + +Micronesian Megapode + + _Megapodius La Pérouse_ Gaimard, Bull. Gén. Univ. Annon. Nouv. + Sci., 2, 1823, 451. (Type locality, Tinian, Archipel des + Mariannes.) + + _Megapodius La Pérouse_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., + 1824, pp. 127, 693, Atlas, pl. 33 (Tinian); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat. + Paris, 6, 1825, p. 149 (Tinian). + + _Megapodius La Pérousii_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., + 1824, p. 127, pl. 33 (Tinian); Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 735 (Tinian, + Guam, Rota); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 46 + (Tinian); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat., (6), art. 2, 1881, pp. 63, + 138, 140, 143, 171, 175, 176, 177 (Tinian); _idem_, Le Nat., 1889, + p. 261 (Mariannes); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool., 11, 1891, p. + 196 (Tinian, Seypan, Pagon). + + _Megapodius La Peyrouse_ Lesson, Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, p. 221 + (Tinian); _idem_, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Ois., 1838, p. 255 + and accompanying plate (Tinian). + + _Megapodius laperousii_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 478 + (Mariannes); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 256 (Marian); + Ogilvie-Grant, Hand-book Game-birds, 2, 1897, p. 183 (Marianne); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 787 (Mariannes); Lister, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1911, p. 757 (Marianne). + + _Megapodius Lapeyrousii_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen). + + _Megapodius La Peyrousii_ Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 5 + (Marianen). + + _Megapodius la-perousi_ Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p. 43 + (Guam, Botta, Tinian). + + _Megapodius laperousi Giebel_, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 547 + (Marianae); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 39 (Marianas); Safford; Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Tinian); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 265 (Tinian); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. + Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Rota, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); Schnee, + Zeitschr, f. Naturwisch., 82, 1912, p. 467 (Marianen); Prowazek, + Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 47, 101 (Marianen); Linsley, + Guam, Rec., vol. 12, no. 8, 1935, p. 249 (Rota, Saipan, Pagan, + Agrigan). + + _Megapodius perousei_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 30 (Marianen); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 58 (Guam, Botta, Tinian, Pagon). + + _Megapodius laperousii_ Ogilvie-Grant (part), Cat. Birds British + Mus., 22, 1893, p. 460 (Marianne). + + _Megapodius la perousei_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 26 (Saypan, Pagan, Rota, Agrigan, Tinian). + + _Megapodius laperouse_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 + (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam). + + _Megapodius laperousei_ Finsch, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 + ser., 1900, p. 660 (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, + 1913, p. 87 (Marianen). + + _Megapodius lapeyrouse_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 + (Guam, Saipan). + + _M[egapodius] lapeyrousei_ Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913, + p. 273 (Mariannen). + + _Megapodius laperousei laperousei_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Guam, Saipan, Rota, Tinian, Pagan, + Agrigan). + + _Megapodius lapérouse lapérouse_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 16 (Marianas); Takatsukasa, Birds + Nippon, vol. 1, pt. 1, 1932, p. 6, pl. 4, 5 (Marianne); Yamashina, + Tori, 7, 1932, p. 411 (Pagan Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 198 (Marianas); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 7 (Marianne Islands); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 679 + (Assongsong); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, 1942, p. 9 + (Asuncion, Saipan, Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 286 (Marianas). + + _Megapodius laperousi laperousi_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, + 1936, p. 15 (Guam). + + _Megapodius la pérouse la pérouse_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 223 (Assongsong, Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, + Tinian, Agiguan, Rota, Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, + Agrihan, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Agiguan, Rota, Guam. + Probably extinct on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _M. l. senex_, but crown slightly + darker gray; back, wing-coverts and scapulars more heavily washed + with olivaceous-brown; mantle less slate; underparts paler and + more brownish, especially belly. (Note--The specimens examined + from the Marianas are old and rather worn in appearance.) + + _Measurements._--Two males measure: wing 180?, 182?; tail 62, 63; + tarsus 55, 55; three females: wing 181?, 181?; tail 55, 59, 62; + tarsus 54, 54, 56. Takatsukasa (1932: 10) lists the following + measurements: males--wing, 155-169; tail, 54-62; culmen, 22.5-24; + tarsus, 51-54; females--wing, 158-170; tail, 56-65; culmen, 23-25; + tarsus, 50-55. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (3 males, 4 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Guam, 1 (June + 6)--Saipan, 6 (1895)--Asuncion, 3 (1904). + + _Nesting._--Concerning the nest of the Micronesian Megapode in the + Marianas, Takatsukasa (1932:10) writes: "The nest is a large mound + of sand mixed with grass and is made in the wooded land along the + seashore. The mound is over one hundred feet in circumference and a + few yards in height, and is built by the united efforts of the male + and female, by scratching sand and grass with their large feet. The + eggs are laid in this mound and they are hatched by the heat of the + sun and that produced by the fermentation of the grass, and they + are never hatched by the parent birds. The egg is of a pale brown, + but always stained by nesting materials." + + Takatsukasa (1932:11) quotes Oustalet as follows: "Specimens + collected by Mr. Marche have proved that the breeding season of La + Pérouse's Megapode is rather long, like the other species of the + same family, it begins to breed in January or February and ends in + June. Accordingly, in this period the eggs just laid, the chicks, + the young and adult can be seen at one place, but Mr. Marche did + not obtain any egg." Hartert (1898:61) records a chick taken on + July 17. Yamashina (1932a: 411) records eggs taken in 1931 as + follows: two eggs from Pagan, February 17; three eggs from Pagan, + May 15; four eggs from Agrihan, June 24. The breeding season for + both of the incubator birds, _M. l. senex_ and _M. l. lapérouse_, + is apparently from about January to August. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Megapode was first taken in the Marianas by +the expedition of the Uranie. Bérard, a member of the expedition, +obtained the bird at Tinian in December, 1820. Quoy and Gaimard +(1824:27), who studied the birds of this expedition, reported that +according to native tradition the species was in former times widely +distributed in the Marianas and domesticated by the ancient people of +the islands, but that in 1819 and 1820 the birds were not numerous on +Tinian and not found on Guam and Rota. Marche (in Oustalet, 1896:27) +obtained twenty-three birds at Saipan, one from Rota, two from Agrihan, +and five from Pagan in 1887, 1888, and 1889; it is apparent that Quoy +and Gaimard missed the bird at Rota. Marche was of the opinion that the +megapodes were never domesticated and that they would probably not last +much longer at Saipan and Rota owing to the incessant hunting for them +by the natives. As in the Palaus, the natives apparently prefer the eggs +to the adults. The latest collections of these birds in the Marianas +were made by the Japanese. Yamashina (1932:411) obtained eggs in 1931 at +Pagan and Agrihan, and again in 1940. He (1940:679) reported birds at +Assongsong (Asuncion). Takatsukasa (1932:12) says, "A collector, working +for Marquis Yamashina and myself, lately procured many specimens in +Saipan and Pagan." Linsley (1935:249, 250) in searching for the megapode +at Guam found little evidence of the birds. He interviewed people +between the ages of forty-five and eighty and only two or three +remembered seeing the bird. He said he saw one or two cross the road; +but I suspect that they might have been rails (_Rallus owstoni_). +Service personnel stationed at various islands in the Marianas during +the late war have not reported the birds. The NAMRU2 party found no +trace of the bird at Guam or Rota. Joe T. Marshall, Jr. (1949:203), did +not find the bird at Saipan, Tinian, or Guam in 1945. Its status on +Agiguan is unknown; isolated Japanese troops present on this small +island from the time of the American invasion (1944) until the armistice +(1945) may have used the birds for food and depleted the population +seriously. At present the birds apparently still occur on islands in the +northern Marianas. It seems that if these birds are to survive, they +must be given some protection. + +_Evolutionary history._--The genus _Megapodius_ consists, according to +Peters (1934:1-7), of nine species which are distributed through the +islands from the Philippines and Borneo to Australia and Melanesia. +These have been redesignated under three specific names by Mayr (1938). +Outlying forms occur in the Nicobar Group to the west and in Tonga +(Niuafou Island) in the east and in the Palaus and Marianas to the +extreme northeast. Lister (1911:757) is of the opinion that the +megapodes may have reached these outlying islands by having been +transported by the natives, by whom the eggs were highly valued as food. +This idea is also maintained by Rutland (1896:29-30) and Christian +(1926:260). Possibility and not factual evidence support this +hypothesis. From their seeming ancestral stocks, _M. pritchardii_ Gray +of Niuafou Island and _M. lapérouse_ of Micronesia are remarkably +distinct which may indicate their early arrival at these islands and +subsequent change from their ancestral stocks. + +Like _M. pritchardii_, the Micronesian species is smaller than its +relatives to the southwest and has short, rather rounded wings, although +its feet are heavily built whereas those of _M. pritchardii_ are lightly +constructed. In comparing these birds with the species of megapode found +in the Philippines, Celebes and Melanesia, it seems that both _M. +pritchardii_ and _M. Lapérouse_ are closely related to the widespread +species, _M. freycinet_, which may have been ancestral to both. The +differences between _M. prichardii_ and _M. lapérouse_ indicate that +they represent independent invasions. Nevertheless these megapodes may +have had a wider range in Oceania in former times; man may have +eliminated the birds from some islands by using their eggs. The eggs are +laid in conspicuous mounds which are easily found by man. + +_M. lapérouse_ differs from _M. freycinet_ of New Guinea and other parts +of Melanesia and the Philippines; its small size, short wing and pearl +gray head are distinctive characters. It shows greatest resemblance to +the subspecies in Celebes (_M. f. gilberti_) in size and to the +subspecies in the Moluccas (_M. f. freycinet_) in coloring; possibly +_M._ _lapérouse_ represents stock from one of these regions. Apparently +the group as a whole evolved from a center of dispersal in the New +Guinea area. Mayr (1942b:167) regarded all the species of _Megapodius_ +as belonging to one polytypic species, except _M. lapérouse_ and _M. +pritchardii_, which are allopatric species. + + +=Coturnix chinensis lineata= (Scopoli) + +Painted Quail + + _Oriolus lineatus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. 2, + 1786, p. 87. (Type locality, Luzon, _ex_ Sonnerat.) + + _Excalfactoria sinensis_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 + (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 37 + (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Guam); _idem_, Amer. + Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 265 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 + (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Nelson, Proc. 1st + Pan-Pacific Sci. Conf., 1921, p. 273 (Guam). + + _Excalfactoria chinensis lineata_ Wetmore, in Townsend and + Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 176 (Guam); Kuroda, + in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 41 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. + Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 20 (Marianne); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 198 (Guam); Peters, Check-list + Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 96 (Guam); Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 223 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 287 (Guam). + + _Excalfactoria chinensis_ Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 536 (Guam). + + _Coturnix chinensis lineata_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 47 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Philippines and parts of Malaysia. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam (introduced). + + _Characters._--Adult: A small quail with upper parts brown + splotched with black and streaked with buff; males with face and + throat black surrounded by white line, upper breast blue gray, + lower breast, belly and under tail-coverts and tail near "burnt + sienna"; females lighter than males, underparts pale brown, + mottled with blackish on breast and sides of body; bill dark lead + colored, feet yellow. + + _Measurements._--Three adult males from Guam measure: wing, 66, + 67, 67; culmen, 9.2, 10.0, 10.3; tarsus, 18.1, 18.7, 22.6. + + _Weights._--Two adult males taken by NAMRU2 at Guam weigh 34.5 and + 35.5 grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 males from Mariana Islands, + USNM--Guam (Feb. 24, June 13, 28). + +_Remarks._--Seale (1901:37) writes that the Painted Quail was introduced +to Guam from Manila, or the island of Luzon in the Philippine Islands, +by Captain Pedro Duarty of the Spanish Army in 1894. It was a successful +introduction; the bird is well adapted to the grasslands, open +hillsides, and fallow rice paddies. The bird appears to offer no serious +competition to native species, because there are few native birds which +depend largely on this habitat. The NAMRU2 party obtained specimens at +Mt. Santa Rosa and near Agat; others were seen as singles or pairs near +Umatac and on Mount Tenjo. Strophlet (1946:536) observed the birds in +the southern part of Guam in 1945. He found them as singles or pairs in +the months of September, October and November. Wilfred Crabb reported a +covey of seven birds in June, 1945. Two males taken in June had enlarged +testes. Seale (1901:37) obtained a nest of seven eggs. + + +=Gallus gallus= (Linnaeus) + +Red Jungle Fowl + + _Phasianus Gallus_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 158. + (Type locality, "India orientali, Pouli condor etc.," restricted to + Pulo Condor, off mouths of the Mekong.) + + _Phasianus Gallus_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 284 (Ualan = Kusaie). + + _Gallus bankiva_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 103 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 29 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 298, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Ruk); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 59 (Pelew, Caroline, Marianne, Marshall); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 25 + (Saypan, Palaos, Marshall); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 + (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 38 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas). + + _Gallus ferrugineus_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), + p. 780 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 114 (Ponapé, Kushai). + + _Gallus gallus bankiva_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 41 (Saipan, Pelew, Ponapé, Marshall). + + _Gallus gallus_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. + 21 (Micronesia); Cram, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 140, 1927, pp. 238, + 328 (Guam); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 81 (Kusaie); _idem_, + Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 266 (Kusaie); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, pp. 57, 286 (Marianas, + Carolines, Palaus); Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, + 32, 1946, pp. 294, 310 (Ulithi, Garakayo); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. + 525 (Saipan). + + _Gallus gallus domesticus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 198 (Marianas, Palaus, Carolines, Marshalls). + + _Gallus gallus micronesiae_ Hachisuka, Tori, 10, 1939 (1940), p. + 600 (Type locality, Truk, also from Pelew, Rota, Yap, Ponapé); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 222 (Saipan, Rota, + Babelthuap, Koror, Yap, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls). + + _Gallus gallus gallus_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 47 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Southeastern Asia and Malaysia; introduced + into many islands of Oceana. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Saipan, Rota; Palau Islands--Kayangel, Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Yap, + Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--exact locality not + known. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 (1 male, 2 females) as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 1 + (Sept. 13)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11). + + _Parasites._--Cram (1927:238, 328) found the round worms + (Nematoda), _Dispharnyx nasuta_ and _Oxyspirura mansoni_ in birds + from Guam. Bequaert (1939:81 and 1941:266) found the fly + (Hippoboscidae) _Ornithoctona plicata_, on fowl from Kusaie. + Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:294, 310) obtained the chiggers + (Acarina), _Neoschöngastia yeomansi_ and _N. ewingi_ from fowl at + Ulithi and Garakayo. + +_Remarks._--The Red Jungle Fowl has been introduced in Micronesia, as +it has been in other parts of Oceania. It is found on many of the +islands of Micronesia, including the volcanic islands and the atolls. +The NAMRU2 party did not find feral fowl at Guam but found the wary +birds at Ulithi and in the Palaus. The birds at Ulithi were small and of +a mixed breed. At Palau some fine examples of typical jungle fowl were +observed. Coultas obtained similar specimens at Ponapé and Kusaie. The +natives have apparently allowed these birds to go wild, but catch them +for food. These wild stocks may represent the earlier "liberations" +while domestic fowl kept by natives at present appear to include several +other breeds probably obtained from Europeans. + +The committee that prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka +_et al._, 1942:222) points out that although many ornithologists believe +the Red Jungle Fowl to be introduced in Micronesia and other parts of +Oceania, it is their opinion (based on a series of more than 100 skins +before them) that the population in Micronesia is racially distinct. +They further comment, as did Hachisuka (1939b:600), that one may find +hybrids between these birds and the domestic fowl belonging to the +native peoples; this is commonly seen on the more populated islands such +as Koror and Saipan. I have no doubt that these skins show distinct +features; nevertheless, I am reluctant to recognize these by subspecific +name, since the birds may be a mixture of domestic strains introduced by +man at different times after the jungle fowl was first brought by the +early Micronesians. It seems that the production of hybrids between the +feral and domestic fowl, which we find there today, may have been going +on ever since the European colonists arrived with their fancy breeds of +chickens. + + +=Phasianus colchicus= Linnaeus + +Ring-necked Pheasant + + _Phasianus colchicus_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. + 158. (Type locality, Africa, Asia = Rion.) + + _Phasianus torquatus_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 47 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Eastern China and northeastern Tonkin. Widely + introduced into North America, Europe, and New Zealand. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam (introduced). + +_Remarks._--On July 4, 1945, fifty-seven Ring-necked Pheasants (sixteen +cocks and forty-one hens) were liberated at Guam by personnel of the U. +S. Navy. The birds were eleven weeks old when released, having been +brought by plane from the hatcheries of the State Division of Game and +Fish in California. Twenty-four birds were liberated at the site of +CincPoa headquarters near Mt. Tenjo. Thirty-three were placed near the +FEA dairy farm, approximately one and one-fourth miles west of Price +School. One month after release the birds were present at the liberation +sites, although there were reports that some had drifted as far away as +a mile or more. The birds were not banded. This liberation has been +reported on by Quinn (1946:32-33) and by the author (1946b:211 and +1948:47). In using the name _P. colchicus_, I am following Delacour (in +McAtee, 1945:8) and the twenty-third supplement to the American +Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds (Auk, 65, +1948:440). + + +=Rallus philippensis pelewensis= (Mayr) + +Banded Rail + + _Hypotaenidia philippensis pelewensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 609, 1933, p. 3. (Type locality, Palau Islands.) + + _Rallus philippensis_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 831 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 37 (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p. 587 + (Palau); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 59 (Pelew); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum + Schulze der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459, Palau). + + _Rallus pectoralis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 107 (Pelew). + + _Eulabeornis forsteri_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. + 57 (Pelew). + + _Hypotaenidia philippensis_ Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, + 1882, p. 261 (Pelew); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 23, + 1894, p. 39 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 42 (Pelew). + + _Eulabeornis philippensis?_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 1, + 1910-1911, p. 199 (Pelew). + + _Hypotaenidia philippinensis philippensis_ Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 196 (Palau). + + _Rallus philippensis pelewensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 220 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 287 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 48 (Peleliu, Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Arakabesan, Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, slender rail with black crown + streaked with brown; superciliary stripe ashy-gray, lighter toward + bill; eye stripe brown becoming more rufous behind eye and on + nape; chin ashy-gray; throat near "mouse gray" tinged with olive + especially toward breast; breast, belly and sides barred with + black and white, with a broad "tawny" band on breast; posterior + part of belly and vent buffy with some barring; under tail-coverts + barred with black, white, and buff; mantle black with feathers + subterminally barred with white; back, scapulars, inner + wing-coverts, and rump black with white spotting and feathers + edged with olive brown; outer wing-coverts, secondaries, and + primaries barred with black and rufous with some buffy-white on + outer webs; under wing barred black and white with some brownish + markings; tail with both bars and blotches of black, white, and + buffy-rufous; maxilla horn-colored; mandible yellowish; feet light + brown. + + _R. p. pelewensis_ resembles _R. p. philippensis_ Linnaeus of the + Philippines, but is darker with nape more rufous-brown; upper + parts marked with narrower and darker edgings to feathers and with + pronounced whitish spotting. + Resembles _R. p. chandleri_ (Mathews) of Celebes, but with wing + shorter; more pronounced band on breast; bird darker above and + below; rump and upper tail-coverts less spotted. + + _Measurements._--Specimens in the collection of the United States + National Museum measure as follows: four adult males--wing, 130-134 + (132); tail, 59-63 (61); full culmen, 30-37 (34); tarsus, 38-45 + (43); four adult females--wing, 125-130 (127); tail, 54-61 (58); + full culmen, 29-35 (32); tarsus, 38-42 (40). Mayr (1933c:4) lists + the following measurements: twelve adult males--127-143 (134.6); + tail, 54-65 (60); exposed bill, 25-28 (27.7); tarsus, 41-46 (43.5); + three adult females--wing, 129, 136, 136; tail, 56, 57, 58; exposed + bill, 23, 24, 25; tarsus, 40, 41, 42. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (18 males, 9 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 4 (Sept. 18, 19, + 20)--Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 27, 28, Sept. 16)--Arakabesan, 1 (Nov. 26); + AMNH--exact locality not given, 18 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--The condition of the gonads in specimens obtained + indicates that the breeding season is principally in the fall and + winter. Of adult rails taken by Coultas in October, November and + December, 1931, 6 of 12 males and 3 or 4 females had enlarged + gonads. In September, 1945, the NAMRU2 party obtained two adult + males with swollen testes. Marshall (1949:219) recorded breeding in + September and November. + + _Food habits._--Stomachs of rails obtained by the NAMRU2 party + contained insects, seeds and small mollusks. Coultas (field notes) + notes that the birds eat snails, roots and other vegetable matter. + +_Remarks._--_Rallus philippensis_ is geographically widespread, being +found from Tasmania and Australia north to Malaysia and the Philippines +west to Cocos Keeling Island east to Melanesia and western Polynesia and +north to the Palau Islands. The species is divisible into several +subspecies. The one in the Palaus, although distinctive, does not appear +to have undergone a higher degree of differentiation (even though +isolated as a small population) than any of the subspecies in Malaysia +or Melanesia. Perhaps the form on Palau as well as the relatively +undifferentiated _Poliolimnas cinereus_ are rather recent invaders of +Micronesia, as compared with _Rallus owstoni_ and _Aphanolimnas monasa_. + +The Banded Rail is less secretive in habits than _Rallus owstoni_ of +Guam, and neither was seen to fly. At Angaur, Peleliu and Garakayo, the +NAMRU2 party found the rail in areas of swamp and marsh as well as in +the rocky uplands; it probably prefers the former habitats. Several +rails were observed and shot in open places, but they probably prefer to +remain in dense cover. Coultas found the birds at taro patches and +swamps. I watched a rail feeding along an open trail on Garakayo. The +bird was eating small mollusks and other items which were in the open +area. Being a true skulker, the bird would make a quick dash to the +feeding place, remain only a few moments, hurriedly return to the +protective cover, and then repeat the process. The best means that I +found of obtaining these birds was using traps baited with peanut butter +and oatmeal. The traps had to be visited frequently or the ants made +short work of the captured birds. + + +=Rallus owstoni= (Rothschild) + +Guam Rail + + _Hypotaenidia owstoni_ Rothschild, Novit. Zool., 2, 1895, p. 481. + (Type locality, Guam.) + + _?Rallus philippinus_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 51 (Marian or Ladrone Is.). + + _Rallus pectoralis_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Centralpolynesiens, + 1867, p. 157 (Guam). + + _Eulabeornis forsteri_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. + 57 (Marian). + + _Hypotaenidia philippensis_ Pelzeln, Ibis, 1873, p. 41 (Marianne + Isl.); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 261 + (Marianas); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 23, 1894, p. + 39 (Guam). + + _Rallus philippinus_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 59 (Guam). + + _Hypotaenidia owstoni_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 62 + (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, pp. 41, 67 (Guam); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 265 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, + p. 961 (Mariannes); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. + 79 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 42 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 34, 1927, p. 22 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 84 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 196 (Guam). + + _Hypotaenidia marchei_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., + Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 32 (Type locality, Guam). + + _Hypotaenidia oustini_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 30 (Guam). + + _Rallus owstoni_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 166 + (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 220 (Guam); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 287 (Guam); _idem_, Audubon Mag., 47, + 1945, p. 279 (Guam); Watson, Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); + Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 536 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 48 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large rail with head, neck, and eye stripe + near "mummy brown" with feathers on sides of neck tipped with + "russet"; superciliary stripe to back of neck, throat and upper + breast near "mouse gray"; mantle, back, scapulars, and some upper + wing-coverts dark olive-brown becoming browner on rump and upper + tail-coverts; wings dark with brownish spots and barred with + white; lower breast, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and tail + blackish with white barrings; bill lead colored; feet dark brown; + tibia brown; iris red. + + _Measurements._--Four adult males measure: wing, 120-123 (121); + tail, 46-54 (50); full culmen, 37-43 (41); tarsus, 47-51 (50); six + adult females measure: wing, 108-118 (112); tail, 38-46 (42); full + culmen, 36-39 (37); tarsus, 43-47 (45). + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained specimens with the following + weights: two adult males 256, 257; four females 147, 153, 210, 252 + grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 13 (5 males, 6 females, 2 + unsexed), from Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam (Jan. 29, May 8, June + 19, 20, 23, 28, 30, July 14, 19, 23, Sept. 8). + + _Nesting._--A nest was found by McElroy of the NAMRU2 party at Guam + on October 24, 1945, in dense grass on a hillside near Mount Santa + Rosa. The nest contained three eggs, which the author (1948:48) + describes as "white with a pinkish cast and a scattering of small + spots of colors near 'russet' and near 'pear blue' which are + concentrated at the large ends. They measure 37.5 by 29.1, 39.1 by + 28.0, and 40.7 by 29.0." Downey, black chicks were found on April + 1, May 16, and May 26. M. Dale Arvey found a chick on August 2, + 1946, near Tumon Bay. A parent bird with young ones was seen near + Merizo on October 2. A male taken on January 26 had enlarged + gonads. Seale (1901:30) obtained a black chick in June or July. On + the basis of the above observations it seems that the nesting + season extends from spring to fall, although Marshall (1949:219) + assumes that this rail breeds the year around. + +_Remarks._--The Guam Rail was first reported by Quoy and Gaimard who +called it "Ralê tiklin," but was not described as new until 1895 by +Rothschild. It appears to be equally at home in upland grassy areas and +in jungle areas. The species was not seen frequently by the NAMRU2 +party, although birds were occasionally observed crossing the roads. Few +birds were shot; most of the specimens were taken in rat traps, which +may be the most satisfactory method of obtaining them. Coultas took his +specimens with the aid of a dog. On June 19, 1945, a small patch of +woodland was being removed by a bulldozer. Four rails, which were hiding +in this thicket, were surrounded and three were captured by hand. These +birds tried to escape over the cleared ground by running with wings +flapping but made no effort to fly. I am inclined to believe, as the +natives do, that these birds are virtually incapable of actual flight. + +The Guam Rail usually appeared to be a quiet bird, but at Tarague Point +on July 12, 1945, I heard its loud penetrating cry; it was a series of +rapid screeches. At the same time rapid movement made considerable noise +in the undercover. The bird making the call suddenly appeared, either +rapidly chasing, or being chased by, another rail. The birds had +abandoned their usual skulking habits and had little concern for the +observer. I took this to be breeding behavior, comparable to that of +some of the North American rails during the mating period. + +The Guam Rail is probably not in serious danger of extermination. It is +utilized by the natives as food; they capture the bird, using dogs and +trail snares. Its skulking habits and ability to inhabit most types of +cover on the island should insure its existence for a long time to come. + +_Evolutionary history._--_Rallus owstoni_ is endemic to the island of +Guam with no closely related forms nearby. It is one of the several +rails found in the Pacific which live on isolated islands. In comparison +with other species in the region, it has some resemblance to both _R. +torquatus_ and _R. philippensis_. In general, the underparts of _R. +owstoni_ resemble those of the _R. philippensis_ group, although the +upper parts resemble somewhat those of _R. torquatus_. Certain specimens +of _R. owstoni_ have a slight indication of a pale pectoral band. The +bill is shorter and heavier than that of _R. torquatus_, possibly more +like that of _R. philippensis_. The short rounded wing is a distinctive +character. The bird came from an ancestral stock possibly resembling _R. +philippensis_ and probably originated in the Philippine or Papuan areas. +It may have invaded Micronesia at an early date and may have had a wider +distribution in the islands in former times. Perhaps this same invasion +resulted in the establishment of _R. wakensis_ (Rothschild) at Wake. The +supposed route of colonization is shown in figure 9. + +[Illustration: FIG. 9. Routes of dispersal of rails in the Pacific area.] + + +=Rallina fasciata= (Raffles) + +Malay Banded Crake + + _Rallus fasciatus_ Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 2, + 1822, p. 328. (Type locality, Benkulen, western Sumatra.) + + _Rallina fasciata_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), + p. 831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 7, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 37 (Palau); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 264 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 60 (Pelew); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., + 23, 1894, p. 75 (Pelew); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schutze der + Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459 (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 41 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 88 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 196 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 171 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 221 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 287 (Palau); + Delacour, Birds Malaysia, 1947, p. 77 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Burma east and south to Malaysia and the + Philippines. In Micronesia: Palau--exact locality unknown. + +_Remarks._--The Malay Banded Crake is known in the Palau Islands from +birds taken by captains Tetens, Heinsohn, and Peters and by Kubary +according to Finsch (1875: 37). It has not been taken by later +collectors. Two unsexed and undated skins are in the collection of the +American Museum of Natural History; these are from the Kubary +collection. + + +=Rallina eurizonoides eurizonoides= (Lafresnaye) + +Philippine Banded Crake + + _Gallinula eurizonoïdes_ Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., 1845, p. 368. (No + locality; the type agrees with specimens from the Philippine + Islands.) + + _Rallina eurizonoides eurizonoides_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev. + 1932, p. 196 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 221 (Koror). + + _Rallina eurizonoides_ subsp. Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Philippine Islands. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--This crake is apparently a straggler to western Micronesia +from the Philippine area. + + +=Aphanolimnas monasa= (Kittlitz) + +Kusaie Black Rail + + _Rallus monasa_ Kittlitz, Denks. Riese russ. Amer. Micron. und + Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 30. (Type locality, Kushai.) + + _Rallus tabuensis?_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 286 (Ualan). + + _Ortygometra tabuensis_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 297, + 307 (Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 106, 109 (Kushai); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 60 (Ualan). + + _Kittlitzia monasa_ Hartlaub, Abhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, 12, 1892, + p. 391 (Kuschai); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 17, 1893, p. 1 + (Kuschai). + + _Aphanolimnas monasa_ Sharpe, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 1892, p. + 20 (Kuschai); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schulze der Vogelwelt, 18, + 1893, p. 457, pl. 4 (Ualan); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1893, p. 214 + (Kushai); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Museum, 23, 1894, p. 115 + (Kushai); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 110, 113 (Ualan); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 93 (Caroline + Islands); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 197 (Kusaie); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 189 (Kusaie); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 221 (Kusaie); Mayr, + Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 288 (Kusaie); _idem_, Audubon + Mag., 47, 1945, p. 280 (Kusaie). + + _Porzana tabuensis_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 23, 1894, p. + 111 (Kushai). + + _Pennula monasa_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 969 (Kuschai). + + _Porzana tabuensis tabuensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 42 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie (probably + extinct). + + _Characters._--Sharpe (1894:115) gives the following description: + "Adult. Black with a bluish-grey reflexion; quills and tail + somewhat browner; inner wing-coverts brownish with white spotting, + outer edge of first primary dull brownish, chin and middle of the + throat somewhat paler; bill blackish (Hartlaub.)." + +_Remarks._--Two specimens of this rail are known. The two were taken by +Kittlitz on his visit to Kusaie in December and January of 1827-'28. +Coultas made a search for the bird in 1931 and failed to obtain it; he +suggested that the high population of introduced rodents may have been a +factor contributing to its extinction. The bird is considered to be +extinct by the authors of the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et +al._, 1942:221). + +The two known specimens are in Leningrad, and Mayr sent examples of +_Porzana tabuensis_ there for comparison. The following is a translation +of the letter received by Mayr from Boris Stegmann dated at Leningrad, +December 7, 1937. + +"I have compared the two specimens of _Porzana tabuensis_ with our +specimens of _Aphanolimnas monasa_. The difference is in my opinion of +generic value. _Aphanolimnas_ is distinctly larger and more robust. The +bill is not only absolutely but also relatively longer. Its length +(measured from the forehead) reaches to the end of the second phalanx of +the middle toe while it not nearly reaches it in _tabuensis_. The +proportions of feet and toes are the same in both, but the feet are +distinctly heavier in _Aphanolimnas_. The wings are relatively shorter +in _Aphanolimnas_ and the wing feathers are very soft. The wing is also +much more rounded, the first primary is about 21 mm. shorter than the +wing tip. The tail consists of very soft loose feathers which resemble +only distantly true tail feathers. It is therefore questionable whether +this bird was at all able to fly. + +"The coloration is in general dull black, brownish black on head and +wings, chin and upper throat are dark slate colored lighter in the +middle. The under wing and tail-coverts are marked with scattered white +spots (querflecken). The first primary has an irregular whitish brown +margin on the outer web. The bill is dark and the feet yellowish." + +Possibly this rail represents an ancient colonization of Kusaie from an +ancestral stock of _Porzana_ in Polynesia. Mayr (1941b:203) is also of +this opinion, and if this is true there is no close relationship between +_Aphanolimnas_ and the rails at Guam and Wake, _Rallus owstoni_ and _R. +wakensis_, which are probably colonizers from the Philippines or the +Papuan area. Mayr (1943:46) remarks further that the Hawaiian +flightless rail (_Peuula_) is of doubtful taxonomic position, but may be +related to the "_Aphanolimnas_-_Porzanoidea_-_Nesophylax_ stock," +although there is no evidence that _Pennula_ is not related to _Rallus_. +Supposed colonization routes are shown in figure 9. + + +=Poliolimnas cinereus micronesiae= Hachisuka + +White-browed Rail + + _Poliolimnas cinereus micronesiae_ Hachisuka, Bull. British Ornith. + Club, 59, 1939, p. 151. (Type locality, Yap.) + + _Ortygometra quadristrigata_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 90, 107 (Pelew, Uap). + + _Ortygometra cinerea_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 38 (Palau, Yap); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 + (Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 273 (Yap, Pelew); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 61 (Pelew, Yap, Ruk); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum + Schulze der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459 (Palau). + + _Ortygometra cinerea = quadristrigata_ Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk). + + _Poliolimnas cinereus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 23, 1894, + p. 130 (Pelew, Yap, Ruk); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 64 + (Guam); _idem_, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Scale, Occ. + Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 30 (Guam); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Mariannes); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 265 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 + (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 42 (Guam, Pelew, Yap, Ruk). + + _Porzana cinerea_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 21, 1914, p. 54 (Guam, + Truk). + + _Porzana cinerea ocularis_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 31, 1924, p. 264 + (Ruk, Guam). + + _Poliolimnas cinereus collingwoodi_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 95 (Pelew, Marianne, Carolines); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 197 (Guam, Koror, Yap, + Truk); Hachisuka, Birds Philippine Islands, 1, 1932, p. 236 + (Marianne, Pelew, Caroline); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 198 (Marianne, Caroline, Pelew); Bryan, Guam Rev., vol. + 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 288 (Guam, Palau, Yap, Truk, Bikini); Delacour and Mayr, + Birds Philippines, 1946, p. 64 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 48 (Ulithi?, Truk). + + _Porzana cinerea collingwoodi_ Rensch, Mitt. Zool., 1931, p. 468 + (Marianne, Karolinen, Palau). + + _Poliolimnas cinereus micronesiae_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. + 679 (Bikini); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 221 + (Guam, Babelthuap, Koror, Yap, Truk, Bikini). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau + Islands--Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi?, Truk; + Marshall Islands--Bikini. + + _Characters._--Adult: A slightly built, long-legged rail with + forehead and anterior crown light gray with darker, slate-colored + feather shafts; color more olive-brown on occiput and nape; + eyestripe dark slate extending to occiput; superciliary from bill + to eye, and stripe below eye, white; chin and throat ashy-white; + sides of head, neck and breast ashy-gray, lighter on breast and + whitish on abdomen; sides of abdomen ashy-brown becoming more + buffy on tibia and under tail-coverts; mantle olive-colored + becoming lighter and more brownish on back, rump, and scapulars; + wing-coverts similar in color but feathers with broad dark brown + shaft-marks; wings brown, first primary with whitish outer web; + under wing gray with some lighter streaks; tail dark brown, + lighter on edges; bill horn colored, tan below; feet brown; iris + vermillion. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head more rufous, upper parts + marked with buffy rufous; eye stripe light rufous-brown; + underparts tinged with rufous. + + _P. c. micronesiae_ differs from _P. c. collingwoodi_ Mathews of + the Philippines by having more pale gray and less olivaceous-brown + on the nape and shoulder; darker on the under tail-coverts; and + having a shorter culmen. _P. c. brevipes_ (Ingram) of the Volcano + Islands differs from _P. c. micronesiae_ by being paler on upper + parts, particularly back and wing-coverts and more washed with buff + below; by having a shorter, thicker culmen; and by having a shorter + tarsus. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are shown in table 17. + + +TABLE 17. MEASUREMENTS OF THREE SUBSPECIES OF _Poliolimnas cinereus_ + + ========================+=====+========+=======+===========+=========== + LOCALITY | No. | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + ------------------------+-----+--------+-------+-----------+----------- + _Poliolimnas cinereus | | | | | + collingwoodi_ | | | | | + Philippines, | 13 | 98 | | 22.5 | 38.0 + Talaut. Celebes | | 92-108 | | 21.0-24.0 | 35.0-41.0 + | | | | | + _Poliolimnas cinereus | | | | | + micronesiae_ | | | | | + Guam | 10 | 95 | 51 | 21.0 | 37.0 + | | 91-102 | 50-53 | 20.0-22.5 | 34.5-39.0 + | | | | | + Palau | 10 | 93 | 51 | 21.0 | 37.0 + | | 89-95 | 51-53 | 20.0-23.0 | 34.0-38.0 + | | | | | + Truk | 5 | 95 | 51 | 21.0 | 36.0 + | | 94-97 | 51-53 | 20.5-22.5 | 35.0-37.0 + | | | | | + _Poliolimnas cinereus | | | | | + brevipes_ | | | | | + S. Dionisio Island | 8 | 96 | | 19.0 | 30.0 + | | 94-97 | | 17.0-20.0 | 29.0-32.0 + ------------------------+-----+--------+-------+-----------+----------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 25 (11 males, 13 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Guam, 10 (July 13, + Aug. 1, 5, 7, 13, 19, 23, 31); Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality + not given, 10 (Nov. 11, 13, 15, 23, 25); Caroline Islands, + AMNH--Truk, 5 (June 3, 8, 16, 17, 18). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1900:9) describes two nests found on swampy + ground. One contained three eggs, the other four eggs. He writes, + "The eggs are pale buff, or cream-colour, speckled all over with + brownish rufous, more frequently near the broad end. In some eggs, + these spots are larger, in others minute, and there are often some, + underlying pale purplish gray spots." + +_Remarks._--Superficially, the White-browned Rail of Micronesia is +distinct from its near relative, _P. c. collingwoodi_, but the +differences are not so well marked as they are between insular +populations of other species of rails. It is probably a comparatively +recent addition to the Micronesian avifauna, and its pattern of +distribution may represent an early stage in the development of endemism +in contrast to the pattern of later stages in the development of insular +forms shown by the isolated rails, _Rallus owstoni_ and _Aphanolimnas +monasa_. The fact that _Poliolimnas cinereus_ is found only on widely +separated islands in Micronesia does not necessarily mean that it has +become "extinct" on the intervening islands, but that it may be partial +to the larger, "high" islands, or that it is actually present but +remains to be discovered on these intervening islands when more +intensive field investigations are made. Hachisuka (1939a:151), in +naming the Micronesian form, comments that it has a shorter bill than +_P. c. collingwoodi_ of the Philippines and Celebes, and that it is +intermediate between this subspecies and _P. c. brevipes_ of the Volcano +Island to the north. Within these three subspecies there are trends +toward a shorter culmen and shorter tarsus and, less markedly, toward a +shorter wing. From the evidence at hand, it can be concluded that +_Poliolimnas_ first colonized Micronesia probably from the Philippine +area (or Papuan area) through the Palaus and Carolines, to the Marianas +and north to the Volcano Islands. Further, this has probably been a +relatively recent invasion, although the subspecies in the Volcano +Islands shows marked change in length of tarsus and culmen. This +extension of range to the islands north of the Marianas is unusual and +resembles somewhat the distribution of _Nycticorax caledonicus_ in the +same general area. + +The Micronesian White-browed Rail is a shy bird with the typical +skulking habits of most rails. The NAMRU2 party did not find the bird at +Guam, although reports were obtained that it was present in the marsh +and swamp areas. Coultas (field notes) tells of observing the rail at +Palau at a fresh water lake on Babelthuap, where it was difficult to +obtain and apparently rare. Seale (1901:30) obtained a female specimen +at Guam from native boys who snared it in a sweet potato patch near the +Agaña River. This bird, taken in June or July, had eggs ready for +laying. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party observed rails at Truk in brackish +swamps, where he found them to be fairly common. A male which was taken +in December had enlarged gonads. At Asor in the Ulithi Atoll, the NAMRU2 +party learned that a small rail (possibly of this species) was found at +taro patches in the early days of occupation, but that it was apparently +eliminated by clearing operations. The taking of a bird at Bikini, as +reported by Yamashina (1940:679), is further evidence that these birds +may subsist on coral atolls as well as on the high volcanic islands; +possibly the bird of the Marshalls may have been derived from the south +rather than from the west. Unlike _Rallus owstoni_, this bird is +apparently restricted to swampy areas, and may be eliminated from its +habitat by drainage or clearing by man. It may always persist, however, +in the taro patches maintained by the natives. + + +=Gallinula chloropus= subsp. near =orientalis= Horsfield + +Gallinule + + _Gallinula orientalis_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, + 1821, p. 195. (Type locality, Java.) + + _Gallinula chloropus indicus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 197 (Babelthuap); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 266 (Pelew, Coror). + + _Gallinula chloropus indica_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 221 (Babelthuap). + + _Gallinula chloropus_ subsp. Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 49 (Peleliu, Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Malaysia from southern Malay Peninsula to + Celebes. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu, + Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _G. c. indica_ Blyth, _G. c. + lozanoi_ Lletget and _G. c. guami_ Hartert, but smaller and paler; + upper wing-coverts less olivaceous-brown and more slate-colored; + back, rump, and scapulars less richly washed with + olivaceous-brown. Resembles _G. c. orientalis_ from Java in size, + but much paler. + + _Measurements._--An unsexed adult bird from Angaur measures: wing, + 150; bill from rictes, 27.1; bill from nostril, 13.4; tarsus, 46. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 (2 males, 1 unsexed) from + Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur (Sept. 21). + +_Remarks._--Owing to the lack of sufficient material, I am unable to +determine the exact status of the resident gallinule in the Palau +Islands. On the basis of a single, unsexed adult and two immatures there +is not very much that can be said. The adult is smaller and paler than +_G. c. indica_, _G. c. lozonoi_, and _G. c. guami_. It resembles +specimens of the subspecies _G. c. orientalis_ in size but is also paler +than the skins of this race which I have examined. It seems closest to +this latter subspecies to which I tentatively refer it. If it is closest +to this subspecies, it probably reached Palau from the Celebean region, +rather than from the Philippines or some other route. Whether specimens +taken by the Japanese at Babelthuap and Koror are _G. c. indica_ is +questionable, unless the skins were from migrants which may visit Palau +from the west or northwest. The Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka +_et al._, 1942:177) records _G. c. indica_ from the Bonin Islands. + +The three Gallinules were taken by the NAMRU2 party at fresh and +brackish water swamps at Angaur on September 21, 1945. Several +Gallinules were seen in the area and several were observed also at +Peleliu Island. One of the immatures was just growing its wing feathers, +indicating that the birds must breed in the Palau Islands. + + +=Gallinula chloropus guami= Hartert + +Gallinule + + _Gallinula chloropus guami_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 24, 1917, p. + 268. Type locality, Guam). + + _Fulica chloropus_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, + p. 703 (Guam); Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan). + + _Gallinula galeata_ var. _sandwichensis_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 34 (Saypan, Tinian, Guam). + + _Gallinula chloropus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 62 + (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 31 + (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); _idem_, Amer. + Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 265 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 + (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Marianen); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Wetmore, in Townsend and + Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 177 (Guam); + Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 536 (Guam). + + _Gallinula chloropus guami_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 15, 1921, + p. 1843 (Guam); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 199 (Guam); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 43 (Guam, Tinian, + Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 99 + (Mariana Islands); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, + 1932, p. 226 (Pagan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 197 + (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan); Hachisuka, Birds Philippine + Islands, 1, 1932, p. 241 (Guam); Peters, Checklist Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 204 (Marianne Islands); Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. 13, no. + 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 222 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 288 (Marianas); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, + 1946, p. 92 (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 525 (Saipan); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 49 (Guam, + Tinian, Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Saipan, + Tinian, Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult: Head and neck sooty black; upper back dark, + bluish slate-gray; lower back and wing-coverts brownish; tail + blackish-brown; wings dark brown, outer edge of first primary + white; breast and upper abdomen dark slate-gray, feathers on sides + of breast with longitudinal white streak; under wing dark with + white edges; lower abdomen grayish with white-tipped feathers; + vent black; under tail-coverts white; bill and frontal shield red, + tip of bill yellowish; legs and feet olive-green. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male but usually with smaller + frontal shield. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but forehead mottled white and brown, + with sides of head less distinctly speckled with brown; crown, + neck and upper back dusky brown; back, scapulars and upper + tail-coverts olivaceous-brown; chin and throat whitish; breast + feathers pearly-gray tipped with white; abdomen white; sides gray, + washed with buff. Older birds are darker above and more + brownish-gray below; frontal shield small. + + _G. c. guami_ resembles _G. c. indica_, but upper wing-coverts + darker and near "olivaceous black"; back, rump and scapulars + darker and less olivaceous brown, although not so dark as in _G. + c. orientalis_. From _G. c. lozanoi_, _G. c. guami_ differs in: + slightly darker upper wing-coverts; richer olivaceous-brown on + back, scapulars and rump; thinner culmen with possibly less yellow + coloring on tip. _G. c. guami_ resembles _G. c. sandvicensis_ + Streets of the Hawaiian Islands, but has less olive wash on the + feathers and a smaller frontal shield. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _Gallinula chloropus_ are + presented in table 18. In general, females are smaller than males. + + +TABLE 18. MEASUREMENTS OF _Gallinula chloropus_ + + =====================+=====+=========+========+===========+======== + | | | Bill | Bill | + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | from | from | Tarsus + | | | rictus | nostril | + ---------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+-------- + _G. c. indica_ | 15 | 164 | 27 | 14.4 | 48 + | | 158-173 | 24-29 | 13.1-18.1 | 44-50 + | | | | | + _G. c. orientalis_ | 3 | 152 | 27 | 13.8 | 45 + | | 146-152 | 26-29 | 13.1-14.4 | 44-46 + | | | | | + _G. c. lozanoi_ | 11 | 164 | 27 | 14.5 | 50 + | | 153-170 | 24-29 | 13.1-15.2 | 45-57 + | | | | | + _G. c. guami_ | 11 | 164 | 27 | 14.7 | 49 + | | 156-171 | 24-28 | 13.1-16.2 | 47-56 + | | | | | + _G. c. sandvicensis_ | 2 | 150-158 | 27 | 13.4 | 52-56 + ---------------------+-----+---------+--------+-----------+-------- + + + _Weights._--From Guam an adult male weighed 291 grams and an adult + female 256 (Baker, 1948:49). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (16 males, 22 females, 4 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 5 (Feb. 24, May, + June 5, 7, 18--Tinian, 3 (Oct. 12, 18)--Saipan, 3 (Sept. 28, 30); + AMNH--Guam, 25 (Feb. 21, April 6, July 13, 28, 30, Aug. 1, 3, 6, 7, + 13, 19, 23, 30, 31, Sept. 3, 17, Dec. 11--Tinian, 5 (June 11, Sept. + 12, 13, 14). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1898:63) reports nests of the Gallinule at + Guam in grass and on swampy ground in December and March. A male + with enlarged gonads was taken by the NAMRU2 party at Guam on June + 7. Marshall (1949:219) is of the opinion that this bird breeds all + year. + + _Food habits._--Seale (1901:31) found grass, insects, and larvae + in stomachs obtained at Guam. + +_Remarks._--The subspecies _G. c. indica_, _G. c. lozanoi_, _G. c. +guami_, and _G. c. sandvicensis_ bear a close resemblance to one another +in size and color. _G. c. guami_ and _G. c. lozanoi_ resemble each other +so closely that it would be difficult to separate unlabeled specimens of +the two subspecies. _G. c. orientalis_ differs from all of the +gallinules in smaller size and darker color. Study of these forms +indicates that the Gallinule has colonized the Marianas from Asia +probably by way of Japan and the Bonin and Volcano islands. The Hawaiian +subspecies is probably of American origin, as pointed out by Mayr +(1943:46), and is not a close relative of the Mariana subspecies. The +fact that these insular subspecies have not undergone much +differentiation does not necessarily mean that they are recent arrivals, +but probably is a reflection of the lack of plasticity of the species; +as a whole the species does not exhibit anywhere a great amount of +geographic variation. A thorough study of all insular populations of +this species (including specimens from the Azores, Seychelles, Réunion, +Mauritus, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles) might reveal the effect +of isolation on the species in general. Its ability to become +established on isolated islands is apparent, although it is indeed +peculiar that the species has not reached the Caroline Islands. + +The Gallinule in the Marianas is restricted to fresh water lakes, +marshes and swamps on the islands of Guam, Tinian, Saipan and Pagan. +Coultas (field notes), on visiting the island of Tinian in 1931, +comments that the bird is rare and found at only one lake on the island. +Downs (1946:92) noted the species in 1945, and Joe T. Marshall Jr. +obtained three specimens at Lake Hagoya in October of the same year. +Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of Gallinules on Tinian in +1945 at 70 individuals. Stott (1947:525) reports that the birds were +abundant at Lake Susupe, Saipan, in 1945. Seale (1901:31) found the +Gallinule to be abundant at Guam in marshes and taro patches. In 1945, +the NAMRU2 party found fairly large populations of the Gallinule in +fresh water marshes and fallow rice paddies at Guam. The greatest +concentration of birds appeared to be in the Agaña Swamp and along the +Ylig River. They seldom ventured out into open water but preferred weedy +edges into which they could suddenly dart when disturbed. It was +interesting to note such wary behavior, for an observer would think that +after the bird had been in an environment virtually devoid of birds of +prey (except for an occasional migrant) for a number of generations, it +would have lost such behaviorisms as a result of the absence of the +selective processes involved in predation. + + +=Porphyrio porphyrio pelewensis= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Purple Swamphen + + _Porphyrio melanotus_ Temm. var. _pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 107. (Type locality, Pelew + Islands.) + + _Porphyrio melanotus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, + 1871, p. 64 (Pelew). + + _Porphyrio melanotus pelewensis_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 61 (Pelew); Bolau, + Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 70 (Palau); Dubois, + Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 976 (Pelew); Mathews, Birds Australia, 1, + 1911, p. 241 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 43 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. + 100 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 197 (Palau); + Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 1, 1932, p. 245 (Pelew). + + _Porphyrio pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 39 (Palau); Salvadori, Atti Accad. Sci. Torino, 14, 1879, p. + 1169 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schutze der + Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 459 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 23, 1894, p. 206 (Pelew); Nehrkorn, Nat. Eiers., 1899, p. + 205 (Palau-Inseln); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 + (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 216 (Palauinseln); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Pelew). + + _Porphyrio cyanocephalus_ Elliot, Stray Feathers, 7, 1878, pp. 10, + 13 (Palau). + + _Porphyrio poliocephalus pelewensis_ Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 2, 1934, p. 208 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 222 (Koror). + + _Porphyrio porphyrio pelewensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 288 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 49 (Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, purplish-blue, marsh bird with + crown and sides of head dusky-black; wing-coverts purplish-blue; + rest of upper parts dark, washed with olivaceous-brown; outer webs + of primaries and secondaries tinged with purplish-blue; chin, + axillaries and under wing-coverts dusky; under tail-coverts + whitish; rest of underparts purplish-blue, blacker on abdomen. + + _Porphyrio p. pelewensis_ resembles _P. p. palliatus_ Bruggemann + of Celebes and _P. p. melanopterus_ Bonaparte of the Moluccas and + New Guinea but upper parts paler and slightly less glossy; lesser + and primary wing-coverts more purplish-blue and less + greenish-blue; outer webs of primaries and secondaries lighter + purplish-blue; underparts less blue with patch on throat and + breast paler blue with less green (patch present on only one + specimen from the Palaus). + + _Measurements._--Measurements of one male: wing, 227; tail, 81; + culmen and shield, 62.5; tarsus, 77; of three females: wing, 212, + 218, 227; tail, 77, 81, 86; culmen and shield, 57, 61, 64; tarsus, + 75, 75, 77. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 6 (1 male, 3 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur, 1 chick (Sept. + 21) AMNH--exact locality not given, 5 (Nov. 13, 19, Dec. 17-19, + undated). + + _Nesting._--A black, downy chick was captured on September 21, + 1945, at the edge of a fresh-water lake on Angaur by Davidson of + the NAMRU2 party (Baker, 1948:49). Two females taken by Coultas in + December had enlarged gonads. + +_Remarks._--The Purple Swamphen in the Palaus stands out as one of the +more distinctive subspecies of _P. porphyrio_. It also marks the most +northeastern extension of the range of this species. The subspecies in +the Palaus shows affinities to that found to the south and southwest and +probably reached Micronesia via the Papuan area, Celebes or the Moluccas +rather than from the Philippines. It is interesting that this bird, as +well as several other species, has been able to establish itself at the +Palau Islands, but has not extended its range farther into other islands +of Micronesia. Perhaps, the bird is now in an early stage in its island +occupation. + +The Purple Swamphen is probably not abundant in the Palaus. It is a +large and conspicuous bird, and its restriction to swamps and areas +around lakes may allow native hunters to obtain it rather easily, +particularly by snares or by organized drives. Coultas (field notes) +obtained specimens in taro swamps; he saw only 4 individuals and remarks +that the birds utter harsh cries at night. The NAMRU2 party flushed an +adult from lake side vegetation at Angaur on September 21, 1945. This +bird was not taken, but a downy young was obtained in the area the same +day. + + +=Fulica atra atra= Linnaeus + +Common Coot + + _Fulica atra_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 152. (Type + locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Fulica atra_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, pp. 64, 69 (Guam); + Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 32 (Guam); + Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); _idem_, The Plant World, + 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 43 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 + (Guam). + + _Fulica atra atra_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 15, 1921, p. 1852 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 197 (Tinian, + Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 222, (Tinian, + Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Europe, northern Africa, and Asia. + Winters south to Africa, Malaysia, southern Asia. In Micronesia: + Mariana Islands--Tinian, Guam. + +_Remarks._--The Common Coot is a straggler to Micronesia in winter. It +has been recorded from Guam and Tinian. An unsexed specimen in the +collections of the American Museum of Natural History was taken at Guam +in the fall of 1896 by one of Owston's collectors. + + +=Squatarola squatarola= (Linnaeus) + +Black-bellied Plover + + _Tringa Squatarola_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 149. + (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.) + + _Charadrius squatarola_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 + (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 35 (Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas). + + _Squatarola squatarola_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 + (Ruk); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); _idem_, + Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of + Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. + 8, 1919, p. 72 (Ruk); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. + 15 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 216 (Saipan, + Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 36 (Truk); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 50 (Guam). + + _Squatarola helvetica_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 61 (Marianas, Ruk). + + _Squatarola squatarola hypomelaena_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 43 (Ruk, Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 193 (Saipan, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in arctic regions of Holarctica. + Winters in Southern Hemisphere. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam, Saipan; Caroline Islands--Truk; Marshall + Islands--Eniwetok. + + _Specimens examined._--One female from Mariana Islands. USNM--Guam + (Aug. 27). + +_Remarks._--The Black-bellied Plover is an uncommon visitor to +Micronesia. One bird was obtained by Markley of the NAMRU2 party at Guam +on August 27, 1945; Flavin recorded five of these birds from November, +1944, to January, 1946. Bryan and Greenway (1944:109) record this +species as an occasional visitor to the Hawaiian Islands. Gleise and +Genelly (1945:221) observed the Black-bellied Plover at Eniwetok in +1945. + + +=Pluvialis dominica fulva= (Gmelin) + +Pacific Golden Plover + + _Charadrius fulvus_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 687. + (Type locality, Tahiti.) + + _Charadrius pluvialis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké., Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Longounor, Guahan); + _idem_, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, + pp. 32, 55 (Ualan). + + _Charadrius virginianus_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen, Carolinen). + + _Charadrius longipes?_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 47 (Ladrone or Marian Islands, Oualan). + + _Pluvialis fulvus_ Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 29, 1865, p. 52 + (Micronesie). + + _Charadrius fulvus_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Central-polynesiens, 1867, p. 196 (Marianen, Ualan); Hartlaub and + Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 117, 118 (Pelews); + Finsch and Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1870, p. 139 (Pelew); + Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1872, p. 52 (Pelew, Carolinen); + Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 104 + (Pelew, Mackenzie, Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, + p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 31 + (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 38 + (Ponapé); _idem_., Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); + _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 293, 305 (Ponapé, Kuschai); + _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 (Taluit); Schmeltz and + Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 353 (Ponapé, + Ruk); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 106, 109, 113, 115 (Kushai, + Ponapé); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 395 (Carolines, + Pelews, Marianas); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 55 + (Jaluit, Milli, Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 63 (Marshall Islands, + Ualan, Luganor, Ponapé, Ruk, Uap, Pelew, Marianne); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 46 (Guam, + Hogoleu, Marshalls, Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool. 5, 1898, p. 66 + (Guam); _idem_, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Seale, Occ. + Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 36 (Micronesia); + Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 132 (Marshalls); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 266 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 + (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 + (Ponapé). + + _Charadrius dominicus fulvus_ Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, + 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam). + + _Charadrius dominicus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, + p. 195 (Micronesia). + + _Pluvialis dominicus fulvus_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, + pt. 8, 1919, p. 89 (Kuschai, Pelew, Ruk, Marianas, Mackenzie, + Ponapé); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., + 63, 1919, p. 177 (Uala, Arhno, Rongelab); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 44 (Guam, Angaur, Ualan, Luganor, + Ponapé, Ruk, Yap, Arhno); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 216 (Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Angaur, + Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, + Likieb). + + _Pluvialis apricarius fulvus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 193 (Saipan, Tinian, Babelthuap, Koror, Pelilieu, Angaur, + Yap, Uluthi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, + Likieb). + + _Pluvialis dominica fulva_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 244 (Oceania); Bryan, Guam, Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, + p. 24 (Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 3 + (Saipan, Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ruk, Tarawa); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Oceania); Downs, Trans. Kansas + Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 93 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 536 + (Guam); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. + 525 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 50 (Guam, Rota, Peleliu, Garakayo, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Pluvialis dominica_ Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, + 32, 1946, pp. 306, 310, 313, 316, 318 (Ulithi, Guam); Wharton, + Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds from Siberia to western Alaska. Winters + from India east to Oceania; stragglers occur west to Africa and + east to Pacific coast of North America. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Agrihan, Asuncion; Palau + Islands--Angaur, Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo, Koror, Babelthaup; + Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie; + Marshall Islands--Mille, Arhno, Rongelab, Majuro, Likieb, Bikini. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 69 (39 males, 26 females, 4 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 17 (July 8, 19, + 24, Aug. 31, Sept. 4, 17, 19, 26, Oct. 5, 8, 23, 24)--Rota, 5 (Oct. + 20, 25); AMNH--Guam, 6 (Mar. 7, 8, 27, Aug. 15)--Saipan, 1 (Sept. + 8)--Asuncion, 2 (Feb. 16); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 9 (Sept. + 6-20)--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 20); AMNH--exact locality not given, 7 + (Oct. 13, Nov. 13, 15); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 4 (Aug. 16, + 21); AMNH--Kusaie, 9 (Mar. 10-30)--Ponapé, 2 (Dec. 15)--Truk, 3 + (Feb. 6); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 3 (Mar. 4, 7, May 3). + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174, 175) records the following + chiggers (Acarina) from _Pluvialis_ taken by the NAMRU2 party at + Guam: _Acariscus pluvius_, _A. anous_, _Neoschöngastia carveri_, + and _N. namrui_; and at Ulithi: _N. pauensis_ and _N. ewingi_. + + _Weights._--Birds taken at Guam and Rota weighed as follows: seven + males, 107-125 (117); four females, 109-120 (114). + +_Remarks._--The Pacific Golden Plover is one of the most abundant +migratory shore birds to visit Micronesia. So characteristic of +Micronesia is this species that almost all ornithologists who have made +observations in the area have recorded it. Finsch observed the plover in +the Carolines and Marshalls. Coultas made notes on, and collected +specimens of, it in the Marianas, Carolines, and Palaus. The Hand-list +of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1942:216) lists _Pluvialis_ from +17 islands in Micronesia. + +Stickney (1943:3, 4) discusses the migrations of the Pacific Golden +Plover through Oceania, using as a basis for her remarks the data from +the extensive collections made by the Whitney South Sea Expedition. She +states that the northward migration begins in March from the southern +islands (New Zealand and southern Australia). At Guam in 1945, the +writer observed flocks of plover beginning on February 11. Birds were +seen in small groups in March and April. In the latter month most of the +birds seen were in nuptial plumage. For the year 1945, the latest spring +record at Guam was April 28. In the same year, Gleise (1945:220) +observed his last spring record at Tinian "between April 26 and 27." In +1946, Morrison obtained plover in nuptial plumage at Bikini on May 3. + +In an effort to obtain dates when shore birds appeared at Guam, field +parties of NAMRU2 made observations at several beaches in late spring, +summer, and early fall, as is shown in table 8. Pacific Golden Plovers +in post-nuptial molt were first observed and collected on July 8. +Following this date, small flocks and later large flocks were more +numerous; by September 29, plover were abundant. Similar findings were +obtained at Ulithi (see table 9) and in the Palau Islands (see table 10) +in August and September. The birds collected by the NAMRU2 party at +Guam, Ulithi, Peleliu, and Garakayo in July, August, September, and +early October were in postnuptial molt. Birds taken at Rota on October +20 and 26 were in winter plumage. Downs (1946:93) observed plover in +small flocks at Tinian in 1945, beginning after September 5. Borror +(1947:417) saw two birds at Agrihan on August 10, 1945. + +The flocks of plover seen by the NAMRU2 party varied in size from three +to 30 birds, the average being less than ten. Coultas (field notes) +noted "large flocks" at the Palaus from October to December, 1931. +Although plover was often found on the same beach as other birds, the +NAMRU2 observers rarely saw plover together with other shore birds. +However, on air strips _Pluvialis_ occasionally occurred with small +numbers of _Arenaria_, _Heteroscelus_ spp., and _Numenius phaeopus_. +_Pluvialis_ and _N. phaeopus_ were the only shore birds found to use +open grassy flats and other inland areas at Guam and Peleliu in 1945. + +Stickney (1943) records _Pluvialis_ in late spring and summer from +Polynesia, indicating these to be birds remaining in the winter range +during the breeding season. The NAMRU2 party observed no Pacific Golden +Plovers at Guam which might be regarded as non-migrants, but other +species of shore birds were found which might be considered as such. The +lingering of individuals in the winter range is not unusual among +migratory birds, and as Stickney points out, most of the non-migrants +retain their winter dress or assume an incomplete breeding plumage. + + +=Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus= Bonaparte + +Semipalmated Plover + + _Charadrius semipalmatus_ Bonaparte, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., + 5, 1825, p. 98. New name for _Tringa hiaticula_ Ord. not + _Charadrius hiaticula_ Linnaeus, in Wilson's Amer. Ornith., Ord. + repr., 7, 1824, p. 65. (Type locality, Coast of New Jersey.) + + _Charadrius hiaticula_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 331 (Taluit); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Taluit or Bonham); Schnee, Zool. + Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 (Marschall-Inseln); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Taluit). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds from Arctic America south to coastal + Canada. Winters from southern United States to South America. In + Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--Finsch (1880d:331) reported this bird (sight record) at +Jaluit in the Marshall Islands. Other than this observation, there is no +history of the species in Micronesia. + + +=Charadrius dubius curonicus= Gmelin + +Ring-necked Plover + + _Charadrius curonicus_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 692. + (Type locality, Kurland.) + + _Charadrius dubius curonicus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 194 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 + (Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 37 (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Europe and Asia. Winters + from Africa east to Malaysia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Caroline + Islands--Yap. + +_Remarks._--The Ring-necked Plover has been recorded at Yap by the +Japanese collectors. Mayr (1945a:37) remarks that the bird is an +occasional migrant through Micronesia. Gleise and Genelly (1945:221) +observed four "Papuan" Ring-necked Plovers at Eniwetok in 1945. +Apparently no specimen was obtained. + + +=Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis= Deignan + +Kentish Plover + + _Charadrius alexandrinus nihonensis_ Deignan, Journ. Washington + Acad. Sci., vol. 31, 1941, p. 106. (Type locality, Aomori, Hondo.) + + _Charadrius cantianus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 31 (Palau). + + _Aegialitis cantianus_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Pelew). + + _Aegialitis alexandrinus dealbatus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Pelew). + + _Charadrius alexandrinus dealbatus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 194 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 217 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 37 + (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Japan and possibly on adjacent parts + of the Asiatic mainland. Winters south to Malaya. In Micronesia: + Palau Islands--exact locality unknown. + +_Remarks._--The Kentish Plover is known from a single record obtained by +Semper in the Palau Islands. It is tentatively assigned to _C. a. +nihonensis_, which breeds directly north of the Palau Islands on Japan. +_C. a. dealbatus_ (Swinhoe) breeds more to the west on the Asiatic +mainland and adjacent islands south of Japan. Additional specimens are +needed before the subspecific status of migrants to Micronesia can be +accurately determined. + + +=Charadrius mongolus stegmanni= Stresemann + +Mongolian Dotterel + + _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ Stresemann, Ornith. Monatsb., 48, + 1940, p. 55. New name for _Charadrius mongolus littoralis_ + Stegmann, 1937, preoccupied. (Type locality, Behring Island.) + + _Charadrius sanguineus_ Lesson, Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, p. 330 (No + type locality = Mariana Islands, _ex_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 48); _idem_, Traité d'Ornith., + 1831, p. 544 (no locality = Mariana Islands); Hartlaub, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen). + + _Charadrius mongolicus_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 48 (Guam, Jaluit, Palaos, Carolines); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 36 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, + 1902, p. 68 (Guam). + + _Aegialitis mongolus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk). + + _Aegialis mongola_ Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. + 80 (Guam). + + _Aegialites mongola_ Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam). + + _Ochthodromus mongolicus_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, + p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk). + + _Charadrius mongolus_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 132 (Ruk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 38 + (Micronesia). + + _Charadrius mongolus mongolus_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 11-12, + 1920, p. 1543 (Marianen, Karolinen); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 194 (Guam, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie, Jaluit, Majuro); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 253 (Carolines, + Marianas); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 50 (Guam, + Peleliu, Ulithi). + + _Cirrepidesmus mongolus mongolus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 44 (Guam, Ruk). + + _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 217 (Guam, Peliliu, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie, Jaluit, + Majuro). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Siberia and Bering Sea + area. Winters south to eastern Malaysia, Melanesia, and Australia. + In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Angaur, + Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie; Marshall + Islands--Jaluit, Majuro. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (4 males, 5 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 2 (June 7, Sept. + 1); AMNH--Guam, 3 (Aug. 15, 18, Nov. 30); Palau Islands, + USNM--Peleliu, 3 (Sept. 7-12); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 + (Aug. 22); AMNH--Truk, 1 (Feb. 8). + +_Remarks._--According to Oustalet (1896:48), Lesson used two specimens +of this species, which were collected in the Marianas by the expedition +in the "Uranie," as types for his _Charadrius sanguineus_. + +The Mongolian Dotterel is a regular visitor to western Micronesia. It is +recorded also from the Marshall Islands, which it probably reaches from +the westward by way of the Carolines, since the species has not been +recorded in the Hawaiian Islands. + +A bird taken by the writer at Guam on June 7, 1945, was in winter +plumage and probably nonmigratory. The species was recorded also at Guam +in September. At Peleliu in September, 1945, the Mongolian Dotterel was +seen frequently on tidal flats by the NAMRU2 party. On September 8 there +was a flock of approximately fifty birds, in company with _Charadrius +leschenaultii_, at Akarakoro Point. In August at Ulithi, birds were on +the beaches in company with _Crocethia alba_. At Angaur on September 21, +1945, the species was with other shore birds in small groups at fresh +water ponds. + +I am tentatively referring all specimens examined to _C. m. stegmanni_ +although at this writing (1948) I am inclined to the opinion that a +critical reexamination of the referred specimens might reveal one or a +few individuals of the subspecies _C. m. mongolus_ Pallas. + + +=Charadrius leschenaultii= Lesson + +Large Sand Dotterel + + _Charadrius Leschenaultii_ Lesson, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. Levrault, + 42, 1826, p. 36. (Type locality, Pondichery, India.) + + _Charadrius griseus_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 544 + (Oulan). + + _Charadrius geoffroyi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, + 1875, pp. 5, 31 (Palau). + + _Aegialitis geoffroyi_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. + 299 (Ualan, Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew, Ualan). + + _Ochthodromus geoffroyi_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, + 1896, p. 217 (Pelew, Ualan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 62 (Pelew). + + _Pagoa leschenaultii_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 44 (Pelew, Kusaie, Yap). + + _Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 193 (Yap, Kusaie, Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 216 (Yap, Kusaie, Palau). + + _Charadrius leschenaultii_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 38 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 51 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Asia south to Persia. Winters from + Malaysia east to Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Yap, Kusaie. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 9 (2 males and 7 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 7 (Sept. 6-12); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 2 (Nov. 21, 25). + +_Remarks._--The Large Sand Dotterel is a regular visitor to the Palau +Islands. It has been recorded also at Yap and Kusaie in the Carolines, +where it may be considered as an uncommon visitor. + +At Peleliu, the species was seen on several occasions in September, +1945, by the NAMRU2 party. The birds were found on tidal flats in +company with _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ in flocks of 10 to 30 +individuals. + + +=Numenius phaeopus variegatus= (Scopoli) + +Whimbrel + + _Tantalus variegatus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. + 2, 1786, p. 92. (Type locality, Luzon, _ex._ Sonnerat.) + + _Scolopax phaeopus_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 566 + (Marianas). + + _Numenius phaeopus_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 304 (Ualan, Guahan), Hartlaub, Journ. + f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. + Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 129 (Ualan); Hartlaub, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 831 (Pelew, Matelotas); + Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 + (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 106 (Uap, + Pelews); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); + Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 35 (Palau); _idem_, + Journ. f Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 307 (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, + pp. 107, 109, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, + Ruk); Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. + 308, 316, 318, 320 (Ulithi, Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, + 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam). + + _Numenius tenuirostris_ Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. + und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 55 (Marianas, Ualan). + + _Numenius uropygialis_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 43 + (Pelew). + + _Numenius variegatus_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 332 + (Pelew, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Marianne, Pelew, + Matalotas, Luganor, Ruk, Ponapé, Ualan); Sharpe, Cat. Birds + British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 361 (Micronesia); Safford, The Plant + World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam). + + _Numenius phaeopus variegatus_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 39 (Mariannes, Palaos, Carolines, + Jaluit); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); _idem_, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 + (Marianas); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 + (Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, + Carolines, Pelews); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); + Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1649 (Guam); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Marianas, Carolines, Palaus, + Marshalls); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 261 + (Caroline, Marianne, Pelew); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, + 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 + (Guam, Koror, Babelthuap, Ngulu, Yap, Uluthi, Iuripik, Truk, + Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Wotze); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Micronesia); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 + (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 525 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. + Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 51 (Guam, Angaur, Peleliu, + Ulithi). + + _Phaeopus phaeopus variegatus_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 178 (Guam); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Palaus, Carolines, + Marians). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters from + Malaysia east to Oceania. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; + Palau Islands--Angaur, Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline + Islands--Ngulu, Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Iuripik, Ponapé, + Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Wotze. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 26 (9 males, 17 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 16 (June 4, 6, July 24, 26, + 27, Sept. 1, 19, 25, Oct. 8); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 5 + (Sept. 8, 12, 14)--Angaur, 4 (Sept. 21); Caroline Islands, + USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 17). + + _Weights._--At Guam, the NAMRU2 party obtained the weights of two + males, 373 and 435, and of six females, 295-426 (384). + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174, 175) lists the following species + of chiggers (Acarina) taken from the Whimbrel at Guam: _Acariscus + pluvius_, _A. anous_, _Neoschöngastia strongi_, and _N. carveri_; + and at Ulithi: _N. namrui_ and _N. atollensis_. + +_Remarks._--The Whimbrel is an abundant visitor to western Micronesia. +It was first taken by Quoy and Gaimard, who found it in the Marianas. It +is recorded in the Marshall Islands (Jaluit and Wotze), but apparently +reaches these islands from the west, since the species is unknown in the +Hawaiian Islands. + +As shown in table 8, the NAMRU2 party observed the Whimbrel at Guam on +spring migration in March, 1945, the last record being on March 21. In +June and July, single birds or small groups were occasionally seen on +the tidal flats. Some of these birds may have been nonmigratory. +Beginning on July 24, more birds were recorded as they began to migrate +south after their nesting season. Whimbrels were numerous from August +until the conclusion of the observations in October. Birds were abundant +at the Palaus in September; only a few were noted at Ulithi in late +August. The Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of +Natural History made collections of this species at several islands in +Micronesia. At Ponapé, Coultas (field notes) writes that in November and +December, 1930, a few birds were seen on the reefs and at the edges of +mangrove swamps. At Peleliu in October to December, 1931, he found +Whimbrels concentrated on a small islet between Koror and Babelthuap. At +both Ponapé and Palau Coultas received reports that the birds remain at +the islands throughout the year. + + +=Numenius tahitiensis= (Gmelin) + +Bristle-thighed Curlew + + _Scolopax tahitiensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 656. + (Type locality, Tahiti, Society Islands, based on the Otaheiti + Curlew of Latham, Gen. Syn., 3, pt. 1, 1785, p. 122, no. 4.) + + _Numenius femoralis_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 + (Jaluit, Arno). + + _Numenius tahitiensis_ Seebohm, Geogr. Dist. Charadriidae, 1887, + p. 332 (Marshalls); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Marianne?, Marshalls); + Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 367 (Marianas, + Marshalls); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 + (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 + (Marianas, Pelews); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 49 (Marianas, Marshalls); Bent, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 146, + 1929, p. 143 (Jaluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 192 (Saipan, Marshalls); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, + p. 261 (Marshalls); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Jarchi); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Saipan, Jaluit, + Arhno, Maloelab, Wotze, Ailuk, Ringelab, Larchi); Stickney, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 4 (Ponapé, Marshalls); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Marshalls, straggler to Carolines + and Marianas). + + _Phaeopus tahitiensis_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 179 (Rongelab); Ridgway, Bull. U. + S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 407 (Marianas, Marshalls). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in western Alaska. Winters in eastern + and central Polynesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan; + Caroline Islands--Ponapé; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Arhno, + Moloelab, Wotze, Ailuk, Rongelab, Larchi, Bikini. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 6 (3 males, 3 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé, 2 (Dec. 15); Marshall + Islands, USNM--Bikini, 4 (Mar. 10, 14, April 2, 30). + +_Remarks._--The Bristle-thighed Curlew is a regular migrant through the +Marshall Islands of eastern Micronesia. It is recorded as a straggler to +the Caroline and Mariana islands. Stickney (1943:4, fig. 1) shows a map +and discusses the breeding and wintering ranges of this curlew. As can +be observed from her map, the principal wintering areas are east and +south of Micronesia. She records the species from the Bonin Islands, +which is the westernmost record. + +It is difficult to offer plausible reasons for the present migratory +habits of the Bristle-thighed Curlew. It is related to both the Asiatic +form, _N. phaeopus_, and to the American species, _N. hudsonicus_, but +its origin is not understood. The characteristics of its route of +migration resemble that of some continental migrants and might have come +about by a slow adjustment of the species to its environment, probably +through an expansion of range from the west. + + +=Numenius madagascariensis= (Linnaeus) + +Long-billed Curlew + + _Scolopax madagascariensis_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, 1, 1766, + p. 242. (Type locality, Madagascar, error = Manila, Philippine + Islands, _fide_ Stresemann.) + + _Numenius cyanopus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); + Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 35 + (Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. + Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 + (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1645 (Guam); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Guam); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Guam). + + _Numenius madagascariensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 214 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 40 + (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 51 (Guam, Ngesebus). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Siberia. Winters from + Malaysia east to Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Peleliu, Ngesebus. + +_Remarks._--The Long-billed Curlew is a regular visitor to western +Micronesia, especially to the Palau Islands. It is apparently a less +common migrant in the Marianas, although it has been recorded from Guam. +At Guam, the NAMRU2 party observed a single bird on June 6 and two on +October 3 at tidal beaches. At Peleliu these large curlews were seen on +several occasions between September 9 and 16, 1945. They were found +usually as singles feeding on tidal flats in company with other +shorebirds. + + +=Limosa lapponica baueri= Naumann + +Pacific Godwit + + _Limosa Baueri_ Naumann, Naturg. Vög. Deutschl., 8, 1836, p. 429. + (Type locality, New Holland = Victoria, _apud_ Mathews; Novit. + Zool., 18, 1912, p. 220.) + + _Limosa uropygialis_ Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 299 (Mortlock). + + _Limosa novae-sealandiae_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Luganor). + + _Limosa lapponica baueri_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 + (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 + (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); _idem_, The Plant + World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, + 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 101 + (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel + pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1641, (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 46 (Carolines, Marianas); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Marianas, Carolines); Bryan, + Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. + Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 5 (Guam, Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 41 (Oceania); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 + (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 + (Guam, Peleliu). + + _Limosa lapponica novazealandiae_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, + p. 8 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Guam, + Truk). + + _Limosa rufa uropygialis_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, + p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia and northwestern + North America. Winters from Malaysia east to Oceania. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Peleliu; Caroline + Islands--Truk. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 5 (2 males, 3 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Guam, 2 (Sept. 26); Palau Islands, + USNM--Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 7); AMNH--exact locality not given, 2 (Nov. + 21, 23). + +_Remarks._--The principal wintering grounds of the Pacific Godwit are +probably in Australia and New Zealand according to Stickney (1943:5). +The bird reaches these areas from Arctic breeding grounds by migrating +to a great extent along the edge of the Asiatic Continent. It may also +be considered as a regular migrant in western Micronesia, and probably +reaches eastern Micronesia as an uncommon visitor, since it is +occasionally recorded in the Hawaiian Islands. + +At Guam in 1945, the NAMRU2 party found the Pacific Godwit at tidal +beaches on April 26 and October 15. Strophlet (1946:537) recorded one +bird from Guam on October 20, 1945. At Peleliu, the NAMRU2 party found +birds at beaches on September 7 and 16. Coultas (field notes) reported +that "a few" were seen at Peleliu from October to December, 1931. +McElroy did not find any of these birds at Truk in December, 1945. + + +=Tringa nebularia= (Gunnerus) + +Greenshank + + _Scolopax nebularis_ Gunnerus, in Leem, Beskr. Finm. Lapper, 1767, + p. 251. (Type locality, District of Trondhjem, Norway.) + + _Glottis nebularius_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 47 (Yap); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, + p. 225 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Yap, + Truk). + + _Tringa nebularis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 + (Yap, Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 41 (Yap, + Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 + (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Eurasia. Winters in + Mediterranean area, Africa, southern Asia, Malaysia, Australia and + Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Peleliu; Caroline + Islands--Yap, Truk. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 4 (1 male, 3 females) from + Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu (Aug. 28, Sept. 14, 15). + +_Remarks._--The Greenshank has been recorded at the Palau Islands and at +Yap and Truk in the Caroline Islands. It is apparently a regular visitor +to western Micronesia. It probably reaches the western Carolines as an +occasional visitor from the region of the Palaus to the westward, +rather than from the northward, since the bird has not been observed in +the Marianas. + +The NAMRU2 party observed two small flocks of these birds at Peleliu in +August and September, 1945. One group of six birds was found wading in +the shallow water of a mangrove swamp on August 28. Another group of +three birds was seen on a tidal beach on September 14 and 15, where they +were observed feeding apart from other species of shore birds. + + +=Tringa melanoleuca= (Gmelin) + +Greater Yellow-legs + + _Scolopax melanoleuca_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 659. + (Type locality, Sandy shores of Labrador = Chateau Bay, Labrador.) + + _Tringa melanoleuca_ Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 46, 1934, p. 313 + (Jaluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Jaluit). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Alaska and Canada. Winters from + California east to the Gulf States and the West Indies and south to + South America. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + +_Remarks._--Kuroda records one specimen of the Greater Yellow-legs from +Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is a straggler to Oceania and +has not been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands. + + +=Tringa glareola= Linnaeus + +Wood Sandpiper + + _Tringa glareola_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 149. + (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.) + + _Totanus glareola_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 8, 1896, p. 43 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, pp. + 65, 69 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, + p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Guam); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam). + + _Rhyacophilus glareola_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 48 (Guam, Angaur). + + _Tringa glareola_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 + (Guam, Angaur, Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 213 (Guam, Anguar, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 41 (Guam, Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 52 (Anguar). + + _Tringa glariola_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Eurasia from Norway and + Germany east to Siberia, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka. Winters from + Africa east to southern Asia, Malaysia, and Australia. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Anguar, Koror. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 (1 male, 1 female), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 1 (October 26). + +_Remarks._--Marche, in 1877, first recorded the Wood Sandpiper in +Micronesia (at Guam). In the Marianas it is apparently an uncommon +migrant but it is considered to be a regular visitor in the Palau +Islands. At the Palaus in September, 1945, the writer found the bird at +a fresh water pond on Angaur. It was not observed on the tidal beaches +at Peleliu. + + +=Actitis hypoleucos= Linnaeus + +Common Sandpiper + + _Tringa Hypoleucos_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1858, p. 149 + (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.) + + _Totanus hypoleucos_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 552 + (Marianas). + + _Totanus (Tringoides) hypoleucus_ Gray, Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 51 (Marianas). + + _Actitis hypoleuca_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 8 (Pelew). + + _Actitis hypoleucus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. + 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 36 + (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + pp. 299, 353 (Ruk, Mortlock); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Luganor, Marianne, + Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris (3), 8, 1896, + p. 43 (Guam, Palaos, Luganor). + + _Tringoides hypoleucos_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 46 + (Pelew, Ladrone); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 318 + (Pelew). + + _Tringoides hypoleucus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, + p. 456 (Micronesia); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. + 51, 62 (Pelews, Marianas). + + _Totanus hypoleucus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 + (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam). + + _Actitis hypoleucos_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 372 (Micronesia); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 47 (Marianas, Carolines, Pelews); Peters, Check-list + Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 269 (Micronesia); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. + 13, no. 1, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 42 (Micronesia); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Guam, + Peleliu, Ulithi). + + _Tringa hypoleucos_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 + (Marianas, Carolines, Pelews); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed. + 1942, p. 214 (Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu, Angaur, Ulithi, + Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Europe and Asia. Winters from Africa + east to Polynesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Saipan; + Palau Islands--Angaur, Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline + Islands--Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 12 (4 males, 7 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 4 (July 16, + Sept. 20); AMNH--Saipan, 1 (July 27); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, + 3 (Sept. 9, 14).--Koror, 1 (Nov. 7); AMNH--exact locality not + given, 2 (Nov. 11, 19); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. + 22). + + _Weights._--The present author (1948:52) recorded the weight of one + male taken at Guam as 67 grams, and of two females as 57 and 63 + grams. These were fall migrants taken by the NAMRU2 party. + +_Remarks._--The Common Sandpiper has been known from Micronesia since +the time of Lesson. Tetens, Peters and Kubary obtained specimens in the +Palaus; the latter collector obtained the bird at Lukunor and probably +also at Truk. In recent years several collectors have taken the birds in +western Micronesia, where the species appears to be a regular visitor. +Field observations by the NAMRU2 party indicate that the birds are +usually found as singles and remain apart from other species of +migratory shorebirds which visit the islands. The margins of inland +ponds and beaches consisting of rocks and pebbles appear to be +preferred over the sandy, tidal flats. At Peleliu on September 9, 1945, +two birds were taken at a bare bank of coral at an inland pond. These +were the only two Common Sandpipers seen at the island. A specimen taken +by the NAMRU2 party at Ulithi on August 22 at a beach, piled with debris +from ships, has its entire and underparts stained by fuel oil. + + +=Heteroscelus brevipes= (Vieillot) + +Gray-tailed Tattler + + _Totanus brevipes_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 6, 1816, p. + 410. (No locality given, the type is from Timor.) + + _Totanus pedestris_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 552 + (Marianne, Ualan). + + _Totanus brevipes_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Lougounor, Guahan); + Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 51 (Ladrone or + Marian Is.); Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 129, 162 + (Puynipet, Ualan). + + _Totanus incanus_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesians, 1867, p. 187 (Mariannen, Ualan, Puynipet); + Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 322 (Micronesia); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 65 (Mulgrave, Taluit, Ualan, Ponapé, Ruk, + Luganor, Uap, Pelew, Marianas); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 41 (Saypan, Guam, Jaluit, + Carolines, Palaos). + + _Heteractitis brevipes_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 35 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 + (Marianas); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 + (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Wetmore, in + Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 180 + (Uala = Truk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. + 170 (Carolines). + + _Heteractitis brevis_ Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. + 47, 101 (Marianen). + + _Heteroscelus brevipes_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 367 (Western Pacific); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 270 (Carolines). + + _Tringa incana brevipes_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, + p. 1623 (Guam, Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 + (Palaus, Carolines); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 213 (Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur, Yap, Iuripik, Faraulep, Truk, + Ponapé). + + _Heteroscelus incanus brevipes_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 47 (Pelew, Yap, Ruk); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu + Kiu, 1925, p. 177 (Micronesia); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 1248, 1943, p. 5 (Saipan, Guam, Palau, Ruk, Kusaie); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 43 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Guam, Peleliu, Truk). + + _Heteroscelus incanus_ Wharton and Hardcastle (part), Journ. + Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 296, 316, 318 (Guam, Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Siberia and adjacent areas. + Winters south to Malaysia and east to Australia and Oceania. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Saipan; Palau Islands--Angaur, + Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands--Yap, Truk, Iuripik, + Faraulep, Ponapé, Kusaie. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 39 (11 males, 27 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 16 (June 4, 6, + July 16, 24, Aug. 6, 27, Sept. 4, 6, 27, Oct. 23); AMNH--Saipan, 1 + (Sept. 8),--Guam, 5 (Feb. 11, Mar. 4, 13, Sept. 14, Dec. 5); Palau + Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 7 (Sept. 6-8, 16); AMNH--exact locality not + given, 4 (Nov. 8); Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 (Dec. 13); + AMNH--Truk, 3 (Feb. 6, 26, Oct. 14),--Kusaie, 2 (Mar., April). + + _Weights._--Weights of birds obtained by the NAMRU2 party were as + follows: three males from Guam, 90-104 (95); six females from Guam, + 99-116 (104). + +_Remarks._--It is not clear whether some of the accounts cited above +refer to this species or to the species, _Heteroscelus incanus_. Owing +to the fact that specimens used in some of these early reports have not +been examined by me, the identifications of the birds concerned cannot +be verified and consequently it is impossible to be certain to which +species some of the references pertain. In listing these accounts in the +literature, I am following Sharpe (1896:455) whenever possible. + +Tattlers were among the first birds observed and taken in Micronesia. +Quoy and Gaimard found them in the Marianas, and Kittlitz and Kubary +recorded the species in the Carolines. Kubary also reported the birds at +the Palaus. + +The Gray-tailed Tattler apparently does not reach the Marshall Islands +but visits only the western part of Micronesia. Stickney (1943:2) shows +a map of the known geographic range of this species in Micronesia. The +separation of _H. brevipes_ and _H. incanus_ in the field is not always +possible. For identification, the NAMRU2 party depended primarily on +specimens collected. At Guam, specimens of _H. brevipes_, thought to be +nonmigratory, were taken in early June. These were in winter plumage. +Beginning in mid-July there was an increase in the number of tattlers +seen; apparently fall migration had begun. At Peleliu in September, +1945, the NAMRU2 party found tattlers to be numerous. Apparently all +were of this species; no _H. incanus_ were taken there. On September 8, +approximately 75 individuals in small and large flocks were counted at +Akarakoro Point on the tidal flats. The birds remained apart from the +other shorebirds which were feeding at the same locality. + + +=Heteroscelus incanus= (Gmelin) + +American Wandering Tattler + + _Scolopax incana_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 658. (Type + locality, Eimeo = Moorea, Society Islands and Palmerton Islands.) + + _Totanus oceanicus_ Lesson, Mamm. et Ois., 2, 1847, p. 244 + (Kusaie); Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 1852, p. 135 + (Carolinen); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, pp. 167, 168 + (Carolinen, Mariannen). + + _Tryanga glareola_ Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und + Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 365, 2, pp. 55, 86 (Ualan). + + _Totanus incanus_ Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 5, no. 27, 1864, p. 74 + (Micronésie); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 322 + (Ualan, Puynipet, Marshalls, Mariannis); Wiglesworth (part), + Abhandl. und. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 65 (Mulgrave, Taluit, Ualan, Ponapé, Ruk, Luganor, Uap, Marianne, + Pelew); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), + 8, 1896, p. 41 (Saypan, Guam, Jaluit, Carolines, Palaos); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 64 (Guam); _idem_, Novit. Zool. 7, 1900, + p. 8 (Ruk); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 + (Marschall-Inseln). + + _Actitis incanus_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesions, 1867, p. 187 (Mariannen, Ualan, Puynipet); + Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 106 (Uap, Ualan); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, + p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 36 + (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 38 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 306 (Ponapé, + Kuschai, Marshalls); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, 115 (Kushai, + Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + p. 299 (Mortlock); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 55 + (Jaluit, Arno, Kuschai). + + _Actitis incana_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. + 781 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); + _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 219, 220, 330, 332 Milli or Mulgrave, + Taluit). + + _Heteractitis incanus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1906, + p. 455 (Oceania); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 + (Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Yap, Ruk, + Ponapé, Kusaie); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. + Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 179 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 70 (westcentral Pacific). + + _Heteroscelus incanus_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 367 (Carolines, Marianas); Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 2, 1934, p. 270 (Micronesia); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam): Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 42 + (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle (part), Journ. Parasitology, 32, + 1946, pp. 296, 316, 318 (Guam, Peleliu); Downs, Trans. Kansas + Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 93 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 + (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam); + Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan). + + _Tringa incana incana_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. + 1623 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 + (Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls, Palaus); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Saipan, Guam, Koror, Angaur, Yap, + Faraulep, Lamatrek, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Mille, Arhno, + Majuro, Maloelab, Wotze, Likieb, Ailuk). + + _Heteroscelus incanus incanus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 46 (Kusaie, Ruk, Ponapé, Yap, Marianas, + Mulgrave, Taluit, Pelew); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, + 1943, p. 7 (Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Ruk, Kusaie); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 42 (Palau, Marianas); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 53 (Guam, Rota, Ulithi). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Alaska south to Prince William + Sound. Winters in North and South America and west in Oceania to + Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, Saipan, + Agrihan; Palau Islands--Angaur, Koror; Caroline Islands--Yap, + Ulithi, Truk, Faraulep, Lamatrek, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall + Islands--Jaluit, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, Maloelab, Wotze, Likieb, + Ailuk, Bikini. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (23 males, 20 females, 4 + unsexed) as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 13 (May 21-29, + Sept. 19-27, Oct. 10, 23),--Rota, 2 (Oct. 23, 25); AMNH--Guam, 4 + (April 23, Aug. 16); Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given, + 1 (no date); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 3 (Aug. 20, 22); + AMNH--Truk, 1 (June 25),--Ponapé, 1 (Dec. 15),--Kusaie, 19 (Feb., + Mar., April 1-10); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 3 (Feb. 26, 28, + April 28). + + _Weights._--In 1948 (1948:53) I listed weights of two males from + Guam as 175 (May) and 109 (September); weights of two females from + Guam were 175 and 192 (both in May). These data were obtained by + the NAMRU2 field party. + + _Parasites._--Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:296, 316, 318) list the + following chiggers (Acarina) from tattlers taken by NAMRU2 + collectors at Guam and Peleliu: _Neoschöngastia bougainvillensis_, + _N. ewingi_, _N. carveri_, and _N. namrui_. Wharton (1946:174, + 175) records the chiggers, _Acariscus pluvius_ and _A. anous_, + from tattlers from Guam. It is not certain from which species of + _Heteroscelus_ these chiggers were obtained. + +_Remarks._--Records indicate that the American Wandering Tattler is a +regular visitor to eastern Micronesia, and that it only occasionally +reaches the Palau Islands in western Micronesia. + +The NAMRU2 field parties found _H. brevipes_ as singles or in small +groups of five or less. They remained apart from other species and +appeared to prefer rocky beaches and coral-reef rocks to the sandy +beaches. At Guam in 1945, the latest spring migrants were taken on May +29. These birds were in nuptial plumage. Birds taken at Bikini by +Morrison on February 26 and April 28, 1946, were in worn, winter +plumage. At Guam, the NAMRU2 observers obtained the first fall migrants +on September 19. These observations in 1945, showed that _H. incanus_ +arrived at Guam on its southbound flight fully one month after the first +individuals of _H. brevipes_ began to appear (mid-July). This difference +may partly result from the fact that the distance to the Asiatic +breeding grounds of _H. brevipes_ is not so great as that to the +American breeding grounds of _H. incanus_. + +Whether the two tattlers, _H. brevipes_ and _H. incanus_, are distinct +species (allopatric species insofar as breeding ranges are concerned), +or whether they are mere subspecies (geographic races) is open to +question. I failed to find evidences of intergradation in the few +specimens which I examined critically; however, the final answer to the +problem might be obtained by collecting series of birds from breeding +grounds where ranges closely approach each other or overlap (if they +do). Stickney (1943:6, 7) lists the distinctive differences in these two +birds, particularly the character of the nasal groove, and does not +mention having found any evidence of intergradation. Wetmore (in +Townsend and Wetmore, 1919:180) gives evidence that they belong to two +separate species. + + +=Arenaria interpres interpres= (Linnaeus) + +Turnstone + + _Tringa Interpres_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 148. + (Type locality, Europe and North America, restricted to Gotland, + Sweden.) + + _Tringa interpres_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, + p. 708 (Guam). + + _Strepsila collaris_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Lougounor, Guahan); + _idem_, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. + 32 (Ualan). + + _Strepsilas interpres_ Kittlitz, Denk. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. + und Kamchat., 2, 1858, pp. 32, 55, 86 (Ualan); Pelzeln, Reise + "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 117 (Mariannen); Finsch and Hartlaub, + Fauna Ornith. Centralpolynesian, 1867, p. 200 (Mariannen); + Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 831 (Pelew); + Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 + (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 104 (Pelew, + Uap, Mackenzie); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 + (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 32 (Palau); + _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 330, 332 (Taluit); _idem_, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 306 (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, + 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Nukuor, Ruk); + Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 289 (Pelew, Mariannis); + Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56 (Jaluit, Kuschai); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891); p. 63 (Ualan, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Mackenzie, + Pelew, Marianne); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), + 8, 1896, p. 45 (Guam, Saypan, Hogoleu, Marshalls, Mackensie, + Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam); _idem_, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 51 (Ponapé); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, p. 489 + (Ponapé). + + _Cinclus interpres_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 48 (Ladrones). + + _Arenaria interpres_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. + 92 (Micronesia); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 37 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); + _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. + Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 (Marshall Islands); Safford, Contr. + U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam), Cox, Island of Guam, + 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, + 32, 1946, pp. 316, 320 (Guam, Peleliu); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. + Sci., 49, 1946, p. 105 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 + (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam); + Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 53 (Guam, Rota, Peleliu, Truk). + + _Arenaria interpres oahuensis_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 66, 1919, p. 177 (Jaluit, Rongelab, Uala); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Guam, Saipan, + Pelew, Angaur, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Yap, + Mackenzie, Taluit, Rongelab). + + _Arenaria interpres interpres_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, + pt. 8, 1919, p. 45 (Micronesia); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 194 (Guam, Saipan, Anguar, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, + Nukuor, Ruk, Yap, Mackenzie, Taluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, + Wotze, Likieb); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 (Guam, + Saipan, Angaur, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Ruk, Yap, Mackenzie, + Taluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, Wotze, Likieb); Stickney, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 8 (Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern parts of the Northern + Hemisphere. Winters to Southern Hemisphere. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam, Rota, Saipan; Palau Islands--Angaur, Peleliu, + Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lugunor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, Wotze, + Likieb, Bikini. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 36 (17 males, 16 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands. USNM--Guam, 7 (Oct. + 10-26)--Rota, 2 (Oct. 20, Nov. 2); AMNH--Guam, 4 (Mar. 22, 27, Aug. + 18); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 8); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 3 (Dec. 8); Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 + (Dec. 22); AMNH--Ponapé, 4 (Dec. 16)--Truk, 4 (Feb. 5, 7, July + 14)--Kusaie, 7 (Mar. 10-30); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 3 + (Feb. 26, Mar. 4). + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained the weights of four males + taken at Guam and Rota as 77-99 (92) and one female from Guam as + 90. These birds were obtained in October and November. + + _Parasites._--Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:316, 320) list the + following chiggers (Acarina) from the Turnstone from Guam and + Peleliu: _Neoschöngastia carveri_ and _N. strongi_. Wharton + (1946:174) records also _Acariscus anous_ from the Turnstone at + Guam. Uchida (1918:489) records the bird louse (Mallophaga), + _Colpocephalum pediculoides_, from this bird at Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--The Turnstone is a regular visitor to Micronesia and to most +other parts of Oceania. As pointed out by Stickney (1943:8), the +material obtained by the Whitney South Sea Expedition yields evidence +that the population which winters in Oceania is as widespread as that of +_Pluvialis dominica fulva_ but less abundant. The writer's observations +at Guam, Ulithi and the Palaus are in agreement with this evidence. +Stickney suggests that the reason the Turnstone was not recorded by the +Whitney South Sea Expedition in eastern Polynesia was because of "a +tendency of the turnstone to hug the continental coasts more closely, +avoiding extensive overseas migrations." + +At Guam in 1945, the NAMRU2 party recorded the Turnstone on its +northward migration as late as March 19; on its southward migration it +was first seen at Guam on July 24. On its southward migration the bird +was not numerous until September. Our observations indicated that in +1945, the principal waves of migration of the Turnstone appeared +approximately two weeks after those of the Pacific Golden Plover and the +Whimbrel. Stickney remarks that the spring migratory season in Oceania +is completed in May and that the fall migratory season begins in August. +Borror (1947:417) found small flocks on the beaches at Agrihan on August +10 and 11, 1945. + +Bryan and Greenway (1944:112) indicate that the subspecies, _Arenaria +interpres morinella_, which breeds in North America, east of Point +Barrow, Alaska, may reach the Hawaiians. Careful examination of +specimens from eastern Micronesia might reveal its presence there also. +The name _Areneria interpres oahuensis_ (Bloxham) may apply to specimens +from eastern Micronesia but Peters (1934:271) considers _oahuensis_ to +be inseparable from _Arenaria interpres interpres_ (Linnaeus). + + +=Gallinago megala= Swinhoe + +Marsh Snipe + + _Gallinago megala_ Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 343. (Type locality, + Between Takoo and Pekin, China. + + _Gallinago heteroeaca_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 36 (Palau). + + _Gallinago megala_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 337 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 67 (Pelew); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., + 24, 1896, p. 624 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 + (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 33 + (Mariannas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Mariannas); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. + Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 + (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1665 (Palau, + Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 (Guam, Palau); + Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. + Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Angaur). + + _Subspilura megala_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 49 (Guam, Pelew). + + _Capella megala_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 + (Guam, Koror); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam); Robinson and Chasen, Birds Malay Peninsula, 3, 1936, p. + 170 (Pelew, Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 316 (Guam, Koror). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in east-central Asia. Winters south to + Malaysia, Australia, and parts of Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Koror, Angaur. + + _Specimens examined._--One female from Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur + (Sept. 21). + +_Remarks._--The Marsh Snipe is a regular visitor to western Micronesia, +being recorded from the Mariana and Palau islands. At Angaur on +September 21, 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed four birds at the edge of +a brackish water swamp, which was margined with reeds and other +vegetation. Birds were not seen on tidal beaches at Peleliu. Strophlet +(1946:537) records the Marsh Snipe at Guam on October 21 and December 3, +1945. + + +=Gallinago gallinago gallinago= (Linnaeus) + +Common Snipe + + _Scolopax Gallinago_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 147. + (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.) + + _Capella gallinago roddei_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 224 (Saipan). + + _Capella gallinago gallinago_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 193 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 216 (Saipan). + + _Gallinago gallinago_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 + (Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Eurasia. Winters in + southern part of breeding range and south to Africa and east to + Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan. + +_Remarks._--From Micronesia there is a single record of the taking of +this bird at Saipan, apparently by Japanese collectors. It is probably +an occasional straggler to the area, but owing to its similarity to +_Gallinago megala_ it may not often be recognized in the field. + + +=Crocethia alba= (Pallas) + +Sanderling + + _Trynga alba_ Pallas, in Vroeg's Cat., 1764, Adumbr., p. 7. (Type + locality, Coast of the North Sea.) + + _Calidris arenaria_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 331, 332 (Taluit); + _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56 (Jaluit); Seale, + Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 33 (Guam); + Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); _idem_, The Plant World, + 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 + (Marschall-Inseln). + + _Tringa arenaria_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Taluit); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, pp. 65, 69 (Guam). + + _Calidris alba_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, + p. 308 (Marshall Islands). + + _Crocethia alba_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 48 (Taluit, Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 + (Taluit, Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Jaluit, + Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 9 (Guam, + Jaluit); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 (Marianas, + Marshalls); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, + p. 54 (Ulithi). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Arctic regions of the Northern + Hemisphere. Winters to Southern Hemisphere. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam; Caroline Islands--Ulithi; Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 5 (2 males, 3 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Guam, 4 (Dec. 2-4); Caroline + Islands, USNM, 1 (Aug. 21). + +_Remarks._--Stickney (1943:8, 9) summarizes the available information +concerning the Sanderling in Oceania. The bird may be classed as a +regular visitor in eastern Micronesia; the most western record is from +Ulithi in the western Carolines. It has been recorded also at Guam and +Jaluit. + +The NAMRU2 party secured one Sanderling from a flock of approximately +thirty birds containing this species and _Charadrius mongolus stegmanni_ +at Pau Island, Ulithi Atoll, on August 21, 1945. + + +=Calidris tenuirostris= (Horsfield) + +Asiatic Knot + + _Totanus tenuirostris_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. + 1, 1821, p. 192. (Type locality, Java.) + + _Calidris tenuirostris_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, + no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Siberia. Winters from + India east to Malaysia and Australia. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--Peleliu. + + _Specimens examined._--Four males from Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu + (Sept. 16). + +_Remarks._--The Asiatic Knot was observed and obtained by the NAMRU2 +party at Peleliu in September, 1945. Flocks containing fifteen to twenty +birds were noted at the tidal flats of Akarakoro Point on September 8 +and 16. The birds appeared to remain apart from other shore birds in +this area. + + +=Erolia minuta ruficollis= (Pallas) + +Little Stint + + _Trynga ruficollis_ Pallas, Reise versch. Prov. Russ. Reichs, 3, + 1776, p. 700. (Type locality, "Circa lacus salsos Dauriae + campestris" = Kulussutai, southern Transbaikalia.) + + _Tringa minuta_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, pt. 3, 1871, p. + 50 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 36 (Palau). + + _Tringa albescens_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 316 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew). + + _Limonites minuta_ Takatsukasa and Kudora, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 + (Pelew). + + _Pisobia ruficollis_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 290 (Pelew). + + _Pisobia minuta ruficollis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 48 (Palau, Ulithi); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 192 (Palau, Ulithi). + + _Calidris ruficollis ruficollis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 215 (Palau, Ulithi). + + _Calidris minuta ruficollis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 45 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 54 (Rota, Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds from northeastern Siberia to + northwestern Alaska. Winters south from the Malay area to + Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota; Palau + Islands--Angaur, Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 16 (4 males, 12 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota, 1 (Oct. 20); Palau Islands, + USNM--Peleliu, 14 (Sept. 6-14)--Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21). + +_Remarks._--The Little Stint is apparently a regular visitor to the +Palau Islands and a less common visitor to the Mariana Islands. At +Peleliu and Angaur the NAMRU2 party found these birds in small flocks +of 10 to 15 at tidal flats and at inland ponds. On tidal flats the +species appeared to remain apart from other kinds of shore birds, but at +inland ponds the Little Stint was found in company with other species. +On shooting into a mixed flock of shore birds at an island pond at +Angaur, the writer secured specimens of this species and also of _Erolia +acuminata_. + + +=Erolia subminuta= (Middendorff) + +Least Sandpiper + + _Tringa subminuta_ Middendorff, Reise Nord. und Ost. Siberien, 2, + Th. 2, 1853, p. 222, pl. 19, fig. 6. (Type locality, Western slopes + of the Stanovoi Mountains and mouth of the Udá.) + + _Pisobia minutilla subminuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 192 (Koror). + + _Calidris minutilla subminuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 215 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 45 + (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to + India and east to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Least Sandpiper has been recorded in the Palau Islands +by the Japanese investigators. It is probably an uncommon visitor to +this area. + + +=Erolia melanotos= (Vieillot) + +Pectoral Sandpiper + + _Tringa melanotos_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 34, 1819, p. + 462. (Type locality, Paraguay.) + + _Pisobia melanota_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 + (Ponapé). + + _Calidris melanotos_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 215 (Ponapé). + + _Calidris melanota_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 45 + (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds on the Arctic coast of northeastern + Asia and eastward into Arctic America. Winters to South America. In + Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--The Pectoral Sandpiper has been recorded from Ponapé. Bryan +and Greenway (1944:114) list the species as an "accidental" visitor to +the Hawaiian Islands from North America. + + +=Erolia acuminata= (Horsfield) + +Sharp-tailed Sandpiper + + _Totanus acuminatus_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. + 1, 1821, p. 192. (Type locality, Java.) + + _Tringa acuminata_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 35 (Palau); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 314 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, + p. 65 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 33 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); + _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam). + + _Heteropygia acuminata_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, + p. 566 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk, + Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 48 (Pagan, + Pelew, Ruk). + + _Tringa maculata_ var. _acuminata_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3) 8, 1896, p. 44 (Pagan, Palaos). + + _Pisobia acuminata_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 276 (Caroline Islands). + + _Erolia acuminata_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 11-12, 1920, p. 1586 + (Palau, Karolinen); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam). + + _Pisobia acuminatus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 + (Ponapé, Truk, Pagan, Jaluit, Koror). + + _Calidris acuminata_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 215 (Pagan, Jaluit, Koror, Truk, Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 45 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Guam, Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Siberia. Winters from + the Malay Archipelago and Australia to the Southwest Pacific. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Pagan; Palau Islands--Angaur; + Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé; Marshall Islands--Jaluit. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 4 (2 males, 2 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 1 (Sept. 17); Palau Islands, + USNM--Angaur, 3 (Sept. 21). + +_Remarks._--The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a regular visitor to western +Micronesia and an uncommon visitor to eastern Micronesia. It was first +recorded from the Palau Islands in 1868, where the bird was taken by +Tetens, Heinsohn, and Kubary. In 1896 and 1898, records of this bird in +the Mariana and Caroline islands were published by Oustalet and Hartert. + +The NAMRU2 party obtained one specimen at Guam on September 17 and three +at Angaur on September 21. At Angaur several birds of this species were +seen at fresh water ponds in company with _Erolia minuta ruficollis_, +_Limicola falcinellus sibirica_, _Tringa glareola_, and other shore +birds. + + +=Erolia ferruginea= (Pontoppidan) + +Curlew Sandpiper + + _Tringa ferrugineus_ Pontoppidan, Danske Atlas, 1, 1763, p. 624. + (No type locality = Denmark.) + + _Calidris ferruginea_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Asia. Winters from Africa + east to Australia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Peleliu. + + _Specimens examined._--One female from Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu + (Sept. 6). + +_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party obtained one female on September 6 at a +tidal flat on Peleliu. The Curlew Sandpiper is seemingly a rare visitor +to the Palau Islands from Asia. In using this specific name, I am +following Mayr (in Delacour and Mayr, 1945:107). + + +=Limicola falcinellus sibirica= Dresser + +Broad-billed Sandpiper + + _Limicola sibirica_ Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1876, p. 674. + (Type locality, Siberia and China.) + + _Limicola falcinellus sibirica_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55 (Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters from + India east to Australia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Angaur. + + _Specimens examined._--One male from Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur + (Sept. 21). + +_Remarks._--A single male bird was taken by the NAMRU2 party at a fresh +water pond on Angaur Island on September 21, 1945. This is the only +known record for this bird from Micronesia. + + +=Phalaropus lobatus= (Linnaeus) + +Northern Phalarope + + _Tringa lobata_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 148, in + Emendanda, p. 824. (Type locality, Hudson Bay.) + + _Geographic range._--Breeds throughout Arctic region. Winters at + sea in tropical and subtropical waters. + +_Remarks._--The Northern Phalarope has not been found in Micronesia. +Mayr (1945a:46) records it in the pelagic areas north of the New Guinea +region. The occurrence there suggests that migration is through the +Micronesian area. + + +=Larus argentatus vegae= Palmén + +Herring Gull + + _Larus argentatus_ Brünn. var. _Vegae_ Palmén, in Nordenskiöld, + Vega-Exped. Vetensk. Iakttag., 5, 1887, p. 370. (Type locality, + Pidlin, northeastern Siberia.) + + _Larus vegae_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, + 1896, p. 56 (Agrigan); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 + (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 20 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); _idem_, + The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam?). + + _Larus vegae_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 + (Marianas). + + _Larus argentatus vegae_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 49 (Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 196 (Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 220 + (Agrigan). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Siberia. Ranges east to + Alaska and south to the Philippines and the China coast. In + Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agrihan. + +_Remarks._--The Herring Gull is ascribed to Micronesia on the basis of +one bird obtained by Marche in January, 1889, at Agrihan in the northern +Marianas and reported on by Oustalet (1896:56). The gull is considered a +straggler to the northern Marianas from the northward. Stott (1947:525) +observed a gull, which was thought to be this species or _Larus +ridibundus_, at Lake Susupe, Saipan, in 1945. + + +=Chlidonias leucopterus= (Temminck) + +White-winged Black Tern + + _Sterna leucoptera_ Temminck, Man. d'Ornith., 1815, p. 483. (Type + locality, Coasts of the Mediterranean.) + + _Hydrochelidon leucoptera_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 57 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, + p. 67 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, + p. 20 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, + 13-14, 1921, p. 1686 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Guam). + + _Chlidonias leucoptera_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 194 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 (Guam); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55 + (Angaur). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in central and southern Eurasia. + Winters from Africa east to Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Angaur. + + _Measurements._--One adult male has the following measurements: + wing, 211; tail, 72; exposed culmen, 27; tarsus, 20; one adult + female: wing, 210; exposed culmen, 25.5. These specimens were + taken at the Palau Islands. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 6 (3 males, 3 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 5 (Oct. 13). + +_Remarks._--The White-winged Black Tern was first collected at Guam in +October, 1887, by Marche and reported on by Oustalet (1896:57). It was +later taken at the Palau Islands by Coultas in 1931, and by the NAMRU2 +party at Angaur in 1945. The bird is seemingly an uncommon winter +visitor to Micronesia. + +At Angaur, the NAMRU2 party obtained one of four terns seen at a small +fresh water lake. Coultas took five birds at the Palau Islands. He +writes (field notes) that a flock of 14 of the terns appeared at the +island following a heavy typhoon. All birds examined are in winter +plumage (September and October). + + +=Sterna hirundo longipennis= Nordmann + +Black-billed Common Tern + + _Sterna longipennis_ Nordmann, in Erman's Verz. Thier. Pflanz., + 1835, p. 17. (Type locality, Mouth of the Kutchui River, Sea of + Okhotsk.) + + _Sterna longipennis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 90, 112 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 41 (Palau); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 440 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew); Saunders, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 25, 1896, p. 67 (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 62 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 21 (Pelew). + + _Sterna hirundo longipennis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 195 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218, + (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 25 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to + Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown. + +_Remarks._--Finsch (1875:41) states that Heinsohn and Kubary obtained +specimens of this tern from the Palau Islands for the Godeffroy Museum. +These are the only records for the occurrence of the Black-billed Common +Tern in Micronesia. + + +=Sterna sumatrana sumatrana= Raffles + +Black-naped Tern + + _Sterna Sumatrana_ Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 2, + 1822, p. 329. (Type locality, Sumatra.) + + _Sterna melanauchen_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 306, 308 (Guahan, Ouleai); Hartlaub and + Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 113 (Pelew, Uap); + Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, + Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 41 (Palau); _idem_, Ibis, + 1880, pp. 220, 330, 332 (Taluit); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, + p. 295 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 + (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and + Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 330, + 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, + 3, 1882, p. 444 (Pelew, Mackenzie, Ruk, Ponapé, Marshalls); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew, Uap, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Taluit); Sanders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 126 + (Carolines, Pelews, Marshalls); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. + 222 (Palau); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); Schnee, + Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa + and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ruk, Ponapé); Uchida, Annot. + Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 483, 488 (Ponapé). + + _Sterna sumatrana_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. + Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 186 (Arhno). + + _Gygisterna sumatrana_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 52 (Pelew, Mackenzie, Yap, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Taluit, Arhno). + + _Gygisterna sumatrana sumatrana_ Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, + p. 192 (Carolines, Pelews). + + _Sterna sumatrana sumatrana_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 410 + (Aruno); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, 1932, p. 335 (Caroline, + Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Palau, Guam, + Saipan, Yap, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit, Namu, Arhno, + Majuro, Aurh); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 336 + (Caroline Islands); Mayr, List New Guinea Birds, 1941, p. 36 + (Micronesia); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 + (Babelthuap, Koror, Yap, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit, + Namu, Arhno, Majuro, Aurh); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 24 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu, Ulithi). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia, central Polynesia, northern + Australia, Malaysia, west to India, and north to the Riu Kiu + Islands. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu; + Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé; + Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Namu, Majuro, Aurh, Bikini. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small tern with a long, forked tail and + white plumage often with pinkish cast except for mantle, back, + rump, tail, wing-coverts, and scapulars which are pale pearl-gray; + band across nape, spot in front of eye, and outer web of outer + primary black; bill and feet black. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but black and white mottling on upper + parts. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 19. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 15 (8 males, 6 females, 1 + female?), as follows: Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not + given, 4 (Oct.-Dec.); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi Atoll, 6 (Aug. + 15, 16, 20, 22); AMNH--Truk, 1 (Feb. 10); Marshall Islands, + USNM--Bikini, 4 (March 26, April 30). + + _Nesting._--Nehrkorn (1899:222) recorded eggs taken at the Palau + Islands. Yamashina (1932a:410) listed the finding of three nests + containing one egg each on September 26, 1931, at Arhno in the + Marshall Islands. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of nesting + at Ulithi or Palau in August and September, 1945. Coultas (field + notes) obtained reports of the finding of two eggs at the Palau + Islands in the period October to December, 1931. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483, 488) records the following + Mallophaga taken at Ponapé from this tern: _Docophorus + albemarlensis_, _Colpocephalum milleri_, and _Colpocephalum + impertunum_. + +_Remarks._--There are no records for the Black-naped Tern from the +Mariana Islands, although the species is known from the Palau, Caroline +and Marshall Islands. At Ulithi Atoll, the NAMRU2 party observed these +terns at the islands of Potangeras, Mangejang, Pau, and Losiep in +August, 1945. They were found in groups of 4 to 15, either sitting on +sandy beaches or rocky exposures or flying over the reefs. Unlike the +Crested Tern, these birds appeared quite unafraid of man and would hover +over a freshly killed or wounded individual of their own kind, making of +themselves easy targets. The writer saw only one Black-naped Tern at the +Palau Islands (Peleliu, on September 16, 1945). The birds seem to prefer +the "low" atolls to the "high" volcanic islands of Micronesia. + +Two subspecies of _Sterna sumatrana_ are recognized by Peters +(1934:336): _Sterna sumatrana mathewsi_ known from islands of the +western Indian Ocean and _Sterna s. sumatrana_ from islands of Oceania, +Australia, Malaysia, and China coast. There is a considerable area +separating these subspecies. For populations in the Pacific area, other +names which have been proposed are _Sterna sumatrana kempi_ Mathews for +birds from Torres Straits and _Gygis decorata_ Hartlaub for birds from +the Fiji Islands. A study of 201 specimens of this species from various +parts of its range (in the collections of the American Museum of Natural +History and the United States National Museum) shows that there is +little color variation within the species. This observation is the same +as that of Mathews (1912:372). + +As listed in table 19, measurements of the length of the wing show +little variation. The length of the tail of birds from localities more +remote from the continent of Asia (Micronesia, Phoenix, Union, Fiji, +Samoa, Tonga, and the islands of the Indian Ocean: Aldabra and +Providence) is, on the average, shorter than the length of the tail of +birds from islands nearer the Asiatic mainland. This shortness is +reflected also in the measurement of the difference between the shortest +and longest tail feather. + + +TABLE 19. MEASUREMENTS OF SPECIMENS OF _Sterna sumatrana_ + + Columb headings: + + A: No. + B: Wing + C: Tail + D: Difference: Longest and shortest tail feather + E: Exposed culmen + F: Tarsus + + ===================+===+=========+=========+=======+==========+========== + LOCALITY | A | B | C | D | E | F + -------------------+---+---------+---------+-------+----------+---------- + _S. s. sumatrana_ | | | | | | + Micronesia | 13| 221 | 127 | 65 | 37 | 20.5 + | | 211-225 | 117-138 | 54-79 | 35-39 | 20.0-21.0 + | | | | | | + Phoenix and Union| 5| 228 | 113 | 66 | 37 | 19.5 + | | | | | 36-38 | 18.5-20.0 + | | | | | | + Fiji, Samoa, | 29| 221 | 131 | 63 | 38 | 20.0 + Tonga | | 218-229 | 122-142 | 51-74 | 36-41 | 18.0-21.0 + | | | | | | + New Caledonia, | 8| 224 | 141 | 72 | 39 | 19.5 + Loyalty, New | | 221-230 | 135-148 | 68-81 | 37-41 | 18.5-20.0 + Hebrides | | | | | | + | | | | | | + Queensland, | 4| 229 | 142 | 78 | 38 | 19.5 + Torres Straits | | | 139-148 | 71-83 | 36-40 | 18.5-20.0 + | | | | | | + Solomons | 52| 227 | 144 | 77 | 36 | 19.0 + | | 220-232 | 129-162 | 66-95 | 34.0-38.5| 18.5-20.5 + | | | | | | + New Guinea, | 10| 224 | 143 | 76 | 34 | 19.5 + Bismarcks | | 219-231 | 135-146 | 67-81 | 32.0-36.5| 18.5-20.0 + | | | | | | + Malay area | 49| 228 | 141 | 74 | 34 | 20.0 + | | 220-234 | 125-153 | 63-84 | 32.0-37.0| 19.0-20.5 + | | | | | | + China coast, | 21| 223 | 144 | 77 | 35 | 19.5 + Riu Kiu | | 212-234 | 130-151 | 67-85 | 31.5-38.0| 19.0-20.0 + | | | | | | + _S. S.mathewsi_ | | | | | | + Indian Ocean: | 10| 220 | 125 | 71 | 38 | 19.0 + Aldabra, | | | | | 35.0-40.0| 18.0-20.0 + Providence | | | | | | + -------------------+---+---------+---------+-------+----------+---------- + + +The differences in the length of the exposed culmen of these terns shows +that birds from islands more remotely oceanic possess longer bills than +do those from islands closer to the Asiatic continent. Murphy (1938:538) +has written that this phenomenon is characteristic among some species +which have both continental and insular populations (or subspecies). +Figure 10 shows the southeastern part of the range of the subspecies, +_Sterna s. sumatrana_, and gives the average measurements of the exposed +culmen of birds from several localities. These localities are given in +table 19. Terns with longer bills (37-39) were taken in Micronesia, in +the Polynesian islands, and in northern Australia. Terns with shorter +bills (34-36) were taken in Melanesia, Malaysia, and the coastal region +of China, but there appears to be no abrupt line of demarkation between +them. Further evidence of this tendency may be obtained from the +literature. Kuroda (1925:191) gives the measurements of the exposed +culmen of seven males and five females from the Riu Kius as averaging 35 +mm. (range 31-40.5). It is also of interest to note that the length of +the exposed culmen of the males averages one to two mm. longer than that +of the females. The status of _Sterna sumatrana mathewsi_ may be +questioned. I find no characters separating my series of mostly poor +specimens. The systematic position of this subspecies from the Indian +Ocean (and likewise the status of subspecies of other sea birds which +range into the Indian Ocean) may not be known with certainty until +additional material is obtained. + +[Illustration: FIG. 10. Geographic variation in the average length of +the exposed culmen of _Sterna sumatrana sumatrana_.] + + +=Sterna lunata= Peale + +Spectacled Tern + + _Sterna lunata_ Peale, U. S. Expl. Exped., 8, 1848, p. 277. (Type + locality, Vincennes Island, Paumotu Group.) + + _Sterna lunata_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. + 831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, + pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, + 113 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 41 + (Palau); Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 100 + (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ruk, Pelew); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Palau); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 26 (Micronesia). + + _Onychoprion lunatus_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 451 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 76 (Pelew). + + _Melanosterna lunata_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 52 (Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Oceania from the Hawaiian Group + south to Fiji and the Tuamotus and west to the Moluccas. In + Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known. + +_Remarks._--Finsch (1875:41) recorded specimens taken by Tetens, Peters +and Kubary at the Palau Islands. Coultas obtained one immature male at +sea south of the eastern Caroline Islands at 1° 25´ N and 159° E on +October 19, 1930. The Spectacled Tern ranges throughout the tropical +Pacific, spending considerable time at sea, and probably reaches most +parts of Micronesia in its travels. + + +=Sterna anaetheta anaetheta= Scopoli + +Bridled Tern + + _Sterna Anaethetus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun., Insubr., fasc. 2, + 1786, p. 92. (Type locality, "In Guinea" = Panay, Philippine + Islands, _ex._ Sonnerat.) + + _Sterna anaestheta_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 + (Pelew). + + _Melanosterna anaestheta anaestheta_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 52 (Pelew). + + _Sterna anaethetus anaethetus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 195 (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Bikar); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau, Bikar). + + _Sterna anaetheta anaetheta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 26 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds from Malaysia to Australia and Oceania + and north to Formosa. Ranges west to Ceylon and north to Japan. In + Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known; Marshall + Islands--Bikar. + + _Measurements._--Four adult males from the Palau Islands have the + following measurements: wing 246-254, longest tail feather + 147-177, shortest tail feather 71-72, exposed culmen 40-44, tarsus + 21-23; one adult female: wing 266, exposed culmen 40.5, tarsus + 22.5. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 3 females) from + Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (Dec. 20). + +_Remarks._--The Bridled Tern is known from the Palau Islands and from +Bikar in the Marshall Islands. In Micronesia, the species apparently +reaches the northeastern extent of its range. In the Palaus, Coultas +found the terns on small outlying islands. He observed them to fly to +sea early in the day and to return to the islands in the evening. Of the +seven specimens obtained by him, two males and one female had enlarged +gonads (Dec. 20). + + +=Sterna fuscata oahuensis= Bloxham + +Sooty Tern + + _Sterna Oahuensis_ Bloxham, Voy. "Blonde," 1826, p. 251. (Type + locality, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands.) + + _Sterna fuliginosa_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. + 18, 39 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. + 781 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 295 (Ponapé); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ponapé). + + _Onychoprion fuscata infuscata_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Ponapé). + + _Sterna fuscata nibilosa_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 195 (Ponapé); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Helen Reef); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Ponapé, Helen + Reef). + + _Sterna fuscata oahuensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 25 (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds from the Hawaiian, Marcus, and Bonin + islands south to the Phoenix Islands and Micronesia. In Micronesia: + Mariana Islands--Asuncion; Palau Islands--Helen Reef; Caroline + Islands--Ponapé. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 1 unsexed from Mariana + Islands, AMNH--Asuncion (Jan. 18). + +_Remarks._--The systematic position of the Sooty Tern in Micronesia is +uncertain; in using this name I am following Peters (1934:338), who +comments that the species "is badly in need of revision." Coultas +obtained one immature female at O° 90´ S and 159° 50´ E, a position +south of the eastern Caroline Islands. The bird is tentatively placed in +the subspecies _S. f. oahuensis_. The Sooty Tern probably does not breed +in large numbers in Micronesia, unless it be in the northern Marianas. +Bryan (1903:97) reports that this species is very abundant at Marcus +Island, which is north and east of the Marianas. + + +=Sterna albifrons sinensis= Gmelin + +Least Tern + + _Sterna sinensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 608. (Type + locality, China, ex Latham.) + + _Sterna albifrons_ Marshall, Condor, 51, 1949, p. 221 (Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Found on coastal areas from Korea and China + south to New Guinea. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan. + + _Specimens examined._--One female from Mariana Islands, + USNM--Saipan (Sept. 26). + +_Remarks._--Marshall (1949:221) took one of two Least Terns at Lake +Susupe on Saipan on September 26, 1945. The specimen taken, a female, is +in post juvenal molt. + + +=Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides= (King) + +Crested Tern + + _Sterna pelecanoides_ King, Surv. Intertrop. and Western Coasts + Australia, 2, 1827, p. 422. (Type locality, Torres Strait, northern + Queensland.) + + _Sterna bergii_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 50 + (Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 330, 332 (Ratak Chain); _idem_, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 295 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 115 + (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, pp. 281, 299, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk); + Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 434 (Ruk, Ponapé, + Marshalls); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 51 + (Jaluit); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Ponapé, + Marshall Islands); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); + Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 89 (Ponapé, + Marshalls); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ponapé); + Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 483, 488 (Ponapé). + + _Sterna bergeri_ Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 + (Marschall-Inseln). + + _Sterna bergii cristata_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 21, 1914, p. 58 + (Truk). + + _Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides_ Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat. + Mus., 49, 1915, p. 523 (Marshall Islands); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Ponapé, + Marshall Islands); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 188 + (Marshall Islands); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 194 + (Palau, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit, Mille, + Aurh, Maloelab, Ailuk); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Helen + Reef, Babelthuap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218, + (Babelthuap, Helen Reef, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, + Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, Maloelab, Ailuk). + + _Thalasseus bergii cristatus_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, + 1934, p. 342 (Carolines, Marshalls); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 26 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu, Ngajangel [Kayangel], + Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Malaysia and east coast of Australia south to + Tasmania, east to Melanesia and Polynesia, north to Phoenix Islands + and Micronesia (see figure 11). In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Helen + Reef, Peleliu, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk, + Faraulep, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, + Mille, Aurh, Moloelab, Ailuk, Bikini. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, white tern with back, rump, tail, + wing-coverts, wing, and axillaries pearl gray; outer edges of + primaries pearly grayish-black; crown black with crest; bill + greenish-yellow with blackish base; feet black. Crown black, + mottled with white and mantle paler in postnuptial plumage. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but crown and back dark, mottled with + white and crest small. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of Crested Terns of the Pacific area + are listed in table 20. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (6 males, 4 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 21); AMNH--Truk, 2 + (May 7, Dec. 5)--Ponapé, 3 (Nov. 1, 7); Marshall Islands, + USNM--Bikini, 4 (March 4, 11, 12). + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483, 488) obtained the following species + of bird lice (Mallophaga) from the Crested Tern at Ponapé: + _Docophorus albemarlensis_ and _Colpocephalum importunum_. + +_Remarks._--Oberholser (1915:520-526, pl. 66) lists five subspecies (_T. +b. cristatus_, _T. b. halodramus_, _T. b. pelecanoides_, _T. b. +rectirostris_, and _T. b. poliocercus_) in the region including the +coast of China, the Riu Kiu Islands, Malaysia, Melanesia, eastern +Australia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Only one subspecies, _T. b. +cristatus_, is recognized in this area by Stresemann (1914:58), Hartert +(1921:1695-1696), and Peters (1934:341-342), who mention that there is +much variation in size and coloring. + + +TABLE 20. MEASUREMENTS OF _Thalasseus bergii_ IN THE PACIFIC AREA + + Column headings: + + A: No. + B: Wing + C: Longest tail feather + D: Shortest tail feather + E: Exposed culmen + F: Tarsus + + =========================+====+=========+=========+=======+=======+====== + LOCATION | A | B | C | D | E | F + -------------------------+----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------ + _Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides_ | | | | + Palaus, Carolines, | 6 | 343 | 168 | 82 | 60 | + Marshalls | | 334-352 | 153-184 | 80-85 | 58-65 | + | | | | | | + Christmas, Phoenix, | | | | | | + Tuamotus, Society, | 48 | 344 | 170 | 83 | 58 | 27 + Fiji, Loyalty, | | 329-362 | 145-198 | 77-92 | 54-64 | 25-29 + New Hebrides | | | | | | + | | | | | | + Eastern Australia | 14 | 345 | 165 | 88 | 58 | 27 + | | 338-349 | 152-174 | 84-92 | 55-63 | 26-29 + | | | | | | + New Guinea, Bismarck, | 18 | 342 | 168 | 81 | 59 | 27 + Archipelago, Moluccas| | 332-361 | 144-194 | 75-87 | 53-64 | 26-28 + +----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------ + Totals | 86 | 344 | 169 | 83 | 58 | 27 + | | 329-362 | 144-198 | 75-92 | 53-65 | 25-29 + | | | | | | + _Thalasseus bergii cristatus_ | | | | | + Philippines, China, | 18 | 332 | 162 | 81 | 58 | 28 + ormosa, Riu Kius | | 324-342 | 149-182 | 78-87 | 55-64 | 26-30 + | | | | | | + _Thalasseus bergii gwendolenae_ | | | | + Western Australia | 14 | 354 | 171 | 86 | 58 | 27 + | | 339-369 | 162-182 | 81-91 | 53-65 | 25-29 + -------------------------+----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------ + + +Measurements, as shown in table 20, indicate a wide range of sizes but, +in most series, the averages are nearly the same. Nevertheless, it is +evident that birds from the coast of China, the Riu Kius, Formosa, and +the Philippines have a distinctly shorter wing than birds from the +Moluccas, Melanesia, eastern Australia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. +Further evidence of this is presented by Kuroda (1925:186) who lists the +measurements of the wing of eight Crested Terns from the Riu Kiu Islands +as 322 to 340 (average 330). The occurrence of populations with shorter +wings has already been pointed out in the work of Oberholser +(1915:520-526), who divided the short-winged birds into two subspecies. +It seems advisable to recognize but one subspecies, _T. b. cristatus_, +for the birds with short wings and another subspecies, _T. b. +pelecanoides_, to include the birds with the longer wings (see figure +11). The average measurements of the length of wings of these two +subspecies, 332, and 344, differ significantly, although there is some +overlap in measurements. A few specimens at hand from the western part +of Malaysia are in poor condition and not measurable. + +[Illustration: FIG. 11. Geographic distribution of _Thalasseus bergii_. +(1) _T. b. bergii_; (2) _T. b. thalassinnus_; (3) _T. b. velox_; (4) _T. +b. cristatus_; (5) _T. b. gwendolenae_; (6) _T. b. pelecanoides_.] + +Most specimens of _T. b. cristatus_ and _T. b. pelecanoides_ have +lighter-colored upper parts than specimens of _T. b. velox_, but not so +light-colored as specimens of _T. b. gwendolenae_. Size probably is a +better character than color to use in separating these groups. + +In Micronesia, the NAMRU2 party observed Crested Terns at Ulithi, +Peleliu and Truk, in August, September, and December, 1945, +respectively. Birds were seen as singles or in small groups flying over +the reefs. The birds were wary and difficult to approach, but they were +conspicuous and easily identified. + + +=Procelsterna cerulea saxatilis= W. K. Fisher + +Blue-gray Tern + + _Procelsterna saxatilis_ W. K. Fisher, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 26, + 1903, p. 559. (Type locality, Necker Island, Hawaiian Islands.) + + _Procelsterna cerulea saxatilis_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 + (Bikar); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Bikar); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 27 (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Known from Marcus Island and the western + Hawaiian Islands. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Bikar. + + + +_Remarks._--Yamashina (1940:678) recorded the taking of eight of these +terns (5 adult males, 3 adult females) on July 10, 1932, at Bikar in the +Marshall Islands. He gives the following measurements: wing, 180.5-188; +tail, 104-113.5; exposed culmen, 24-26.5. This is the only known record +for the species in Micronesia. + + +=Anous stolidus pileatus= (Scopoli) + +Common Noddy + + _Sterna pileata_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. 2, + 1786, p. 92. (No type locality = Philippines, _ex._ Sonnerat.) + + _Sterna stolida_ Chamisso, in Kotzebue's Voy. "Rurick," 3, 1821, + pp. 150, 157 (Marshall Islands); Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. + Vögel, 3, 1833, p. 27, pl. 36, fig. 1 (Mordloks-Inseln); _idem_, + Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, + 299, 308, 309 (Ualan, Lougounor, Ouleai); _idem_, Denkw. Reise + russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 364, 2, pp. 77, 86 + (Ualan); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1893, p. 212 (Marshalls). + + _Anous stolidus_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 137 + (Mortlock); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 (Carolinen); + Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 59 (Carolines); + Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 236 + (Mordlocks, Puynipet = Ponapé); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 90, 112 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 6, 42 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 18, 40 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295, + 307 (Ponapé, Ruck, Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1880, p. 577 (Ruk, Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, + 109, 115, 246, 247 (Kuschai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330, 353 (Mortlock, + Nukuor, Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 455 + (Pelews, Carolines, Marshalls); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, + 1884, p. 51 (Jaluit, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 76 (Pelew, Mortlock, + Ruk, Nukuor, Ponapé, Ualan, Marshalls); Saunders, Cat. Birds + British Museum, 25, 1896, p. 136 (Pelew, Carolines, Marshalls); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 59 + (Saypan, Guam, Rota, Agrigan, Hogoleu = Truk, Kushai, Ponapi, + Marshalls); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Guam); Seale, + Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 21 (Guam); + Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Mariannas); Bryan, Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 2, 1903, p. 101 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. + Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marshall-Inseln); Safford, The Plant + World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, + 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 100 + (Marianen); Takastukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Ponapé, + Ruk); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Uchida, Annot. + Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 484, 488 (Palau, Ponapé); Wharton, + Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle, + Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 292, 296, 306 (Guam, Ulithi). + + _Anous pileatus_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 155, + 162 (Puynipet = Ponapé). + + _Anous stolidus pileatus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 + (Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., + 63, 1919, p. 183 (Kusaie); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 49 (Guam, Saipan, Pelew, Mortlock, Ruk, Wolea, Nukuoro, + Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 195 (Koror, Urukthapel, Angaur, Saipan, Guam, Wolea, Truk, + Mortlock, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, + Wotze); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); + Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong, Babelthuap); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Saipan, + Assongsong, Guam, Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, Peliliu, Angaur, + Wolea, Truk, Mortlock, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie, Taluit, + Mille, Aurh, Wotze); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 56 (Rota, Guam, + Peleliu, Ngabad, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Anous stolidus unicolor?_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. + 8, 1919, p. 547 (Guam). + + +TABLE 21. MEASUREMENTS OF _Anoüs stolidus_ OF THE PACIFIC AREA + + ======================================+=====+=========+=========+======== + | | | | Exposed + LOCATION | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen + --------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------- + _Anoüs stolidus ridgwayi_ | 18 | 278 | 158 | 41 + Isabella, Cocos, Clipperton Islands | | 260-295 | 147-166 | 38-42 + | | | | + _Anoüs stolidus galapagensis_ | 11 | 277 | 151 | 40 + Galapagos Islands | | 274-282 | 142-160 | 38-42 + | | | | + _Anoüs stolidus pileatus_ | 35 | 281 | 162 | 42 + Hawaiian Islands: Nihoa to Midway | | 268-299 | 149-176 | 38-40 + | | | | + Wake Islands | 8 | 278 | 159 | 41 + | | 273-285 | 152-170 | 39-43 + | | | | + Mariana Islands: Guam, Rota | 12 | 280 | 167 | 41 + | | 275-288 | 159-187 | 39-43 + | | | | + Palau Islands | 9 | 278 | 161 | 41 + | | 268-283 | 155-166 | 39-42 + | | | | + Caroline Islands | 41 | 282 | 164 | 42 + | | 270-291 | 150-173 | 39-45 + | | | | + Marshall Islands | 3 | 282 | 164 | 42 + | | 270-289 | 154-174 | 41-43 + | | | | + Ellice, Phoenix, Danger, Suvarov | 27 | 284 | 162 | 41 + Islands | | 265-295 | 152-174 | 39-44 + | | | | + Christmas Island | 13 | 287 | 162 | 43 + | | 280-292 | 152-174 | 40-46 + | | | | + Marquesas Islands | 19 | 282 | 163 | 42 + | | 275-291 | 155-170 | 40-43 + | | | | + Tuamotu Archipelago | 38 | 287 | 165 | 42 + | | 277-299 | 154-173 | 39-46 + | | | | + Society, Austral, Cook, Rapa | 16 | 290 | 290 | 43 + Islands | | 280-301 | 155-173 | 40-45 + | | | | + Oeno, Henderson, Ducie, Easter | 6 | 293 | 164 | 44 + Islands | | 154-175 | 154-175 | 41-45 + | | | | + Samoa, Fiji, Tonga | 19 | 285 | 164 | 42 + | | 153-173 | 153-173 | 39-44 + | | | | + Kermadecs, Norfolk | 23 | 276 | 158 | 41 + | | 269-289 | 148-173 | 38-43 + | | | | + New Hebrides, Solomons, New Guinea | 31 | 278 | 158 | 41 + area | | 265-287 | 150-172 | 3 -44 + | | | | + Northwest Australia | 9 | 263 | 145 | 40 + | | 258-267 | 138-152 | 38-42 + | | | | + South China Sea area, Strait of | 4 | 271 | 153 | 39 + Malacca | | 262-278 | 148-257 | 37-40 + | | | | + Riu Kius, Japan | 5 | 268 | 148 | 39 + | | 259-275 | 143-155 | 37-40 + | | | | + Indian Ocean area: Seychelles, | 20 | 276 | 154 | 41 + Aldebra, Providence, Somaliland | | 270-286 | 146-164 | 39-42 + --------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------- + + + _Geographic range._--Islands in the Indian Ocean east to tropical + parts of western and central Pacific. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Agrihan, Asuncion, Saipan, Rota, Guam; Palau + Islands--Kayangel, Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, Ngabad, Peleliu, + Angaur; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk, Wolea, Mortlock, Lukunor, + Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, + Wotze, Bikini, Kwajalein. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, dark-brown tern with grayish crown + and whitish forehead; line above eye white; crescent of white on + lower eyelid; lores blackish; bill black; feet brownish, iris + dark. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but lighter and browner and top of head + grayish-brown. + + _A. s. pileatus_ resembles _A. s. ridgwayi_, but darker and less + brownish, although not so dark as _A. s. galapagensis_; forehead + and crown usually duller; length of wing and tail average larger + (282 and 161) than in _A. s. ridgwayi_ (278 and 158) and _A. s. + galapagensis_ (277 and 151). + + _Measurements._--Measurements of the Common Noddy of the Pacific + area are listed in table 21. + + _Weights._--In 1948 (1948:56) I listed the weights of specimens + from Guam and Rota as follows: four adult males 187-204 (197); + three adult females 177-203 (189). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 92 (43 males, 39 females, 10 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 7 (May 24, June + 15, July 6, 21)--Rota, 3 (Oct. 18, 24); AMNH--Guam, 4 (April 21, + 27, Aug. 18)--Asuncion, 1 (Jan. 18); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, + 2 (Sept. 1)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH--exact locality not given, + 6 (Nov. 3, 8); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 3 (Aug. 15)--Kusaie, + 1 (Feb. 8); AMNH--Truk, 15 (Feb. 1, 8, 25, March 10, May 6, June + 12, 13, Nov. 25, Dec. 25)--Ponapé, 20 (Dec. 3, 5, 8, 12, + 15)--Kusaie, 24 (Jan., March 10-30, April 1-10); Marshall Islands, + USNM--Bikini, 5 (Feb. 28, March 2, 19). + + _Nesting._--Murphy (1936:1152) writes that the Atlantic subspecies, + _A. s. stolidus_, breeds in tropical localities every month of the + year, although there may be a part of the resident population away + at sea at any given time. In the Pacific area, Kirby (1925:187) + found nests "on platforms of sticks built on tufts of grass" at + Christmas Island in August. In Micronesia, Coultas obtained young + birds at Kusaie in January and April and commented (field notes) + that they probably nest "spasmodically at all times of the year." + At Ponapé, Coultas observed nests in high trees in December, and + birds obtained by him in that month had enlarged gonads. At Bikini, + Morrison obtained eggs on March 2 and 19, and young on March 19. At + Palau, Coultas took one female tern in postnatal molt on November + 8. Adults obtained by him in that month had enlarged gonads. At + Ulithi, the NAMRU2 party recorded one nest containing a single egg + on August 21. At the same atoll the NAMRU2 party received reports + of a large colony of nesting noddys in May to July, 1945. In the + following August few noddies were seen by the NAMRU2 party. McElroy + found nests on cliffs and in coconut trees at Truk in December, + 1945. Hartert (1900:10) reports on eggs taken at Truk in the period + from March to July 1. The NAMRU2 party observed birds carrying nest + materials at Peleliu on August 28 but failed to find the nests. At + Guam, the writer found terns in numbers varying from 4 to 75 in May + to July, 1945, along the rocky cliffs but no evidence of nesting + activity was obtained. Strophlet (1946:537) reports that nests may + have been present on Orote Peninsula at Guam on December 13, 1945. + Coultas (field notes) is of the opinion that the birds do not nest + at Guam but do nest farther north in the Marianas. Borror + (1947:417) found two colonies at Agrihan on August 10, 1945. Thus, + there are records of nesting in nine months of the year in + Micronesia; although I suspect that the larger flocks of terns have + more regular breeding habits correlated with their pelagic feeding + activities. "Stragglers" probably nest irregularly. + + _Food habits._--The author (1948:56) records small fish and + crustaceans in stomachs of terns taken at Ulithi and Peleliu. At + Ypao Point, Guam, birds were seen to fly back and forth in the day + from their roosts on the sea-cliffs. On one occasion I saw these + birds feeding approximately a half mile from shore. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) and Wharton and Hardcastle + (1946:292, 296, 306) list the following species of chiggers + (Acarina) from the Common Noddy from Guam and Ulithi: + _Neoschöngastia bougainvillensis_, _N. americana solomonis_, _N. + egretta_, _Acariscus pluvius_, and _A. anous_. Uchida (1918:484, + 488) found the bird louse (Mallophaga), _Nirmus separatus_, on + terms at Palau and at Ponapé he found _Colpocephalum milleri_ on + the bird. Bequaert (_in litt._) has identified a fly + (Hippoboscidae) as _Olfersia aenescens_ from a tern from Rota. + +_Remarks._--Of the Common Noddy Tern of the Pacific area, three +subspecies are recognized by Peters (1934:346-347). _Anoüs stolidus +ridgwayi_ is known from islands off the western coast of Mexico and +Central America; _A. s. galapagensis_ is recorded from the Galapagos +Archipelago; and _A. s. pileatus_ is found on tropical islands +throughout the Pacific and west to Madagascar and the African coast in +the Indian Ocean. These subspecies differ from one another principally +in color, as noted by Ridgway (1919:545); _A. s. galapagensis_ is the +darkest form, _A. s. ridgwayi_ is less blackish and more brownish in +color of body, and _A. s. pileatus_ is between the two in coloring. _A. +s. pileatus_ averages larger in length of wing and tail, but these +measurements do not appear to be significant from a taxonomic +standpoint. + +As shown in table 21, measurements of length of wing for specimens from +throughout most of the Pacific area are almost the same. Length of tail +is correspondingly uniform. There is a gradual increase in size of birds +in the Tuamotus and Societies and east to Easter Island. In this region +the average measurement for length of wing is 293 millimeters. The +lengths of wing and tails are shorter in specimens from the Kermadecs +and Norfolk Island, which may indicate relationships with the smaller +birds of the Australian area, Western Melanesia and possibly Malaysia +and the Riu Kiu Islands. I am unable to determine the subspecific status +of the birds from the Kermadecs and Norfolk Island, because of the lack +of sufficient material from the Australian region and Malaysia. Possibly +Mathews' name, _A. s. gilberti_, is valid for the noddys of Australia +and also for the birds at Norfolk and the Kermadecs. The small-sized +birds of the Riu Kiu Islands have been designated as _A. s. pullus_ by +Bangs. When specimens from the type locality of _A. s. pileatus_ in the +Philippine Islands are available, the true relationships of the +populations from Micronesia and the other areas in the Pacific can be +ascertained. + +The tern found in the Hawaiians has the palest body and the most +chalky-white forehead of any of the birds of the Pacific. Bryan +(1903:101) found terns from Marcus Island to agree with specimens from +Guam and to be "slightly darker" than birds from Midway and Laysan in +the Hawaiian chain. The birds from the Riu Kius are darker and thus +similar to the few specimens seen from Malaysia. Birds from Polynesia +and Melanesia possess the most sooty underparts while those from +Micronesia are only slightly less pale. This condition also seems to be +true for the birds in the Australian area and for specimens seen from +islands in the Indian Ocean. With fading, or wear, or both, there is a +change from dusky black to dusky brown in the plumage; effort was made +by me to compare specimens with relatively similar conditions of +plumage. In summary, the systematic position of the Common Noddy Terns +of the Pacific seemingly depends on the characteristics of specimens +from the type locality in the Philippines. When topotypes are available +for study, they may be found to be nearer the darker forms of Malaysia +or may tend toward the paler, oceanic forms. The Hawaiian population +probably is distinct. + +In Micronesia the Common Noddy Tern is not a conspicuous bird except +during its breeding period. Probably it spends most of its life at sea, +being unlike _Gygis alba_ in this respect. Large flocks seem less wary +of man than are small groups and singles, which are often easily +disturbed. Birds of this species appear to prefer the low atolls and +offshore islets where both tall vegetation and bare ground are utilized +for nesting or roosting. At Ponapé, Coultas (field notes) observed the +birds to fly to sea at daybreak and to begin to return to their roosts +by 4:00 pm. Wallace (field notes) observed similar activities at +Kwajalein in May, 1944, where he saw approximately forty individuals in +a flock with _Gygis alba_. + +_Anoüs stolidus_ is divided naturally into an Atlantic subspecies, which +is distinguished by its browner color, and into several subspecies which +are distinguished by their blacker color in the Pacific and Indian +oceans. Whether the genus and species evolved in the Atlantic or in the +Pacific region is not known. If it were the Pacific region, the center +of differentiation may very well have been the islands of Oceania. +There, relatively little variation is observable within populations +covering a large area. To the eastward, birds along the American coast +are darker or lighter, to the northward, the birds of Hawaii are paler, +to the southward and southwestward, the birds are smaller and to the +westward, the birds are smaller and darker. The virtual absence of +ground-living, predatory animals which might prey on nesting colonies +has probably been a reason for the lack of discrimination by this tern +in selecting breeding sites. This is probably true of other birds which +nest in colonies. + + +=Anous tenuirostris marcusi= (Bryan) + +White-capped Noddy + + _Micranous marcusi_ Bryan, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 2, + 1903, p. 101. (Type locality, Marcus Island.) + + _Sterna tenuirostris_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, 308 (Ualan, Ouleai); _idem_, Denkw. + Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 64 (Ualan). + + _Anous tenuirostris_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 90, 113 (Pelew, Carolines); Finsch, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 6, 42 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330 (Mortlock, + Nukuor); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan). + + _Anous melanogenys_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), + p. 781 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295, 308 + (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 219, 220, 332 (Taluit, + Arno); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_, + Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponape); Salvadori, Ornith. + Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 456 (Pelew, Ponapé, Marshalls); Finsch, + Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Jaluit, Arno, Kuschai); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1901 (1891), p. 77 (Pelew, Ualan, Ponapé, Nukuor, Luganor, + Ruk); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 238 (Ualan); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ruk); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Pelew, Ruk, Wolea, + Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls). + + _Anous leucocapillus_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 410 + (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. + 52 (Jaluit); Tristram, Cat. Coll. Birds, 1889, p. 10 (Pelew); + Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 457 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 77 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, + 1896, p. 60 (Saypan, Palaos, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, + Kuschai, Bonham); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 + (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. + 20 (Saipan?); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Marianas); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, + 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., + 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam). + + _Micranous leucocapillus_ Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, + 1896, p. 145 (Pelew, Caroline Islands); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., + 1899, p. 222 (Kusai); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Pelew). + + _Megalopterus minutus marcusi_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 2, 1912, + p. 423 (Marianas?); Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 553 (Mariannes?); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 146 (Mariannes); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, + 1932, p. 343 (Mariannes). + + _Megalopterus tenuirostris leucocapillus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Saipan, Pelew, Ruk, Ponapé, + Kusaie). + + _Megalopterus minutus minutus_ Fisher and Wetmore, Proc. U. S. + Nat. Mus., 79, 1931, p. 45 (Caroline Islands). + + _Anous minutus worcesteri_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 409 + (Coror, Namo, Iringlab); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 195 (Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon, + Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk); Yamashina, + Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong, Saipan); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Assongsong, Saipan, Babelthuap, + Koror, Peliliu, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon, Namorik, Jaluit, + Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk). + + _Anous minutus marcusi_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, + p. 347 (Caroline Islands). + + _Anous minutus_ Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 82 (Ponapé); _idem_, + Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 253 (Ponapé, + Palau). + + _Anous tenuirostris marcusi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 27 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 56 (Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Marcus, Wake, and Micronesia. In Micronesia: + Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Saipan, Guam?; Palau + Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, + Truk, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Wolea; Marshall Islands--Ebon, + Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small tern with sooty-black plumage, + grayer on rump and tail; forehead and crown white becoming grayer + on nape to merge with blackish on shoulder; narrow, black + superciliary stripe; lores black, lower eyelid with white streak, + upper eyelid with white spot. Resembles _A. t. melanogenys_ but + wing and tail longer and superciliary stripe narrower. Resembles + _A. t. minutus_ but with narrower, black superciliary stripe. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but crown more whitish, this coloration + ending abruptly at nape, with mottling in some birds; plumage of + body with brownish wash. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 22. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 51 (27 males, 22 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Asuncion, 1 (Jan. 18); + Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 2 (Sept. 9, 12); AMNH--exact locality + not given, 2 (Nov. 3); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 4 (Aug. 20); + AMNH--Truk, 5 (Nov. 16, 21, 22)--Ponapé, 15 (Dec. 15)--Kusaie, 17 + (Jan. 10, March 10-30, April 1-10); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, + 4 (May 2, 14); AMNH--no locality given, 1 (Sept. 3). + + +TABLE 22. MEASUREMENTS OF _Anoüs tenuirostris_ OF THE PACIFIC AREA + + =======================================+=====+=========+=========+======= + | | | |Exposed + LOCATION | No. | Wing | Tail |culmen + ---------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+------- + _Anoüs tenuirostris melanogenys_ | | | | + Hawaiian Islands | 29 | 222 | 113 | 41 + | | 210-229 | 105-120 | 41-48 + | | | | + _Anoüs tenuirostris marcusi_ | | | | + Wake Islands | 8 | 227 | 118 | 45 + | | 218-231 | 112-124 | 44-48 + | | | | + Mariana Islands | 1 | 223 | 117 | 44 + | | | | + Palau Islands | 3 | 228 | 122 | 43 + | | 227-228 | 117-126 | 41-45 + | | | | + Caroline Islands | 32 | 229 | 120 | 44 + | | 220-240 | 113-127 | 40-47 + | | | | + Marshall Islands | 5 | 224 | 118 | 44 + | | 222-229 | 114-123 | 41-46 + | | | | + _Anoüs tenuirostris minutus_ | 13 | 227 | 120 | 44 + Christmas Island | | 220-234 | 108-128 | 41-46 + | | | | + Phoenix, Howland, Union, Danger, | 9 | 229 | 119 | 46 + Suvarov Islands | | 226-233 | 113-124 | 42-48 + | | | | + Marquesas Islands | 10 | 226 | 117 | 45 + | | 220-233 | 115-124 | 42-48 + | | | | + Tuamotu Archipelago | 17 | 229 | 118 | 45 + | | 222-234 | 112-126 | 42-47 + | | | | + Society, Cook, Austral Islands | 12 | 230 | 118 | 46 + | | 223-238 | 114-120 | 43-47 + | | | | + Samoa, Fiji, Tonga Islands | 6 | 228 | 118 | 44 + | | 224-231 | 115-121 | 42-47 + | | | | + Kermadec, Norfolk Isl'ds, New Zealand| 15 | 226 | 116 | 44 + | | 219-235 | 112-121 | 42-47 + | | | | + New Hebrides, Solomon, Bismarck, | 34 | 229 | 117 | 43 + Admiralty Islands, New Guinea | | 222-237 | 109-130 | 40-46 + | | | | + _Anoüs tenuirostris diamesus_ | | | | + Clipperton, Cocos Islands | 14 | 230 | 120 | 44 + | | 224-237 | 114-127 | 41-47 + ---------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+------- + + + _Nesting._--Few reports have been obtained concerning the nesting + of the White-capped Noddy in Micronesia. Finsch (1881b:107) + recorded nests, and Nehrkorn (1899:222) reported on eggs taken at + Kusaie. Yamashina (1932a:409) recorded the taking of eggs at Koror + in the Palau Islands on January 19 and November 10 and in the + Marshalls at Namo on October 19, and at Iringlab on October 21. No + evidence of nestings was obtained by the NAMRU2 party in 1945, + although a number of birds were seen at Ulithi in August. Coultas + (field notes) writes that a colony of approximately 20 birds began + nesting about Christmas time on a small offshore island near + Ponapé. Nests were placed in the crotches of limbs of mangroves, 8 + to 15 feet above the ground. + + _Food habits._--The NAMRU2 party found small fish in the stomachs + of terns taken at Ulithi and Peleliu. + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:253) records the fly + (Hippoboscidae), _Alfersia aenescens_, from the White-capped Noddy + taken at Ponapé and Palau. + +_Remarks._--The subspecies of _Anoüs tenuirostris_ are well +differentiated by color and to a lesser extent by measurements. Table 22 +lists measurements which show that the Hawaiian subspecies, _A. t. +melanogenys_, has the shortest wing and the shortest tail whereas the +subspecies from Cocos and Clipperton islands, _A. t. diamesus_, has the +longest wing and the longest tail. The exposed culmen varies in length +but little among the four subspecies. The systematic position of _A. t. +worcesteri_ from Cavilli Island in the Sula Sea has not been determined +because of lack of material. In the third edition of the Hand-list of +Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1942:219) the birds from Micronesia +are referred to _A. t. worcesteri_ as they are also in other recent +publications by the Japanese. Specimens from the Philippines are needed +for examination to determine satisfactorily the subspecies status of the +birds under consideration. + +Field observations indicate that the White-capped Noddy is not abundant +in the Mariana Islands. According to Oustalet (1896:60), Marche obtained +a female at Saipan in June, 1888, and Yamashina (1940:678) records five +adults from Assongsong (Asuncion). Owston's collectors obtained a +specimen at Asuncion on January 18, 1904. In the Palaus, Carolines, and +Marshalls birds of this species are numerous and have been observed or +collected at many of the islands. Coultas with the Whitney South Sea +Expedition obtained specimens at Kusaie, Ponapé and Palau. He found them +along the shores of the large islands and, especially, on the smaller +offshore islets. At Ulithi Atoll in August, 1945, the NAMRU2 party +observed small flocks of four to ten individuals flying offshore and +feeding inside the reef. They were frequently observed in company with +_Sterna sumatrana_. Fewer birds were seen in September, 1945, at the +Palau Islands by the NAMRU2 party. + + +=Gygis alba candida= (Gmelin) + +White Tern + + _Sterna candida_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 607. (Type + locality, Christmas Island.) + + _Gygis candida_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 220 (Taluit); Saunders + (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 149 (Marshalls); + Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln). + + _Gygis alba_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 330, 332 (Taluit); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 78 (Marshalls); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 58 (Saypan, Pagan, + Agrigan, Marshalls); Safford, Guam, 1912, p. 19 (Guam); Strophlet, + Auk, 63, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 + (Guam); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 525 (Saipan); Baker (part), + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 57 (Guam, Rota, + Saipan). + + _Gygis alba kittlitzi_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 67 + (Saipan, Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 21 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, 66 (Marianas); _idem_, + The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. + Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Mathews (part), Birds Australia, 2, + 1912, p. 443 (Marianas); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, + p. 100 (Marianan); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); + Ridgway (part), Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 559 + (Mariannes); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 193 (?Mariannes); + Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1931, p. 410 (Saipan); Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1932, p. 409 (Iringlab, Namo, Aruno); Hand-list Japanese Birds + (part), rev., 1932, p. 196 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan, + Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Likieb, Mejit); Yamashina (part), + Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong). + + _Gygys alba_ Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam). + + _Gygis albus kittlitzi_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Guam, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan, Marshalls). + + _Leucanous albus kittlitzi_ Mathews (part), Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 143 (Marianne). + + _Gygis alba microrhyncha_ La Touche (part), Handbook Birds Eastern + China, 2, 1933, p. 335 (Marianne). + + _Gygis alba candida_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 + (Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan, Assongsong, Jaluit, Mille, + Aurh, Wotze, Likieb, Mejit); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, + 1946, p. 94 (Tinian); Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan). + + _Geographic range._--Northern Pacific from Bonins and Marianas east + to Wake and Hawaiian Chain, south to Marshall, Phoenix, Christmas + and Fanning islands (see figure 12). In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, Pagan, Agrihan; Marshall + Islands--Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Likieb, Mejit, Eniwetok, + Bikini, Kwajalein. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small tern with ivory-white plumage except + for black, narrow, orbital ring; shafts of primary quills dark + brown; shafts of tail feathers blackish; bill black with bluish + base; tarsus dark bluish with yellowish webs; iris and skin black. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but with light brown mottlings on upper + parts, especially on the mantle; feathers softer, bill shorter. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed on table 23. + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of 11 adult males + from Guam and Rota as 110 (97-124); weights of 6 adult females + from Guam as 108 (100-116). These specimens were taken from May to + October, 1945. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 41 (23 males, 14 females, 4 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 20 (May 24, 29, + June 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, July 10, 19, 20)--Rota, 2 (Oct. 19, + 27)--Saipan, 1 (Sept. 26); AMNH--Guam, 4 (March 7, 9, 20)--Tinian, + 1 (Sept. 8)--Asuncion, 4 (Jan. 1, 18, 25); MCZ--Saipan, 3 (Jan. 7, + March 20, April 17); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 6 (Feb. 27, + March 2, 16, 19). + + _Nesting._--_Gygis alba_ does not construct a nest but places its + single egg rather precariously in the crotch of a branch in a tree + (or on rock). In Micronesia nesting activities have been observed + at various times of the year. Yamashina (1932a:409, 410) reported + on eggs taken in the Marianas at Saipan on February 2 and in the + Marshalls at Arhno on September 26, at Iringlab on October 21 and + at Namo on October 19. At Guam a pair of White Terns was seen in a + large tree on March 27, 1945, by the NAMRU2 observers. Because of + their behavior, it was suspected that they had an egg or young in + the tree. Further inspection revealed, on March 31, a downy young + sitting in the tree. The young bird was attended by the parents + until it began to fly on April 17. Hartert (1898:68) reports that + eggs of the White Tern were taken at Saipan on July 28 and August + 11. Morrison obtained a male nestling on March 16 and eggs on March + 22 at Bikini in 1946. + +_Remarks._--The White Tern is usually restricted to the remote islands +in the Pacific, Indian and South Atlantic oceans; there, according to +the latest treatment, which is that of Peters (1934:348, 349), six +subspecies are recognized. In studying the geographical variation of the +species, the writer has examined 595 adult specimens, including +previously unstudied material collected by the Whitney South Sea +Expedition, which is deposited in the American Museum of Natural +History. + +This ivory-white species presents an unusual problem in that there are +few characters available to distinguish the subspecies. Measurements of +taxonomic value include those of the wing, tail, exposed culmen, and +depth and the shape of the culmen. There appears to be no significant +secondary sexual difference between males and females, and measurements +of the two sexes are combined. The chief problem within this species +seems to hinge on how to classify isolated, but relatively similar, +populations. The examination of the large series of specimens from the +Whitney collections has yielded more complete information to assist in +the solution of this problem. + +_Gygis alba alba_ (Sparrman) of the South Atlantic Ocean (Fernando de +Noronha, South Trinidad, Ascension, and St. Helena islands) and _G. a. +monte_ Mathews of the Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Aldabra, Mascarene and +Chagos islands) are isolated populations. Specimens examined are those +which have previously been studied by other workers; measurements are +shown in table 23. + +With the exception of _G. a. microrhyncha_, _G. a. monte_ has the +smallest average length of wing of all of the subspecies of _G. alba_. +In _G. a. alba_ the length of wing as well as most of the other +measurements differ but slightly from those of some of the populations +in the Pacific area although the slender bill of the Atlantic bird is a +distinctive character, as pointed out by Murphy (1936:1166). + + +TABLE 23. MEASUREMENTS OF SUBSPECIES OF _Gygis alba_ FROM THE ATLANTIC +AND INDIAN OCEAN AREA + + Column headings: + + A: No. + B: Wing + C: Longest tail feather + D: Shortest tail feather + E: Exposed culmen + F: Depth culmen + G: Tarsus + + ===================+====+=======+======+=====+=====+=======+========= + SUBSPECIES | A | B | C | D | E | F | G + -------------------+----+-------+------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + _Gygis alba alba_ | 24 | 246 | 99 | 71 | 40 | 8.0 | 14.5 + | |239-256|93-111|68-77|35-44|7.5-9.0|13.0-16.5 + | | | | | | | + _Gygis alba monte_ | 35 | 232 | 106 | 71 | 39 | 8.5 | 13.5 + | |224-244|98-116|64-81|37-44|8.0-8.5|12.5-14.0 + -------------------+----+-------+------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + + +The taxonomic position of the White Terns of the Pacific area has been +one of uncertainty for a long time; as Peters (1934:349) puts it, "It is +obvious that the last word on the Pacific races of Gygis has not yet +been said." A principal feature of the problem in this region is the +presence in the Marquesas of a well-marked subspecies, _G. a. +microrhyncha_, virtually surrounded by a wide-ranging and relatively +undifferentiated form, _G. a. pacifica_ (Lesson) (see figure 12). The +small cormorant (_Phalacrocorax melanoleucus brevicauda_ Mayr) from +Rennell Island, Solomons, is another example of a distinct form +surrounded by a widely distributed subspecies. + +In all, 55 adult specimens of _G. a. microrhyncha_ have been examined +from the following islands in the Marquesas Group: Mukahiva, Eiau, +Motane, Hivaoa, Uapu, Tahuata, Uahuka, Fatuhiva. The measurements are +listed in table 24, and show that the White Tern in the Marquesas is a +much smaller bird than the other subspecies and has a shorter bill, +wing, and tail. The tail possesses a shallow fork as compared with the +deeper fork of the tail of other subspecies. In addition, the depth of +the culmen averages two millimeters less in the subspecies in the +Marquesas. The presence of a wider, black eye-ring is also a +distinguishing character in this subspecies. + +_Gygis a. microryhncha_ was for a long time treated as a species +distinct from _G. alba_ but has recently been considered as a subspecies +_G. alba_ by Peters and others. On the islands of Hatutu and Motane in +the Marquesas, the Whitney South Sea Expedition obtained some birds +which appear to be intergrades between the two subspecies of White +Terns in the area. The measurements of nine birds which show +intergradation between _G. a. microrhyncha_ and _G. a. pacifica_ are +listed in table 24. Probably the Marquesas population is tending toward +complete reproductive isolation. + +[Illustration: FIG. 12. Geographic distribution of _Gygis alba_ in the +Pacific area. (1) _G. a. candida_; (2) _G. a. pacifica;_ (3) _G. a. +microrhyncha;_ (4) _G. a. royana_.] + +Peters (1934:348, 349) recognizes three other subspecies from the +Pacific area: _G. a. rothschildi_ Hartert from Laysan, Lisiansky, and +Krusenstern islands; _G. a. candida_ (Gmelin) from "the Carolines east +to Christmas Island and south to the Tonga and Society Islands"; and _G. +a. royana_ Mathews from Norfolk and the Kermadec Islands. Birds from +Revilla Gigedo, Cocos and Clipperton islands, although geographically +isolated, are placed in _G. a. candida_. On the basis of a critical +study of specimens at hand, the populations in the Pacific fit into +three groups. Small birds, _G. a. candida_, are found in the North +Pacific from the Bonins and Marianas east to Wake and the Hawaiian Chain +and south to the Marshall, Phoenix, Christmas and the Fanning islands +(see figure 12). Larger birds, _G. a. pacifica_, are found in the +Central Pacific and South Pacific from the Carolines in the west +southeastward through Melanesia and eastward through Samoa, to the +Tuamotus and Easter to Cocos, Clipperton, and Revilla Gigedo islands. In +the Southwest Pacific, at Norfolk and the Kermadec Islands, a +longer-winged population occurs; it is separable as _G. a. royana_. The +measurements of these birds are given in table 24. + + +TABLE 24. MEASUREMENTS OF _Gygis alba_ FROM THE PACIFIC AREA + + Column headings: + + A: No. + B: Wing + C: Longest tail feather + D: Shortest tail feather + E: Exposed culmen + F: Depth Culmen + G: Tarsus + + ======================+====+=======+=======+=====+=====+=======+========= + LOCATION | A | B | C | D | E | F | G + ----------------------+----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + _Gygis alba candida_ | | | | | | | + (Gmelin) | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | + Japan, Bonins | 4 | 238 | 109 | 65 | 36 | | + | | | | |34-38| | + | | | | | | | + Mariana Islands | 35 | 237 | 111 | 69 | 38 | 9.0 | 13.0 + | |227-246| 98-120|61-75|36-41| |12.0-14.0 + | | | | | | | + Wake Islands | 10 | 236 | 109 | 69 | 38 | | 13.0 + | |232-243|101-118|64-77|37-41| |13.0-14.0 + | | | | | | | + Hawaiian Islands | 36 | 235 | 109 | 68 | 37 | 8.5 | 13.0 + | |220-246|102-118|64-74|33-40|8.0-9.0|12.0-14.0 + | | | | | | | + Marshall Islands | 4 | 234 | 111 | 71 | 39 | | + | |231-238|107-115|70-73|38-40| | + | | | | | | | + Phoenix, Howland, | | | | | | | + Hull, Canton Islds.| 8 | 238 | 107 | 70 | 39 | 8.5 | 14.0 + | |237-240|101-116|64-76|37-41| | + | | | | | | | + Fanning, Washington,| | | | | | | + Christmas Islands | 19 | 238 | 107 | 68 | 38 | 8.0 | 13.5 + | |227-242| 97-119|65-72|37-42|7.5-9.0|12.0-15.0 + +----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + Totals |116 | 236 | 109 | 69 | 38 | 8.5 | 13.0 + | |220-246|107-120|61-77|33-42|7.5-9.0|12.0-15.0 + | +=======+=======+=====+=====+=======+========= + _Gygis alba pacifica_ | | | | | | | + (Lesson) | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | + Caroline, Palau | | | | | | | + Islands | 33 | 245 | 116 | 73 | 42 | 8.5 | 13.5 + | |236-253|112-125|67-76|38-44| |13.0-13.5 + | | | | | | | + Bismarck Arch., | | | | | | | + Solomon Islands | 12 | 247 | 116 | 74 | 42 | | + | |242-256|105-129|68-78|39-45| | + | | | | | | | + Samoa, Wallis, Fiji,| | | | | | | + Tonga, Niue Islands| 20 | 247 | 115 | 71 | 42 | | + | |239-254|110-127|67-78|39-44| | + | | | | | | | + Line, Danger Islands| 13 | 245 | 115 | 73 | 41 | | + | |238-252|107-118|69-78|39-42| | + | | | | | | | + Cook,Austral Islands| 29 | 247 | 114 | 73 | 42 | | + | |241-255|104-124|65-78|40-45| | + | | | | | | | + Society Islands | 37 | 249 | 113 | 71 | 42 | 8.5 | 13.5 + | |241-257|107-126|62-76|40-45|8.0-9.0|12.0-14.0 + | | | | | | | + Tuamotu Arch |118 | 245 | 114 | 72 | 42 | | + | |236-252|107-127|62-82|38-46| | + | | | | | | | + Rapa, Bass Rocks, | | | | | | | + Oeno, Henderson, | | | | | | | + Ducie, Pitcairn, | | | | | | | + Easter Islands | 54 | 247 | 113 | 73 | 41 | | + | |240-255|106-126|63-84|40-45| | + | | | | | | | + Clipperton, Cocos | | | | | | | + Islands | 10 | 245 | 115 | 72 | 40 | 8.5 | 13.5 + | |240-253|110-120|71-73|38-43|8.5-9.5|13.0-14.0 + +----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + Totals |326 | 246 | 114 | 72 | 42 | 8.5 | 13.5 + | |236-257|104-129|62-84|38-46|8.0-9.5|12.0-14.0 + | +=======+=======+=====+=====+=======+========= + Intergrades between | | | | | | | + _G. a. microrhyncha_| | | | | | | + and _G. a. pacifica_| 9 | 237 | 105 | 74 | 38 | 7.5 | 13.0 + | |230-247| 93-122|67-89|36-41|7.0-8.0|12.0-14.0 + | | | | | | | + _Gygis alba | | | | | | | + microrhyncha_ | 55 | 218 | 78 | 64 | 36 | 6.5 | 12.0 + | |211-235| 72-96 |60-75|32-39|6.0-8.0|11.0-12.5 + | | | | | | | + _Gygis alba royana_ | | | | | | | + Mathews | | | | | | | + | | | | | | | + Norfolk Islands | 16 | 250 | 113 | 73 | 42 | | + | |242-257|105-124|68-79|41-44| | + | | | | | | | + Kermadec Islands | 12 | 251 | 115 | 75 | 43 | | + | |244-255|110-121|71-81|40-46| | + +----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + Totals | 28 | 250 | 114 | 74 | 42 | | + | |242-257|105-124|68-81|40-46| | + ----------------------+----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+--------- + + +The measurements indicate that there is a gradient in size from small in +the north to large in the south; however, there is a definite separation +in average measurements--ten millimeters in length of wing and four +millimeters in length of exposed culmen--between the two populations +which are designated as _G. a. candida_ and _G. a. pacifica_. In +studying material from Micronesia and the Hawaiian Islands, I (1948:57) +pointed out the similarities between birds of the Marianas and the +Hawaiians and separated these from terns found in the Caroline Islands. +The systematic position of the White Tern in the Gilbert and Ellice +islands will remain in doubt until specimens are available for +examination. + +_G. a. royana_ is provisionally retained as the name for the Fairy Tern +of the Kermadecs and Norfolk Island; there is considerable overlap in +measurements between _G. a. royana_ and _G. a. pacifica_. Measurements +have given evidence of the degrees of structural resemblance of the +White Terns of the different islands, but it is not certain that the +groupings made on this basis are natural; more data is needed on ecology +and life history. Of particular importance is to learn whether these +birds fly regularly from island to island. On the basis of eleven months +of rather continuous observation in Micronesia, I suspect that the White +Tern has little tendency to make inter-island migrations. This might +account for the differences in size in the populations at Guam in the +Marianas (_G. a. candida_) and at Ulithi in the Carolines (_G. a. +pacifica_) where only approximately 400 miles of open water separate the +two islands. The occurrence of the distinct _G. a. microrhyncha_ in the +Marquesas may be accounted for by such nonmigratory behavior. Mayr +(1945a:27), however, is of the opinion that White Terns found in the +Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomons, Santa Cruz and New Hebrides islands +may not breed there, which is another way of saying that they are +migrants. Swarth (1934:221) and Murphy (1936:1268) record the wandering +of the White Tern to the Galapagos Islands, probably from breeding +grounds at Cocos Island. Swarth suggests that the tern is not +established at the Galapagos because of the presence of colder water in +the area. Murphy (1936:1166) is of the opinion that the South Atlantic +White Terns are sedentary, but reports evidence of pelagic migration in +the Pacific at the Kermadecs. The fact that _G. alba_ is restricted in +its distribution to widely separated groups of islands in tropical and +subtropical areas of the South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans may +indicate that the birds at one time had a more extensive range than at +present, probably including even coastal regions of the continents and +large continental islands. + + +=Gygis alba pacifica= (Lesson) + +White Tern + + _Sterna pacifica_ Lesson, Ann. Sci. Nat., 4, 1825, p. 101. (Type + locality, Society Islands, Paumotu Islands, and Bora Bora.) + + _Sterna alba_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 3, 1833, p. + 28 (Carolinen); _idem_, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, 299, 308 (Ualan, Lougounor, Ouleai). + + _Gygis candida_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 137 + (Carolinen); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und + Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 382, 2, 1858, pp. 39, 60 (Ualan); Gray, Cat. + Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 59 (Caroline Islands); + Saunders (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 149 (Pelew, + Carolines); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Ruk, + Pelew). + + _Gygis alba_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Centralpolynesiens, 1867, + p. 233 (Carolinen); Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 832 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); Finsch and Hartlaub, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1870, p. 140 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 114 (Pelew, Uap, Ualan); Gräffe, Journ. + Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 6, 43 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 40 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1877 (1878), p. 782 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1880, pp. 295, 309 (Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 106, 109, + 115, 246, 247 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330, 353 (Mortlock, Nukuor, + Ruk); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Kuschai); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 78 (Pelew, Uap, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Ponapé, + Ualan); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), + 8, 1896, p. 58 (Palaos, Carolines); Baker (part), Smithson. Misc. + Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 57 (Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk, + Kusaie). + + _Gygis alba kittlitzi_ Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml. Senckenb., + 1891, p. 237 (Type locality, Ulea = Wolea); _idem_, Novit. Zool., + 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 1020 + (Carolines); Mathews (part), Birds Australia, 2, 1912, p. 443 + (Carolines); Ridgway (part), Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, + 1919, p. 559 (Carolines); Kuroda (part), Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, + p. 193 (Carolines); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, + p. 196 (Pelew, Yap, Wolea, Luganor, Ruk, Ponapé, Kusaie); + Yamashina (part), Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Babelthuap). + + _Gygis albus kittlitzi_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Pelews, Yap, Wolea, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, + Ponapé, Kusaie). + + _Leucanous albus kittlitzi_ Mathews (part), Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 143 (Carolines). + + _Gygis alba candida_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. + 349 (Carolines); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. + 219 (Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur, Yap, Wolea, Truk, Lukunor, + Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Central and southern Pacific from Carolines + southeast through Melanesia and east through Samoa to Tuamotus, + Easter to Cocos and Clipperton (see figure 12). In Micronesia: + Palau Islands--Angaur, Peleliu, Garakayo, Koror, Babelthuap, + Kayangel; Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Wolea, Truk, Lukunor, + Ponapé, Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Resembles _G. a. candida_, but size larger, wing + length of adult males and females 236-253 (245); length of exposed + culmen 38-44 (42). + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 24. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 36 (22 males, 12 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 1); + AMNH--exact locality not given, 1 (Nov. 13);-Caroline Islands, + USNM--Ulithi, 12 (Aug. 14, 15, 16, 20, 21)--Truk, 1 (Dec. 13); + AMNH--Truk, 7 (Mar. 8, May 7, June 8, Nov. 11, 26)--Ponapé, 1 + (undated)--Kusaie, 10 (Jan., Feb., March 20-30, April 1-10); + MCZ--Yap, 3 (Jan. 13). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party learned that in May and June, 1945, + several young White Terns were seen at Asor, Ulithi Atoll, by + service personnel. These young were observed in breadfruit trees + within a recreational area; the presence of the service personnel + seemingly had little disturbing effect on the terns. At Bulubul, + another island of this atoll, a downy young was obtained on August + 22. Hartert (1900:10) reports that eggs of the White Tern were + found on the ground and in forks of branches of trees at Truk in + June. + + _Food Habits._--The author (1948:58) reports that stomachs of + birds taken at Ulithi and Peleliu contained fish, insects and + marine crustaceans. Probably the birds feed to a large extent + along the edge of the tidal reef. They almost certainly obtain + food also on the islands as indicated by the presence of insects + in stomach contents; this is not surprising since the birds + frequent woodland habitats. + +_Remarks._--_Gygis alba_ is one of the most characteristic birds in +Micronesia. It is seemingly more numerous at the coral atolls than at +the high, volcanic islands. At the latter islands the birds prefer the +coastal coconut grove environment. At Pau and Bulubul, two small islands +in the Ulithi Atoll, the writer counted approximately 100 birds on +August 21, 1945. Kittlitz was the first to publish an account of these +birds in the Caroline Islands. Tetens, Peters, Semper and Kubary +reported their presence in the Palaus. No doubt, these terns attract the +attention of every traveler in the islands owing to their conspicuously +white beauty and their seemingly friendly behavior toward man. Their +habit of hovering in small flocks close over the head of the observer is +indeed spectacular. + + +=Columba livia= Gmelin + +Blue Rock Pigeon + + _Columba domestica [Greek: b] livia_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, + 1789, p. 769. (No type locality = Europe.) + + _Columba livia_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam); Marshall, Condor, vol. 51, 1949, p. 221 (Tinian). + + _Geographic range._--Europe and Asia Minor. Introduced to many + parts of the world. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Tinian. + +_Remarks._--In 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed pigeons about the towns +on Guam, particularly at the town of Inarajan. Bryan (1936:24) writes +that the birds were introduced by the United States Navy and Marine +Corps at Guam; the stock originating from escaped carrier pigeons. +Marshall (1949:221) records this bird from Tinian. + + +=Ptilinopus porphyraceus ponapensis= (Finsch) + +Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove + + _Ptilinopus ponapensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 779. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Ptilinopus? fasciatus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, + pp. 18, 37 (Ponapé). + + _Ptilopus fasciatus_ Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 536 + (Ponapé); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 44 (Ponapé). + + _Ptilopus ponapensis_ Schmeltz, Verhandl. Ver. nat. Unterhaltung + Hamburg, 1877 (1879), pp. 178, 179 (Ponapé); Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk, Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1880, pp. 291, 303 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1880, p. 578 (Ruk, Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, + 115 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 583 (Ponapé, Ruk); + _idem_, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 50 (Ponapé, Ruk); Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., + 21, 1893, p. 93 (Ponapé, Ruk); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat., Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 222 (Ponapé); Nehrkron, Kat. Eiers., + 1899, p. 180 (Ruk); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 (Ruck, + Ponapé); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 354 (Ruk, Ponapé); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ruk, Ponapé); + Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, + 1919, p. 189 (Uala, Ponapé). + + _Ptilinopus ponapensis_ Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. + 7 (Ruk, Ponapé); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 42 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 + (Ruck, Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. + 32 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, pp. 81, 82 (Ponapé); Mayr. + Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1939 (1941), p. 204 (Ponapé); + Bequaert, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, pp. 266, + 290 (Ponapé). + + _Ptilinopus Ponapensis_ Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. + 357 (Ponapé). + + _Ptilinopus ponepensis ponapensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 57 (Ponapé, Ruk); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, + p. 408 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 + (Ponapé, Ruk); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 31 + (Ruk, Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 + (Ponapé, Truk). + + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus ponapensis_ Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 7 (Ruk, Ponapé); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Truk, Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 59 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé. + _Characters._--Adult male: A green fruit dove with forehead, + anterior lores and crown near "pansy purple," faintly margined with + yellow; occiput, sides of head, neck, upper breast grayish-green + with bifid feathers of midbreast more olivaceous; chin and + midthroat light yellow; breast, sides and tibia green; midpart of + lower breast dark bluish-green, tinged with dark purple; lower + abdomen, vent, and undertail yellow, under tail-coverts deeper + yellow tinged with orange; upper parts dark green; wings metallic + green on outer webs and tips, inner secondaries and some posterior + scapulars with purple spots near tips; primaries and secondaries + edged on outer webs with yellowish; underwing gray with yellow + edges on hind, under wing-coverts; upper side of tail metallic + green with terminal, broad yellow band; under side of tail gray; + bill lead-colored, feet wine-brown, iris whitish to pale brown. + Adult female resembles adult male, but slightly smaller and duller. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but entirely green with yellow edgings + on feathers and lacking crimson crown and colored breast patch. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of subspecies of _P. porphyraceus_ + in Micronesia are presented in table 25. + + +TABLE 25. MEASUREMENTS OF _Ptilinopus porphyraceus_ IN MICRONESIA + + ===================+============+===============+============+=========== + | | | Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | culmen | Tarsus + -------------------+------------+---------------+------------+----------- + _P. p. ponapensis_ | 12 males | 137 (133-141) | 14 (13-15) | 25 (24-27) + | 11 females | 133 (126-137) | 14 (13-15) | 25 (24-26) + | | | | + _P. p. hernsheimi_ | 6 males | 134 (130-138) | 13 (12-14) | 25 (24-26) + | 5 females | 127 (125-130) | 13 (12-13) | 25 (24-25) + | | | | + _P. p. pelewensis_ | 10 males | 133 (131-134) | 15 (13-15) | 25 (23-26) + | 4 females | 133 (130-138) | 15 (14-15) | 24 (23-24) + -------------------+------------+---------------+------------+----------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 81 (52 males, 26 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 4 (Feb. 16, + Dec. 24); AMNH--Truk, 24 (Jan., June, Oct.)--Ponapé, 53 (Nov., + Dec). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:408) reports on eggs taken at Ponapé + on the following dates: July 10, 12, August 1, 12, 15, 21. Only one + egg was found to a nest. Hartert (1900:8) records nests containing + eggs in May and June at Truk. Coultas (field notes) describes the + nest as a flimsy affair. At Ponapé in November and December he + found nests on low branches (10 to 20 feet from the ground) each + containing a single egg. Nests were found also in the tops of tree + ferns. Females taken in these months had enlarged gonads. + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81, 82, and 1941:266, 290) records + the two flies (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoctona plicata_ and _O. + pusilla_, from the fruit dove at Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--McElroy of the NAMRU2 party found the birds in mountainous +areas at Truk in December, 1945. At Ponapé in November and December, +1931, Coultas (field notes) comments that the bird is rapidly +disappearing owing to persistent hunting by the natives and, at that +time, by the Japanese. He found the birds to be strictly forest-living +and to frequent the larger fruit-bearing trees of the lowlands and the +mountain sides. Coultas writes that the Japanese hunters attracted the +doves by the use of calls. The natives catch the birds with a gum +mixture obtained from bread-fruit gum and coconut oil. + + +=Ptilinopus porphyraceus hernsheimi= (Finsch) + +Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove + + _Ptilopus Hernsheimi_ Finsch., Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 303. + (Type locality, Kuschai.) + + _Ptilopus hernsheimi_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. + 577 (Kuschai); Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1881, p. + 75 (Kuschai); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 106, 107, 108 (Kushai); + Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 583 (Ualan); _idem_, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 51 (Ualan); + Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 94 (Ualan); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 222 + (Oualan); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 (Kuschai); + Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 355 (Kuschai); Wetmore, in + Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 189 + (Kusaie). + + _Ptilinopus hernsheimi_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 + (Ualan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 33 + (Kusaie). + + _Ptilinopus ponapensis hernsheimi_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 57 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 190 (Kusaie); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. + 31 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 212 + (Kusaie). + + _Ptilinopus marshallianus_ Peters and Griscom, Proc. New England + Zool. Club, 10, 1928, p. 104 (Type locality, Ebon); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Ebon). + + _Ptilinopus ponapensis marshallianus_ Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 3, 1937, p. 31 (Ebon); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 213 (Ebon). + + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus hernsheimi_ Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 6 (Kusaie, Ebon); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie; Marshall + Islands--Ebon (extinct?). + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _P. p. ponapensis_, but occiput, + nape, sides of head more gray and less greenish-yellow; chin and + midthroat paler; crown coloring very faintly margined with yellow; + tail band brighter yellow; under tail-coverts more orange; + abdominal spot may be present as a brownish-red tinge; abdomen + slightly more yellowish. + + Immature: Resembles immature of _P. p. ponapensis_. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 25. Ripley and + Birckhead (1942:7) give the measurements of the only known + specimen from Ebon (Marshall Islands) as: wing, 124; tail, 74; + bill from base, 15. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 11 (6 males, 5 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 9); AMNH--Kusaie, + 10 (Jan., Feb., March, April). + +_Remarks._--I am following Ripley and Birckhead (1942:6) in identifying +the dove from Ebon Island as of the subspecies _P. p. hernsheimi_. This +specimen from Ebon may, however, represent the final vestige of a +formerly well-distributed population in the Marshall Islands. This +distribution is of particular interest because it may show the pathway +by which these small fruit pigeons invaded eastern Micronesia from +Polynesia. + +The small fruit dove at Kusaie has apparently the same habitat +requirements as others of the species. Coultas (field notes) comments +that in 1931 the birds were "quite common." He found them in the high +trees on the mountain sides away from the native villages and gardens. + + +=Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Crimson-crowned Fruit Dove + + _Ptilinopus pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, p. 7. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Ptilinopus pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, p. 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. + 225 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 101 (Pelew); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 1, 1873, pl. + 7, fig. 5 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, + 24 (Palau); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 37 + (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + p. 407 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 56 (Pelew); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 32 (Pelew); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Palau); Peters, + Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 31 (Babeltop, Korror); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 (Babelthuap, + Koror). + + _Ptilonopus pelewensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1874, p. + 94 (Pelew). + + _Ptilopus pelewensis_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 366 + (Pelew); Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 531 (Palau); + Schmeltz, Verhandl. Ver. nat. Unterhatlung Hamburg, 1877 (1879), + p. 178 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 44 (Pelew); + Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 584 (Pelew); _idem_, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 48 (Pelew); + Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 86 (Pelew); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, + 1, 1913, p. 354 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 52 (Pelew). + + _Ptilinopus porphyraceus pelewensis_ Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 7 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 60 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Anguar. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A green fruit pigeon with anterior + lores and crown purple, margined with pale yellow; forehead paler + than crown; chin and midthroat pale yellow; neck, sides of head, + and breast greenish-gray, darker on occiput; feathers of upper + breast cross-banded with partly concealed violet bands; abdomen + orange, its lower part and region of vent yellow; sides greenish; + tibia grayish; under tail-coverts near "Indian lake" with + yellowish-orange edgings; upper parts green; wings metallic green, + secondaries and primaries margined on outer webs with yellow; + inner secondaries spotted with violet-blue near tips; under wing + gray; upper side of tail green with pale yellow terminal band; + under side of tail gray; bill lead-colored; feet dark blood-red. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but upper parts greener with + upper side of wing and upper tail-coverts washed with + olivaceous-brown; breast duskier. Immature resembles adult, but + lacks purple crown, violet breast spot, orange abdomen and maroon + under tail-coverts; upper and lower parts margined with yellow; + forehead pale green; supercillary stripe pale yellow. + + _P. p. pelewensis_ resembles _P. p. ponapensis_, but crown more + purple; yellow tail-bar narrower; bifurcated, central breast + feathers violet; abdomen orange; and under tail-coverts near + "Indian lake". + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 25. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 14 (10 males, 4 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 14, Dec. 3)--Garakayo, + 1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 3 (Aug. 27, Sept. 1, 4)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept. + 11)--Pelew, 2 (Mar. 1, 2); AMNH--Palau, 3 (Oct., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--At Ngabad Island on September 11, 1945, the NAMRU2 + party found a nest in jungle in a low tree about six feet above the + ground. It was loosely constructed and contained a single white + egg, size 31 by 23 mm. Another nest was found at Ngabad the same + day. It was on the branch of a tree approximately 20 feet from the + ground. The nest was not examined other than to observe a parent + bird on the nest. Three males obtained in August and in September + had enlarged testes. Males taken in December by Coultas had + enlarged testes. + + _Food Habits._--Stomachs examined by the NAMRU2 party contained + fruit parts and seeds. This species seemingly obtains its foods + from the large fruit-producing trees and to a lesser extent from + the smaller shrubs or from ground berries. + +_Remarks._--_P. p. pelewensis_ was found in small numbers at all islands +visited in the southern Palaus by the NAMRU2 party in 1945. At Peleliu, +the bird was restricted to undisturbed woodlands and thickets, although +some were seen in the thickly growing vegetation covering over the +battle areas. The bird evidently lives a solitary existence; it was only +rarely observed in pairs. It was often located by its calls. Coultas +(field notes) reports that in 1931 the species was becoming rare in the +Palaus, owing to persistent hunting by the Japanese, who sold the bird +for 25 sen each. + + +=Ptilinopus roseicapillus= (Lesson) + +Marianas Fruit Dove + + _Columba roseicapilla_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 6, 1831, p. 472. + (Type locality, Marianne Islands.) + + _Columba roseicapilla_ Lesson, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, + Oiseaux, 1838, p. 278 (Mariannes). + + _Columba purpurata_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 3, + 1833, p. 25, pl. 23, fig. 2 (Guahan); _idem_, Obser. Zool., in + Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan). + + _Ptilinopus purpuratus_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 190 + (Guaham). + + _Ptilopus roseicapillus_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. + Paris, 39, 1854, p. 877 (Mariannes); _idem_, Icon. Pigeons, 1857, + pl. 23 and desc. letterpress (Mariannes); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, + 6, no. 35, 1873, p. 8 (Guam); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. + 368 (Mariannae); Elliot, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, p. 537 + (Marianne); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 261 (Mariannes); + Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1891, p. 584 (Marianne); _idem_, Abhandl. und + Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 48 (Marianne); + Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 108 (Marianne + Islands); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, (3), 7, + 1895, p. 218 (Saypan, Guam, Rota); Safford, The Plant World, 7, + 1904, p. 264 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 736 + (Mariannes); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 + (Guam); Schnee, Zeitschr. f. Naturwisch., 82, 1912, p. 465 + (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 101 + (Marianen); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 354 (Marianen); Cox, + Island of Guam, 1917, p. 20 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec. vol. 13, no. + 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Thompson, Guam and its people, 1942, p. 23 + (Guam). + + _Kurukuru roseicapillus_ Prévost and Des Murs, Voy. "Venus," + Oiseaux, 1855, pp. 221, 231, 257, 259, 269 (Guam). + + _Ptilopus roseicapilla_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1855, p. 21 + (Mariannis). + + _Ptilonopus roseicapillus_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 31 (Guam); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 96 + (Mariannen); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1874, p. 94 + (Mariannes). + + _Ptilinopus roseicapillus_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, pp. 122, 127 (Mariannen); Gray, + Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 225 (Ladrones); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, p. 60 (Guam, Rota, Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island + of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop + Mus., 1, 1901, p. 39 (Guam, Rota, Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Guam, Saipan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 + (Marianas); _idem_, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); Kuroda, + in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 56 (Guam, Rota, Saipan); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 33 (Marianne); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Tinian, Saipan, + Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 212 (Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 288 + (Marianas); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 95 + (Tinian); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 42 (Guam); Strophlet, + Auk, 63, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 + (Guam); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. + Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 59 (Guam, Rota). + + _Ptilopus diadematus_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 363 + (Marianae). + + _Ptilinopus roseicapilla_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, + p. 31 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam); Ripley and Birckhead, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1192, 1942, p. 3 (Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A green dove with crown, forehead, + anterior lores, and spot at base of mandible near "aster purple," + margined with pale yellow especially on top of head; chin and + throat pale yellow to white; sides of head greenish-gray, darker + on occiput; breast green with pearly-gray tinge on feathers of + middle part; lower breast with dark purple patch; abdomen orange + with yellowish-green coloring at midline; anal region and lower + tail-coverts yellow, tinged with orange on lower tail-coverts; + sides and tibia greenish with yellow tinges; upper parts green, + more yellowish-green on rump; wings glossy, upper wing-coverts + brighter in middle and margined with yellow; under side of wing + and under side of tail gray; upper side of tail green with broad + grayish terminal band margined with yellow; iris pale yellow; bill + grass-green; legs and feet reddish-black. + + Adult female: Resembles male, but slightly smaller with neck + greener. Immature resembles adult, but lacking colored crown; body + feathers edged with yellow. + + Birds from Guam, Rota, and Tinian exhibit no conspicuous + differences. _P. roseicapillus_ is closest to _P. regina_ of + southern Papua, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Australia being, + according to Ripley and Birckhead (1942:3), "Similar to _regina_, + but crown and abdominal band darker; malar apex concolorous with + crown; hind neck more grayish; tail-bar wider and paler." + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _P. roseicapillus_ are presented + in table 26. + + _Weights._--In 1948 (1948:59) I listed the weights of 14 adult + males as 81-103 (90), of 4 adult females as 85-99 (92), and of one + nestling in post natal molt as 44 grams. These were taken at Guam. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 43 (32 males, 10 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 28 (March 8, + May 25, 27, June 3, 12, 14, July 2, 6, 10, 18, 19, 29, Aug. + 21)--Rota, 3 (Oct. 28, 31, Nov. 2)--Tinian, 1 (Oct. 26); + AMNH--Guam, 8 (Aug.)--Tinian, 3 (Sept.). + + +TABLE 26. MEASUREMENTS OF _Ptilinopus roseicapillus_ + + =================+===============+============+==============+=========== + | | | Exposed | + NUMBER | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + -----------------+---------------+------------+--------------+-------------- + 32 adult males | 127 (122-133) | 80 (75-84) | 14 (13-15.3) | 25 (24-27) + 10 adult females | 124 (121-130) | 76 (75-79) | 13 (12-13.7) | 24 (22-25.5) + -----------------+---------------+------------+--------------+-------------- + + + _Nesting._--At Guam, I obtained records of nests of fruit doves on + March 1, 1927, and May 7, 1945. David H. Johnson observed a pair of + fruit doves in the act of copulation on May 26, 1945. Birds with + enlarged gonads were taken by the NAMRU2 party in March and July. A + nestling in post natal molt, just beginning to fly, was taken on + July 6. Seale (1901:39) reports two nests, each containing one + white egg, taken in the period from May to July. These nests were + found in trees eight to ten feet above the ground. + + _Food habits._--The Marianas Fruit Dove feeds on fruits and seeds + of trees and shrubs. The birds are apparently strictly tree + dwellers; I saw no birds on the ground. A favorite fruit is that + of a flowering shrub known as the "ink berry." Birds were + collected which contained stomachs full of these small black + berries. The fruit of the papaya is also a favorite food. + +_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party found the Marianas Fruit Dove at Guam to be +fairly numerous in undisturbed jungle, and more abundant in the heavy, +second-growth, scrub-forest as was found on Amantes Point in 1945. The +birds were secretive but were easily located by their calls. They were +usually found as singles sitting quietly concealed in thick vegetation. +Birds were seen flying rather infrequently, and then only for short +distances. The removal of large tracts of jungle to provide space for +the construction of air strips and installations in the late war has +disturbed some of the habitat of these birds. Although vast tracts of +forest were undisturbed, the birds probably have decreased at Guam. +Coultas (field notes) found the birds common at the northern end of Guam +in 1931. He commented that natives catch them with snares and bird lime +for the local markets. At Tinian in 1931, Coultas found few birds. Downs +(1946:95) and Stott (1947:526) record the birds at Tinian and Saipan, +respectively, in 1945. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found the dove to be +numerous. + +_Evolutionary history of Ptilinopus in Micronesia._--Oceania is +especially rich in species and subspecies of the genus _Ptilinopus_. +Ripley and Birckhead (1942) have made the most recent and most thorough +contribution concerning these birds. They state that the center of +distribution for the genus lies in the Papuan region. Within the Oceanic +region there are several species of _Ptilinopus_ which in one way or +another are rather closely related; Rensch (1938:277) uses these as +examples of species which have been formed by isolation. These include +_P. perousii_ from Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga; _P. mercierii_ from the +Marquesas; _P. dupetithouarsii_ from the Marquesas; _P. huttoni_ from +Rapa; _P. purpuratus_ from Henderson, Tuamotus, Societies; _P. +porphyraceus_ from Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Carolines, Solomons, New +Hebrides, New Caledonia, and adjacent areas; and _P. roseicapillus_ from +Marianas. In all of these birds the crown is wine-red except in _P. +dupetithouarsii_ in which it is whitish. _P. porphyraceus_ appears to be +more closely related to _P. purpuratus_ than to any other species and is +characterized by an often brightly washed spot of color of some shade of +red or orange on the breast. These birds may have invaded Micronesia +from the region of the Solomon Islands, although it appears more likely +that they arose in the Samoa-Fiji-Tonga region and moved northward, +probably by way of the Marshall Islands. _P. p. hernsheimi_ from Kusaie +and _P. p. ponapensis_ from Ponapé and Truk resemble _P. p. faciatus_ +Peale from Samoa more closely than they do any other subspecies. _P. p. +pelewensis_ from Palau, on the other hand shows little relation to these +other two Micronesian subspecies and appears to be closest to _P. p. +porphyraceus_ of Fiji and Tonga or possibly to _P. grayi_ from +Melanesia. Ripley and Birckhead (1942:7) suggest that the subspecies at +Palau owes its marked divergence to its isolated position at the +periphery of the range of the species. _P. p. pelewensis_ probably +represents an independent and an earlier colonization, possibly from a +stock different from that from which the two subspecies in the Carolines +arose. The presence in the Palaus of subspecies singularly different +from subspecies in the Carolines can also be observed in other genera, +as for example, _Rhipidura_, and _Myiagra_. Figure 13 shows the inferred +routes of colonization of _Ptilinopus_ to Micronesia. + +_P. roseicapillus_ seemingly represents a remnant, or perhaps a +successful straggler, of an early invasion to Micronesia. Ripley and +Birckhead (1942:2) classify this species as "Old Stock," along with _P. +monachus_, _P. coronulatus_ and _P. regina_. Its pathway of invasion to +the Marianas was probably directly northward from the Papuan area and +not by way of the Polynesian islands. Its resemblance to the species _P. +regina_ of southern Papua, Lesser Sundas, and Australia is most unusual, +especially since there is a separation between the two species of some +1,400 miles; this is pointed out by Ripley and Birckhead (1942:4). As I +have said (1948:59) elsewhere, "On the basis of its characters the +Mariana birds would merit only subspecific separation, but owing to the +great distance between the two doves and the possibility of independent +origin and subsequent convergence, it may be more advisable to continue +to regard the two as separate species." + +[Illustration: FIG. 13. Geographic distribution of _Ptilinopus +porphyraceus_ and routes of its dispersal. (1) _P. p. porphyraceus_; (2) +_P. p. fasciatus_; (3) _P. p. hernsheimi_; (4) _P. p. ponapensis_; (5) +_P. p. pelewensis_.] + + +=Ducula oceanica monacha= (Momiyama) + +Micronesian Pigeon + + _Globicera oceanica monacha_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, March, + 1922, p. 4. (Type locality, Yap.) + + _Columba oceanica_ Lesson and Garnot (part), Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. + Levrault, 40, 1826, p. 317 (Pelew); Lesson (part), Man. d'Ornith., + 2, 1828, p. 166 (Pelew); _idem_ (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool., + 2, 1828, pp. 432, 709 (Pelew); _idem_, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., + 2, Oiseaux, 1838, p. 292 (Pelew); Prévost and Knip, Les Pigeons, + 2, 1838-43, p. 49 (Pelew). + + _Carpophaga oceanica_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, p. 115 (Pelewinseln); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 830 (Pelew); Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. + 229 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 101 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 26 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), pp. 775, 780 (Palau); Salvadori (part), Cronaca del R. + Liceo-Ginnasio Cavour, 1878, pp. 3, 8 (Pelew); _idem_, Ibis, 1879, + p. 364 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 42 (Pelew); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 52 (Pelew); Matschie (part), Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, + p. 743 (Pelew); Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 351 + (Palau). + + _Globicera oceanica_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 2, 1855, p. + 31 (Pelew); Reichenbach (part), Tauben, 1861, p. 120 (Pelew); + Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 176 + (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 + (Pelew); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 486, 489 + (Palau). + + _Carpophaga (Globicera) oceanica_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. + Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Pelew). + + _Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 145 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 7, 118 (Pelew); Finsch and + Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1870, p. 134 (Pelew). + + _Globicera oceanica monacha_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 46 (Yap); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, + p. 408 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 189 (Yap, + Palau, Current = Palo Anna). + + _Globicera oceanica momiyamai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, March, 1922, pp. 25, 56 (Type locality, Angaur); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 46 (Pelew); + Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 719 (Pelew). + + _Muscadivora oceanica winkleri_ Neumann, Verhandl. Ornith. Ges. + Bayern, 25, Sept. 1, 1922, p. 234 (Type locality, Palau). + + _Ducula oceanica monacha_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, + p. 43 (Yap, Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur, Current); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Yap, Babelthuap, Koror, + Angaur, Current); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 11 + (Yap, Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Palau, + Yap); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 66 + (Peleliu, Garakayo, Babelthuap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur, Palo Anna; Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. oceanica_ from Kusaie but + throat, breast, head, and neck light ashy-gray; feathers around + bill grayish-white; abdomen and under tail-coverts tipped with + light brown. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but underparts paler; back lacking dark + bluish spots; back feathers and wing feathers edged with light + brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _D. oceanica_ are listed in table + 27. + + +TABLE 27. MEASUREMENTS OF _Ducula oceanica_ + + =================+==========+=============+================+========== + SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | Exposed culmen | Tarsus + -----------------+----------+-------------+----------------+---------- + | | | | + _D. o. monacha_ | 8 males |228 (219-233)| |36 (34-37) + | 6 females|221 (214-228)|22.5 (22.0-23.0)|31 (29-33) + | | | | + _D. o. teraokai_ | 5 males |230 (225-237)|23.5 (23.0-25.0)|34 (33-35) + | 8 females|231 (221-238)|23.0 (21.5-24.5)|34 (33-35) + | | | | + _D. o. townsendi_| 8 males |226 (211-234)|24.0 (23.5-25.0)|34 (32-35) + | 5 females|226 (215-233)|24.0 (23.0-24.5)|33 (32-34) + | | | | + _D. o. oceanica_ | 4 males |222 (217-228)|25.0 (24.5-26.0)|35 (34-36) + |13 females|219 (213-226)|24.0 (23.0-25.0)|32 (30-34) + | | | | + _D. o. | | | | + ratakensis_[B] | 6 males | (211-217)| (25.0-27.0)| + | 3 females| (208-213)| (25.0-26.0)| + -----------------+----------+-------------+----------------+---------- + + [B] From Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221). + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 17 (9 males, 8 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 19)--Peleliu, 7 + (Aug. 27, 28, 29, Sept. 4, 5); AMNH--Palau, 9 (Oct., Nov. 13, 15, + 21, Dec. 1). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:408) records the finding of one egg at + Yap on December 3, 1930. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of + breeding activity of these pigeons at the Palaus in August and + September, 1945. Coultas, in November and December of 1931, + obtained birds with enlarged gonads at Palau. Probably the nesting + season begins in November or December. + + _Food habits._--The pigeons feed on both fruits and green stuffs. + The NAMRU2 party found berries, fruit parts and green plant + materials in stomachs of birds taken in September, 1945. The birds + were found to be exceedingly fat at this time. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:486, 489) records the bird lice + (Mallophaga), _Goniocotes carpohagae_ and _Colopocephalum + unicolor_, from this pigeon at Palau. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Palau was first observed in 1783, +when Captain Henry Wilson of the packet "Antelope" was shipwrecked in +these islands. In his account of the islands, as compiled by George +Keate (Wilson, 1788), Wilson described the large pigeons, which were +kept as pets by the natives and were eaten by only certain classes of +people. In 1826, Lesson and Garnot made first reference to the birds +found by Wilson. It was almost 100 years after Wilson's visit that the +bird was again observed; this time it was obtained by the sea captains, +Tetens and Heinsohn, and by Kubary, the collector for the Godeffroy +Museum. + +It is surprising that a pigeon as large and conspicuous as this one, has +not already been exterminated by man on these small islands. Every +traveller to the islands, who has made observations, writes that the +pressure of hunting on these birds is severe. Coultas (field notes) +reports that in 1931 the birds were "very scarce and wild." He comments +that the Japanese hunters obtained the birds and received the market +price of 35 sen for each one. He writes, "There is a group of Japanese +hunters in the islands who vie with one another to see who can obtain +the most birds. They are all atrocious shots but some employ natives and +since so many of them are in the business they are inflicting +considerable damage to the bird life. During my stay there one Japanese +was sentenced to six weeks hard labor for hiring native hunters. The +native hunter who preferred charges claimed that money was due him for +having shot some 3,500 birds and the account had been standing over a +year." Price (1936b:491) shows a picture of a captive pigeon at Palau. +The natives used this bird as a calling decoy to attract others within +range of their blowguns. + +The NAMRU2 party observed pigeons at all islands visited in August and +September, 1945. At Peleliu, the pigeons were found to be restricted to +relatively undisturbed areas where tall trees remained or where shrubs +were present on the faces of overhanging cliffs. The shrubs on cliffs +were favorite roosting places. Although the pigeons remained in these +relatively inaccessible areas, they were not especially difficult to +obtain with shotguns. I can see that it might be difficult for unarmed +hunters to obtain the birds. The present writer (1946b:210) has recorded +the extensive utilization of pigeons, rails and megapodes by Japanese +troops and by their prisoners of war at Babelthuap and Koror during the +latter part of the war. + +During our stay at Peleliu we were unable to learn whether the pigeon +was still present at Pulo Anna (Current Island), a coral island some 160 +miles southeast of Peleliu. The U. S. Navy frequently dispatched a ship +to the island, but we did not learn of it until our stay at Peleliu was +nearly over. Dr. C. K. Dorsey, then of the U. S. Naval Epidemiology Unit +at Peleliu, reported that various kinds of birds were numerous at Pulo +Anna, but he did not recall seeing the pigeon. This pigeon may occur +also at Fais, a raised coral island west of Yap and Ulithi in the +Carolines. I know of no reports dealing with the avifauna of this +phosphate island, but I examined several pictures, taken by Navy landing +parties and the Military Government personnel, which show the island to +be covered with extensive and luxuriant vegetation. I suspect that an +intensive survey of the island will reveal several new records for +birds. + + +=Ducula oceanica teraokai= (Momiyama) + +Micronesian Pigeon + + _Globicera oceanica teraokai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 2. (Type locality, Tol, Truk Islands.) + + _Columba oceanica_ Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, + 3, 1833, p. 25, pl. 33, fig. 1 (Lugunor); _idem_ (part), Obser. + Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 299 (Lougounor); + Hartlaub (part), Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, pp. 115, 185, + (Mordlockinseln). + + _Carpophaga (Globicera) pacifica_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. + Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Mortlock's Island). + + _Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 146 (Lugunor). + + _Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. + 576 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 330, 353 (Nukuor, Ruk); Wiglesworth (part), + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 52 (Luganor, Ruk, Nukuor); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 + (Ruk). + + _Globicera oceanica_ Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., + 21, 1893, p. 176 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 52 (Ruk). + + _Globicera oceanica teraokai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Ruk, ?Mortlock, ?Nukuor); Mathews, Syst. + Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 189 (Truk). + + _M[uscadivora] o[ceanica] oceanica_ Neumann (part), Verhandl. + Ornith. Ges. Bayern, 25, 1922, p. 234 (Ualam = Truk). + + _Ducula oceanica teraokai_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, + p. 43 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 212 + (Truk); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 11 (Truk); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, ?Lukunor, + ?Nukuoro. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. monacha_, but slightly + darker on crown, nape, and mantle; back more bluish and less + greenish, underparts slightly darker chestnut. Differs from _D. o. + townsendi_ by being paler and gray on crown, nape, shoulder, side + of neck, and upper breast; abdomen and under tail-coverts slightly + deeper chestnut. Differs from _D. o. oceanica_ by larger size; + upper parts paler; abdomen and under side of tail deeper chestnut. + I agree with Amadon (1943:11) that this subspecies is only + doubtfully distinct from _D. o. monacha_ and that it might be + advisable to unite these under one subspecific name. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 14 (5 males, 9 females, 1 + unsexed) from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk (Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Truk was observed by Kittlitz +(1836:299) and later by Kubary at the islands of Lukunor and Nukuoro. +Momiyama (1922:4) remarks that he did not see specimens from these two +islands but concludes that they probably belong to the subspecies named +from Truk. It is possible that birds at these two atolls have been +exterminated, although adequate field investigations have not been made. + +There is little information published concerning the natural history of +this subspecies. McElroy, who visited Truk in December, 1945, did not +find the bird; however, he did not visit all of the islands in the group +during his stay. + + +=Ducula oceanica townsendi= (Wetmore) + +Micronesian Pigeon + + _Globicera oceanica townsendi_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 191. (Type locality, Ponapé). + + _Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 780 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 407 + (Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 292 (Ponapé); + _idem_, 1881, pp. 113, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause (part), + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth + (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 52 (Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, + p. 113 (Guam, error = Ponapé). + + _Globicera oceanica_ Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., + 21, 1893, p. 176 (Ponapé). + + _Globicera oceanica townsendi_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 6 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 + (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 190 (Ponapé). + + _Ducula oceanica townsendi_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, + 1937, p. 44 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, vol. 12, no. 2, 1939, pp. + 81, 82 (Ponapé); _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, + 1941, pp. 266, 290 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 212 (Ponapé); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, + p. 11 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 + (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _D. o. teraokai_, but darker. + Resembles. closely _D. o. oceanica_ but larger and darker on crown + and nape; lower parts slightly paler but chin more cream-buff in + color. As Adamon (1943:11) states, there is little difference + between _D. o. townsendi_ and _D. o. oceanica_ except in size. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number 21 (11 males, 9 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 2 (Feb. 11, + 12); AMNH--Ponapé, 19 (Nov. 22, 29, Dec. 1, 2, 3). + + _Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the pigeon at Ponapé + nests the year around, probably two or three times a year. He + describes the nest as being made of loose twigs and as placed on a + fork of a limb in a tall tree. One egg is laid. Coultas saw "two or + three" females nesting in December. + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81, 82 and 1941:266, 290) found the + flies (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoctona plicata_ and _O. pusilla_, on + pigeons from Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that in 1930 several Japanese +made a livelihood as professional hunters of pigeons at Ponapé. He +notes, "Two or three years ago, 4 or 5 Japanese, each, averaged from 75 +to 100 birds per day, which they sold to the inhabitants for 35 sen +(17-1/2 cents) per bird.... Now these same hunters are fortunate if they +obtain 4 or 5 Ducula each per day and are able to do so only by starting +before daylight and covering great distances. Other birds are now +replacing Ducula on the market." Coultas further records in his notes +that the hunters used calls to attract the pigeons. In 1930, Coultas +regarded the pigeon at Ponapé as a rapidly disappearing species; he +found it only in small areas in remote regions of the mountains. With +the shipping of supplies cut off to the Japanese garrison forces at +Ponapé, as well as at Kusaie, Truk, and Yap by the effective American +blockade during the latter part of the war, it is probable that the +pigeons were hunted more intensively by the Japanese hunting parties +than ever before. Richards obtained two specimens at Ponapé in the +period from August, 1947, to January, 1948. + + +=Ducula oceanica oceanica= (Lesson and Garnot) + +Micronesian Pigeon + + _Columba oceanica_ Lesson and Garnot, Dict. Sci. Nat., éd., + Levrault, 40, 1826, p. 316. (Type locality, Oualan = Kusaie.) + + _Columba oceanica_ Lesson (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool.; + Atlas, 1826, pl. 41; vol. 2, 1828, pp. 432, 708 (Oualan or + Strong); _idem_, (part), Man. d'Ornith., 11, 1828, p. 166 + (Oualan); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 3, 1833, + p. 25, pl. 23, fig. 1 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Observ. Zool., in + Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 284 (Ualan); Lesson, + Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Oiseaux, 1839, p. 292 (Oualan); + Prévost and Knip (part), Les Pigeons, 2, 1838-43, p. 47, pl. 24 + (Oualan); Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 39, 1854, p. + 1072 (Oualan); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und + Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 39, 49, 62 (Ualan). + + _Carpohaga oceanica_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, pp. 115, 185 (Ualan); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 101 (Ualan); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 35, + 1873, p. 87 (Oualan); Salvadori (part). Cronaca del R. + Liceo-Ginnasio Cavour, 1878, pp. 3, 8 (Oualan); Finsch (part), + Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 (Taluit); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. + Ornith., 1880, pp. 292, 304 (Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 108 + (Kuschai); _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 50 (Kuschai, + Jaluit); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml, Senckenb., 1891, p. 190 + (Ualan); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 52 (Ualan, Taluit); Matschie (part), + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Ualan). + + _Globicera oceanica_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 2, 1855, p. + 31 (Oualan); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 43, 1856, p. + 835 (Oualan); Reichenbach (part), Tauben, 1861, p. 120 (Oualan); + Salvadori (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 176 + (Kushai). + + _Carpophaga pacifica_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 145 (Ualan). + + _Carpophaga (Globicera) oceanica_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. + Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 41 (Oualan). + + _Globicera oceanica oceanica_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 191 (Kusaie); Momiyama + (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 6 (Kusaie, Taluit); Kuroda + (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 55 (Kusaie, + Taluit); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 45 + (Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. + 221 (Jaluit, Iringlob, Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 190 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore). + + _Muscadivora oceanica oceanica_ Neumann (part), Verhandl. Ornith. + Ges. Bayern, 25, 1922, p. 234 (Kushai). + + _Ducula Oceanica oceanica_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, + 1937, p. 44 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, + p. 81 (Kusaie); _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, + 1941, p. 266 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 212 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, + 1943, p. 11 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Kusaie, Jaluit, Elmore). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie; Marshall + Islands--Jaluit, Elmore. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A large knob-billed pigeon with breast + gray, washed with buff; head and neck dark gray; feathers at base + of bill and on chin buff-white; abdomen and under tail-coverts + near "burnt sienna," sides grayer; mantle, back, rump, upper + tail-coverts, wings and tail bronze-green edged with a dark bluish + sheen; under side of wing and under side of tail brown; bill and + knob black; feet blackish-red; iris reddish-brown. Adult female + resembles adult male but smaller and possibly a little darker + bluish-green on back, wings, and tail. + + _D. o. oceania_ resembles _D. o. townsendi_, but is smaller with + upper parts slightly darker and abdomen and under side of tail + lighter. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 27. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (25 males, 22 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 2 (Feb. 8, 9,); + AMNH--Kusaie, 45 (Jan., Feb., March). + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81 and 1941:266) obtained the fly + (Hippoboscidae) _Ornithoctona plicata_ from the pigeon at Kusaie. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Pigeon at Kusaie has been known since 1824, +when from June 5 to June 15 of that year personnel from the corvette "La +Coquille" visited the island and observed the bird. Kittlitz visited +Kusaie and observed the pigeon in December, 1827, and January, 1828. +Finsch (1880c and 1880d) found the bird in the Marshalls at Jaluit. +Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) record the bird from Elmore in the +Marshalls. Coultas (field notes) writes that the pigeon was numerous at +Kusaie in 1931. He remarks that they appear stupid and are easily killed +by the natives, who use a call to attract them. With regard to their +habits he writes, "About four o'clock in the afternoon these birds begin +congregating in the high trees of the lowlands close to the salt water +where they roost for the night. At daybreak they begin migrating to the +high mountain sides and peaks where they spend the time feeding." + + +=Ducula oceanica ratakensis= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina) + +Micronesian Pigeon + + _Globecera oceanica ratakensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 221. (Type locality, Aruno.) + + _Columba australis_ Chamisso, in Kotzebue's, Voy. "Rurick," 3, + 1821, p. 157 (Radak). + + _Carpophaga oceanica_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, p. 331 (Arno); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 52 (Arno); _idem_, Ibis, 1893, p. 211 + (Marshalls). + + _Globicera oceanica oceanica_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 5 (Arno); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 55 (Arno). + + _Globicera oceanica ratakensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 190 (Arhno, Wotze); Mathews, Ibis, 1933, p. 87 (Aruno, + Wozzie). + + _Ducala oceanica ratakensis_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, + 1937, p. 44 (Arno, Wotje); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 212 (Arhno, Wotze); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, + p. 12 (Arno, Wotje); Mayr. Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 289 + (Arno, Wotje). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Marshall Islands (Radak + Chain)--Wotje, Arhno. + + _Characters._--Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) describe this + subspecies as follows, "This form differs from all other forms of + _Globicera oceanica_ by its smaller size, more bronze-sheen on the + back, more vinaceous grey on the breast and duller brown on the + abdomen." On examining two specimens from Arno in the collection + of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, Amadon (1943:12) writes that + he finds no distinguishing color characters between _D. o. + oceanica_ and _D. o. ratakensis_. He also questions whether there + is any difference in size between the two populations. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 27. + +_Remarks._--Chamisso (1821), the naturalist on board the ship "Rurick," +was the first person to write of the pigeon in the Radak Chain of the +Marshall Islands. The ship visited this area in 1817. Finsch (1880b) +published an account of the bird when he visited the area about 1880. +Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:221) described this bird as new on the +basis of an examination of nine skins taken at Arhno and Wotje. + +_Evolutionary history of Ducula oceanica in Micronesia._--The +distribution and evolutionary history of _Ducula oceanica_ have been +treated by Mayr (1940) and Amadon (1943). These authors place _D. +oceanica_ within a superspecies containing _D. pacifica_ (Melanesia to +Samoa and Cook Islands), _D. aurorea_ (Society Islands), _D. galeata_ +(Marquesas Islands), and possibly other species in Papua and Malaysia. +According to Mayr (1942b:fig. 7), _D. pacifica_ is the species which is +ancestral to other species of pigeons in Oceania. Apparently _D. +oceanica_ was derived from this ancestral stock and reached Micronesia +via the Ellice and Gilbert islands. Records of _Ducula_ were obtained in +the Gilbert Islands in the days of exploration; Amadon (1943:11) +tentatively refers these to _D. o. oceanica_. + +The irregular distribution of _D. oceanica_ in the islands of Micronesia +and the fact that the bird exists on both "high" volcanic islands as +well as on "low" coral atolls suggest that the present population may be +a remnant of a once more widely distributed one. The fact that _D. +oceanica_ may be divided into several subspecies shows that a greater +amount of geographic variation has occurred as compared with its +probable ancestral stock, _D. pacifica_, which is virtually +undifferentiated over most of its extensive range. The pigeon of +Micronesia has a more rounded wing than that of _D. pacifica_, which +might, as Amadon has suggested, cause the bird to be more sedentary and +lend itself more readily to differentiation through geographic +isolation. _D. pacifica_ is known to fly from island to island. As shown +by the measurements in table 27, the length of wing of _D. oceanica_ +differs, in the various insular populations, being longer in the west +and shorter in the east. This cline has been discussed by Amadon +(1943:11). + +It is interesting that _Ducula_ or some other large pigeon has not +become established in the Mariana Islands. _Ducula_ is present at Yap +and Truk, which are not very distant from Guam. Another tropical pigeon, +_Columba vitiensis_, has extended its range northward and reached the +Bonin Islands; probably it arrived there via the Philippines or the Riu +Kiu Islands. Thus, there are representatives of large pigeons on islands +to the southeast, south, west and northwest of the Marianas, but none +has become established in the Marianas themselves. + + +=Streptopelia bitorquata dusumieri= (Temminck) + +Philippine Turtle Dove + + _Columba dusumieri_ Temminck, Pl. col., livr. 32, 1832, p. 188. + (Type locality, Vicinity of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands.) + + _Colombe Dussumier_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, + pp. 35, 680 (Mariannes); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, 6, 1825, p. + 148 (Mariannes). + + _Columba dusumieri_ Wagler, Syst. Avium Columba, 1827, p. 266, sp. + 99 (Marianis). + + _Columba Dussumieri_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan). + + _Streptopelia gaimardi_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 66 + (Type locality, Mariannes); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. + Paris, 40, 1855, p. 18 (Mariannes); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1862, p. + 76 (Mariannen). + + _Turtur (Streptopelia) Giamardi_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. + Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 43 (Guam). + + _Turtur gaimardi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 239 (Marian). + + _Turtur dussumieri_ Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 6, no. 35, 1873, p. + 120 (Mariannes); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. Und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 54 (Marianne); Salvadori, + Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 423 (Mariannes); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 222 (Guam); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 60 (Guam, Saipan); Wheeler, + Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 43 (Marianas); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); _idem_, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. + 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264 (Guam); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 760 (Marianne); Safford, Contr. U. + S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Guam); Schnee, Zeitschr. f. + Naturwisch., 82, 1912, p. 466 (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen + Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Marianen); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, + p. 341 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 20 (Guam). + + _Streptopelia dussumieri_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 54 (Guam, Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 62 (Marianas); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 189 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota). + + _Tuttur dessumieri_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 + (Guam). + + _Streptopelia bitorquata dusumieri_ Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 3, 1937, p. 96 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 211 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 289 (Marianas); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. + 41 (Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 96 + (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947, + p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 60 (Guam, Rota). + + _Streptopelia bitorquata_ Baker, Trans. 11th N. American Wildlife + Conf., 1946, p. 208 (Guam); _idem_, Condor. 49, 1947, p. 125 + (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Philippine Islands, Sula Archipelago, northern + Borneo. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands (introduced)--Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan. + + _Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized dove with head and nape near + "light Quaker drab" with a vinous tinge; chin and upper throat + whitish becoming near "vinaceous buff" on lower throat and to near + "vinaceous-faun" on breast and upper abdomen; lower abdomen, vent, + and under tail-coverts white; tibia grayish; neck feathers dark + with grayish centers and metallic greenish-slate edges; color near + "Japan rose"; back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars, upper + wing-coverts, and inner secondaries dark "drab"; sides, upper wing + coverts, outer secondaries, and under wing-coverts lead colored; + primaries blackish edged with light gray; central tail feathers + like back but paler, outer feathers of tail darker with brownish + tinge on edges; outermost tail feathers blackish tipped with gray + and with outer webs whitish; bill dark; feet reddish; iris orange. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of 15 adult males from Guam, Rota + and Tinian: wing, 154-162 (158); tail, 127-135 (130); culmen, + 16.2-18.1 (17.2); tarsus, 24-27 (25.5); of 10 adult females from + Guam and Rota: wing, 150-162 (156); tail, 120-130 (127); culmen, + 16.2-19.1 (17.5); tarsus, 24-26 (25). No differences in + measurements were found between populations from Guam, Rota and + Tinian. + + _Weights._--The author (1948:61) reports the weights of five adult + males as 130-167 (152) and of six adult females as 135-159 (146). + These birds were taken at Guam. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (16 males, 11 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 21 (Feb. 7, May 25, 26, June + 9, July 6, 7, 10, 18, 23, Aug. 2, 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 8)--Rota, 4 + (Oct. 18, 22, 23, Nov. 2)--Tinian, 2 (Oct. 24, 25). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found evidences of nesting by this + dove at Guam in February, March, April, and June. Nests were + observed on May 29 and June 28. On the latter date a nest + containing one nestling and one unhatched egg was found near Mount + Santa Rosa. The nest was situated approximately five feet from the + ground in a low bush. Two eggs taken by Necker at Rota on October + 31, 1945, are white and measure 29.6 by 23.0 and 30.1 by 23.0. + Strophlet (1946:538) observed a bird carrying nest materials at + Guam on November 13. Hartert (1898:60) reports on nests found at + Guam in April and May. Each nest contained one egg. It is probable + that this bird nests at all times of the year. The nuptial flight + of these birds reminds one very much of that of the mourning dove + of North America. + +_Remarks._--The Philippine Turtle Dove was introduced from the +Philippines to Guam and other islands of the southern Marianas by the +Spanish probably in the 18th Century; it was in 1771-1774 that the +Philippine deer (_Rusa_) was introduced to Guam. Perhaps these birds +were initially introduced as caged birds or possibly were liberated to +offer hunting for the colonial governors. They have been a very +successful introduction and are well established. At Guam (see Baker +1947b:124), this species comprised 15.5 percent of all birds seen along +roadways. Although open areas appear to be preferred by this dove and +although it may be on the increase owing to the clearing operations of +the war effort, it appears to be equally adapted to forested areas and +coconut groves. It feeds on the ground to a large extent, fitting into +an ecologic niche which few other species of birds of the islands +occupy. It was even observed feeding on sandy beaches and tidal flats at +low tide. + +In 1931, Coultas found the dove to be numerous at Guam, but thought that +it was in danger of extinction at Tinian and Saipan owing to extensive +hunting. Downs (1946:96) reported that in 1945 the dove was abundant at +Tinian. Gleise (1945:22) estimated the population of these doves at 300 +on Tinian in 1945. From the remarks of Stott (1947:526), we may assume +that the population at Saipan is in no immediate danger of extinction. + +A comparison of specimens from the Marianas with those from the +Philippines reveals no significant difference between the two. Bonaparte +described the dove in the Marianas as new, naming it _Streptopelia +gaimardi_. The name _Turtur prevostianus_ has been used by some authors +to denote the dove in the Marianas, but this was through error as +explained by Salvadori (1893:410). This name refers to a dove found on +Marianne, an island of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. + + +=Gallicolumba canifrons= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Palau Ground Dove + + _Phlegoenas canifrons_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 101. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Phlegoenas canifrons_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 5, 27, pl. 5, fig. 1 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. + Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und + Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 57 (Pelew); + Hartert; Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 53 (Pelews). + + _Phlogoenas canifrons_ Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877, p. + 112 (Pelew); Salvadori, Ornith.] Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 169 + (Pelew); _idem_, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, p. 592 + (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, + 1895, p. 227 (Palaos); Bolau. Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, + 1898, p. 68 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 772 (Pelew). + + _Phaps canifrons_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 89 (Pelew). + + _Gallicolumba canifrons canifrons_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 74 (Pelew). + + _Gallicolumba canifrons_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 189 (Palau); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 4 (Palau); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 136 (Palau); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Babelthuap); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 290 (Palau); Mayr, Audubon Mag., 47, + 1945, p. 282 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 62 (Garakayo, Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A small, ground dove with forehead, + crown, sides of head, chin, throat, and breast ashy gray, lighter + on forehead, chin, and throat, and washed with "light + vinaceous-faun" on breast; occiput, nape and mantle dark + "ferruginous"; rest of upper parts glossed with bronze-olive; + lesser and middle wing-coverts tipped with metallic purple; wings + reddish-brown with dark brown tips; under side of wing + reddish-brown to brown; abdomen, vent and under tail-coverts dark + grayish-brown; tail colored like back, outer feathers have a paler + brown terminal band rather obscure; bill horn colored; feet red; + iris brown. + + Female: A female molting into adult plumage is cinnamon colored, + mottled with dark brown; on the back an olive-green sheen is + beginning to appear; tail brown with some greenish sheen; tips of + tail edged with light brown; bill and feet light brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of six adult males are: wing, + 112-119 (115); tail, 65-72 (70); exposed culmen, 15.3-16.1 (15.7); + tarsus, 30.1-31.2 (30.8); of one female in postjuvenal molt: wing, + 107; tail, 69; exposed culmen, 17.1; tarsus, 30. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 8 (7 males, 1 female), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov. 18)--Garakayo, 2 + (Sept. 17, 19)--Peleliu, 2 (Sept. 1, Dec. 5)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); + AMNH--exact locality not given, 1 (Dec. 1). + + _Food habits._--Stomachs of specimens taken by the NAMRU2 party at + Peleliu and Garakayo contained one and one-half to two cc. of hard + seeds and seed parts. + +_Remarks._--The Palau Ground Dove, according to Amadon (1943:19), is a +member of a superspecies containing _G. hoedti_ (Wetar), _G. beccarii_ +(New Guinea, Bismarcks, Solomons), _G. sanctaecrucis_ (Santa Cruz, New +Hebrides), and _G. stairi_ (central Polynesia). + +_G. canifrons_ apparently came to the Palaus from either New Guinea or +the region of the Bismarck Archipelago, evolving from _G. beccarii_ or +some related form. The Palau Ground Dove has a copper-colored occiput, +nape, and shoulder patch, but otherwise it resembles this Melanesian +species, _G. beccarii_. Amadon (1943:20) discusses two types of plumage +of females in _G. stairi_; one is a male type of plumage. The lack of +female specimens prevents me from determining whether this +characteristic is present in _G. canifrons_. + +Coultas (field notes) had difficulty in obtaining even one specimen of +_G. canifrons_ in the Palaus in 1931. He concluded that either the bird +was practically extinct or that he just could not find it. From the +experience of the NAMRU2 party in the southern Palaus in 1945, I would +think that he merely did not find the bird. Although it is probably rare +in comparison with some other members of the family Columbidae of these +islands, we found this bird on most of the islands visited. + +The NAMRU2 party arrived at Palau expecting to find the ground dove a +fairly conspicuous member of the avifauna and expecting to see it +sitting in trees and flying across the roads much in the same manner as +did the ground dove at Guam, _G. x. xanthonura_. At first, we did not +find the bird, but in the dense jungles a low, penetrating, and +intermittent, call was heard which may be described as a moan. This was +the call of the ground dove. The bird was difficult to discover because +its color blended so well with the shadows and dark background of the +coral rocks and forest litter. The bird was very active and moved along +rapidly pecking at food particles. Also it was wary. Once the +distinctive call note was recognized, it was not difficult to locate the +area in which the bird was living; however, finding the bird was +difficult. On one occasion I stalked a dove for at least a half an hour +knowing that it was always within fifty yards of me. A bird that was +flushed, flew about twenty-five feet and dropped down in open forest +litter and disappeared. On the basis of specimens collected and call +notes heard, I estimate that the population of the Palau Ground Dove on +the islands visited in 1945 was as follows: Peleliu--a minimum of 15 +(found in most forested areas which were not greatly damaged by the +invasion operations); Garakayo--a minimum of 10 (the doves were found to +live equally well on the steep hillsides or in flat jungle on this +islet); Ngabad--5 to 10 (doves were heard in several areas on this small +islet); Angaur--not estimated (one call was heard in brush near the edge +of a fresh water lake). + + +=Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura= (Temminck) + +White-throated Ground Dove + + _Columba xanthonura_ Temminck, Pl. col., livr. 32, 1823, pl. 190. + (Type locality, Mariannes.) + + _Columba xanthonura_ Lesson, Compl. de Buffon, 2nd ed., 2, + Oiseaux, 1838, p. 281 (Mariannes). + + _Columba Pampusan_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, + pp. 121, 681, pl. 30 (Mariannes); Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. + Levrault, 40, 1826, p. 345 (Guam); Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, + p. 471 (Mariannes); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen). + + _Columba erythroptera_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 471 + (Mariannes); Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen). + + _Columba xanthura_ Prévost and Knip, Les Pigeons, 2, 1838-43, p. + 45, pl. 23 (Guam). + + _Pampusana xanthua_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 89 + (Mariannis); _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 40, 1855, p. + 207 (Mariannes); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 39 (Guam). + + _Caloenas (Pampusana) xanthura_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 45 (Guam). + + _Phlegoenas erythroptera_ Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 41 + (Mariannen). + + _Caloenas xanthura_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 247 + (Marian). + + _Phlegoenas yapensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, 1872, p. 102 (Type + locality, Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, pp. 122, + 123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 57 (Yap); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 113 (Yap). + + _Pampusana rousseaui_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 103 (Marianne). + + _Phaps erythroptera_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 89 + (Marianne). + + _Phaps xanthura_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 91 (Marianne). + + _Phaps yapensis_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 91 (Uap). + + _Phlegoenas virgo_ Reichenow. Journ. f. Ornith., 1885, p. 110 + (Type locality, Palau-Inseln, error = Guam). + + _Phlogaenas erythroptera_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 261 + (Mariannes). + + _Phlegoenas pampusan_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 55 (Marianne); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 224 (Saypan, + Guam, Rota). + + _Phlogoenas yapensis_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, + 1893, p. 593 (Uap); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 7, 1895, p. 227 (Mackensie); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. + Hamburg, 1898, p. 68 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2. 1904, p. 772 + (Uap). + + _Phlogoenas pampusan_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, + 1893, p. 602 (Marianne). + + _Phlegoenas xanthonura_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 60 + (Guam, Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 + (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Guam, Saipan); + Safford, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, Osprey, + 1902, p. 68 (Mariannas); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264 + (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Guam); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 20 (Guam). + + _Phlogoenas xanthonura_ Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 42 (Marianas); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 331 + (Mariannen); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam). + + _Phlegoenas xanthonura xanthonura_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 54 (Guam, Rota, Saipan). + + _Phlegoenas xanthonura yapensis_ Kuroda, in Momoyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 54 (Yap). + + _Gallicolumba xanthonura_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, + 1, 1927, p. 75 (Marianas, Mackenzie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 189 (Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, + Mackenzie); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 4 + (Marianne); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. 136 + (Marianne, Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 + (Yap, Assongsong, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota); + Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, + 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam). + + _Gallicolumba canifrons yapensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 74 (Yap). + + _Terricolumba xanthonura_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 + (Assongsong). + + _Gallicolumba xanthonura xanthonura_ Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 290 (Marianas, Yap); Watson, The Raven, 17, + 1946, p. 41 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 61 (Guam, Rota + Yap). + + _Gallecolumba xanthonura xanthonura_ Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. + Sci., 49, 1946, p. 96 (Tinian). + +[Illustration: FIG. 14. Geographic distribution of _Gallicolumba_ of +Micronesia and Eastern Polynesia and routes of its dispersal. (1) _G. +jobiensis_; (2) _G. x. kubaryi_; (3) _G. x. xanthonura_; (4) _G. +erythroptera_; (5) _G. rubescens_.] + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Pagan, + Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam; Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Forehead, face, chin, throat, and upper + breast white, lightly washed with pale buff; crown, occiput, sides + of head, and nape rusty brown to dark brown; rest of upper parts + dark bronze-olive; feathers of mantle and upper wing-coverts + broadly edged with metallic purple-violet; primaries, under + wing-coverts and axillaries brown; tail, lower breast and rest of + underparts dark brown; bill and feet dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller and with + underparts colored between "ochraceous-tawny" and "cinnamon brown" + instead of dark brown and white; head and neck darker and with + more rufous than underparts; remainder of upper surface resembles + underparts but with striking olive green sheen, especially on + upper wing-coverts; primaries brown but outer webs lighter; tail + rufous-brown, with a broad, black subterminal band. + + The male type of plumage in the adult female is: breast light drab + tinged with light brown and darkening anteriorly; crown resembles + that of normal female although darker and becoming lighter and + grayer on neck and nape; shoulder and wing-coverts compare + favorably with that of adult male although lighter and with + yellowish tinge; back bronzed olive-green as in normal female but + mantle with a few purplish feathers characteristic of male; + abdomen near "olive brown" with buffy-brown edges to feathers. + + Immature male: Resembles adult male, but head and nape darker + brown; throat and upper breast may be more brown and less white. + + Immature female: Resembles adult female, but with more rufous + coloring; olive-green sheen on feathers reduced in amount or + absent. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are found in table 28. + + +TABLE 28. MEASUREMENTS OF _Gallicolumba xanthonura_ + + ===================+==========+=========+========+===========+======== + SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + -------------------+----------+---------+--------+-----------+-------- + _G. x. xanthonura_ |43 males | 146 | 102 | 22.0 | 32 + | |(139-153)|(97-111)|(21.0-23.0)| (31-33) + | | | | | + |31 females| 136 | 94 | 20.5 | 30 + | |(131-141)|(90-98) |(20.0-21.5 | (28-32) + | | | | | + _G. x. kubaryi_ | 7 males | 157 | | 23.0 | 35 + | |(152-160)| |(20.5-23.5)| (33-35) + | | | | | + | 7 females| 148 | | 23.0 | 33 + | |(145-151)| |(22.5-23.5)| (32-34) + -------------------+----------+---------+--------+-----------+-------- + + + There is little difference in the measurements of specimens from + Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan, and Asuncion. No specimens from Yap + were available for examination. + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of this ground dove + from Guam as follows: seven adult males 119-154 (130); seven adult + females 96-150 (118). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 96 (50 males, 38 females, 8 + unsexed) as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 29 (Mar. 18, + April 4, 17, May 20, 28, June 2, 9, 13, 14, 15, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, + July 2, 6, 10, 23, Aug. 11, 21)--Rota, 6 (Oct. 20, 22, 25, 26, Nov. + 1, 2)--Tinian, 4 (Oct. 24, 26); AMNH--Guam, 40 (Jan. 17, 30, Feb. + 12, 20, March 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 23, April 13, 19, June 13, 15, July + 10, 25, Aug. 4, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, Sept. 4, Dec. 26, + 30)--Tinian, 8 (Sept. 7, 10, 11, 12, 13)--Saipan, 6 (July 13, 15, + Aug. 24, Sept. 7, 8)--Asuncion, 3 (Jan. 18, Feb. 7, June). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found the ground dove nesting at Guam + in the winter and spring months beginning in late January. Nests + were observed in tall trees, many of which were well isolated from + other trees and vegetation. On February 10 a nest was discovered in + a breadfruit tree near one of the NAMRU2 barracks on Oca Point. It + was approximately 50 feet above the ground. On February 26 I found + pieces of egg shell beneath the tree. Occasionally during the day, + the male, but never the female, was observed sitting on this nest. + On February 10, a dove (the male) was observed building a nest in a + large banyan tree at Oca Point. Another nest was being constructed + by a female on March 7. On March 17 a young female dove, just + beginning to fly, was taken; another was found on April 3. Adult + birds with enlarged gonads were taken in April, May, June, and + July. Marche, according to Oustalet (1895:224), obtained eggs in + May, 1887. + + _Food habits._--Stomachs of doves taken at Guam contained fruits + and fruit parts. On March 9, a dove was observed feeding on the + berries of the shrub known as "inkbush." This appeared to be a + favorite food. Seale (1901:42) also mentions that this berry is a + preferred food. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) lists the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula_ sp., from the ground dove at Guam. + +_Remarks._--At Guam, the NAMRU2 party observed the ground dove to be +fairly common in 1945. Along roadways, the present author (1947b:124) +found that individuals of this species comprised 2.5 percent of the +total population of birds observed, and the ground dove was seen on 31.2 +percent of 125 road counts made. The male was much more in evidence than +the female and was frequently seen flying high over the roadways and +jungle areas; eighty percent of the ground doves seen while road-counts +were being made were males. The female was found less frequently; it was +a less conspicuous bird and was seen only occasionally in flight. +Neither sex appeared to have the secretive, terrestrial habits of _G. +canifrons_ of the Palau Islands. On the basis of our observations at +Guam, I would say that the name "ground dove" for the bird at Guam is +not descriptive. The birds were found to spend considerable time in tall +trees; the closest that I saw them to the ground was when they were +feeding only three to four feet from the ground in the ink berry bushes. + +The call note of this dove is much like that of the Palau Ground Dove; +Seale (1901:42) describes it as follows, "These pigeons seem to prefer +the deep jungle, from whence their deep low moan, like the sound of a +man dying in great distress, comes with a weird uncanny effect, +heightened by the gloom and darkness of the unknown forest.... This +sound, which always seems to come from a long distance, is very +misleading, and one is considerably surprised to find he is perhaps +within a few feet of the bird." Seale writes that they were very common +on Guam in 1900. In 1931, Coultas found the dove "quite common at the +north end of the island." The bird apparently prefers the dense forest +or second growth brushy areas, but was found also in the partly cleared +areas surrounding the NAMRU2 headquarters at Oca Point in 1945. At Rota, +the NAMRU2 party found the birds to be numerous in 1945. Coultas +observed only a few birds on Tinian in 1931; Downs (1946:96) found only +a small population at this island in 1945. The extensive cultivation and +clearing activities at Tinian have removed much of the habitat suitable +for these, as well as other birds. At Saipan, Stott (1947:526) writes +that the bird is common on "brush-covered hillsides and semi-wooded +country." There is little information published regarding the status of +this dove in the northern Marianas. + + +=Gallicolumba xanthonura kubaryi= (Finsch) + +White-throated Ground Dove + + _Phlegoenas Kubaryi_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 292. (Type + locality, Ruck and Ponapé.) + + _Phlegoenas erythroptera_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 2, 1854, p. 89 + (Carolines); Reichenbach, Tauben, 1862, p. 41 (Carolines); Finsch, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 780 (Ponapé); _idem_, + Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. + Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 353 (Ponapé, Ruk); Tristram, Cat. + Birds, 1889, p. 41 (Ruk). + + _Phlegoenas kubaryi_ Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1881, p. 75 (Ruk, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 55 (Ruk, Ponapé); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk, Ponapé); Matschie, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Ruck, Ponapé); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 53 (Ruk, Ponapé). + + _Phlogoenas erythroptera_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 576 (Ponapé, Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 + (Ruk). + + _Phlogoenas kubaryi_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, 1893, + p. 599 (Ruk, Ponapé); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 7, 1895, p. 227 (Caroline = Truk); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. + Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 68 (Ruck); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, + p. 331 (Karolinen). + + _Phlegaenas kubaryi_ Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 357 + (Ponapé). + + _Gallicolumba kubaryi_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, + 1927, p. 74 (Caroline Is.); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 189 (Truk, Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1947, p. + 136 (Ruk, Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, + p. 204 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 81 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 266 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 211 (Truk, + Ponapé). + + _Gallicolumba xanthonura kubaryi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 290 (Truk, Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 62 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _G. x. + xanthonura_, but larger with crown, nape, and hind neck + sooty-black; upper back and lesser upper wing-coverts + purplish-violet, extending lower on back than in _G. x. + xanthonura_. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller and paler with + upper back glossy, bronze-green margined with purplish-violet; + lower back and rump glossy, olive-green; upper tail-coverts + greenish-brown; central tail feathers blackish-brown; innermost + secondaries bright, glossy green tinged with bluish. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 28. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 21 (9 males, 11 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 1 (July); + AMNH--Ponapé, 13 (Nov., Dec.)--Truk, 7 (Jan., Feb., May). + + _Nesting._--At Ponapé in November and December, Coultas obtained + specimens which had enlarged gonads. He did not find the nest of + this bird but writes (field notes) that the natives told him that + the nest is placed in the top of the tree fern 10 or 15 feet above + the ground. In contrast, the ground dove at Guam may select a + nesting site considerably higher in the tree. Coultas reports that + one egg is laid by _C. x. kubaryi_. + + + + _Food habits._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the bird feeds + and lives on the ground at Ponapé. He lists food as small snails, + seeds, and worms. + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:81 and 1941:266) records the fly + (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoctona plicata_, from the ground dove at + Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that in 1930 the ground dove at +Ponapé was rare in the forested areas and generally found more along the +sea coast and in the upland valleys. Coultas describes its call as an +infrequent shrill, whistle-like call. He writes that hunting by the +Japanese and natives was reducing the population of _G. x. kubaryi_ at +Ponapé in 1930. In 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party found the dove at +Truk on forested slopes in tall trees, and reported that its habits at +Truk were similar to those of _C. x. xanthonura_ at Guam. In 1947-1948, +Richards noted (_in litt._) that the dove at Ponapé was rare (he saw +only one specimen). At Truk, he found the bird to be "rather common" in +thickets, dry gullies, and flying over grassy slopes. He found the bird +near sea level, never in country above 300 feet in altitude and not in +deep forest. I offer no explanation for the conflicting reports +concerning the habits of this species, unless it be that the bird is +capable of varying its habits to fit particular habitats; for example, +in jungle areas it may be ground-living and in open woodlands it may be +tree-living. + +_Evolutionary history of Gallicolumba in Micronesia._--There have been +two unrelated invasions of Micronesia by the genus _Gallicolumba_. One +invasion established _G. canifrons_ at the Palau Islands. The other +established the populations of _G. xanthonura_ in the Caroline and +Mariana islands, Mayr (1936:4) points out that _G. xanthonura_ is +related to _G. jobiensis_ (New Guinea and Northern Melanesia), _G. +erythroptera_ (Society and Tuamotu islands), and _G. rubescens_ +(Marquesas Islands). This group may be regarded as a superspecies. The +adults of _G. jobiensis_, the male and female, resemble one another. In +both, the head, neck, and auriculoloral stripes are sooty-black; the eye +stripe, chin, throat, and breast are white; the abdomen is dark; and the +upper parts are blackish with a coppery sheen. Immatures are +rusty-brown. _G. xanthonura_ is closely related to _G. jobiensis_, and +they conceivably, along with _G. erythroptera_, might be considered +conspecific. The close relationship between the _G. xanthonura_ in +Micronesia and _G. erythroptera_ has been noted by Oustalet (1896:71). +Among named kinds, _G. x. kubaryi_ most closely resembles _G. jobiensis_ +with sooty-black coloring present on the head. The male and female of +_G. x. kubaryi_ closely resemble each other, although immature type of +plumage may occur in adult females as indicated by the immature plumage +of a bird containing well-developed eggs taken at Ponapé by Coultas. + +In _G. x. xanthonura_ the male lacks the sooty-black head and has lost +some of the coppery sheen from the middle of the back. The female has +taken on the immature type of plumage, except for occasional near-male +type plumage. In _G. erythroptera_ the male has lost some of the +sooty-black coloring on the forehead, anterior crown, and loral area and +some of the coppery sheen in the middle of the back. The female of _G. +erythroptera_ resembles the female of _G. x. xanthonura_ except that the +throat and breast are faintly outlined by the brownish color. The head +and malar stripe are also outlined in this manner. Some females have +some coppery gloss on the shoulder and a few white feathers on the +breast; these may be considered as in the near-male type of plumage. + +The tendencies in the evolution of these insular populations of +_Gallicolumba_ include a reduction of sooty-black on the head and a +reduction of coppery gloss on the back of the male and the reduction of +malelike plumage in the female. _G. rubescens_ of the Marquesas Islands +is smaller and darker. It retains the coppery gloss on the back and has, +in addition, a white bar on the tail and one on the wing. On the basis +of color and structural characters, it is apparent that this +superspecies of _Gallicolumba_ has evolved from a center of evolution in +the region of New Guinea (as shown in figure 14) with a colonization of +Micronesia, from which (probably from _G. x. kubaryi_) an invasion of +eastern Polynesia occurred establishing _G. erythroptera_ in the Society +and Tuamotu islands, although it is also possible that _G. erythroptera_ +may have reached Polynesia by way of a more direct route from Melanesia. +Such a pathway of colonization as that just described is not unusual +since representatives of other genera including _Acrocephalus_, +_Myzomela_, and _Zosterops_ may have followed similar paths of dispersal +from Micronesia into Polynesia. Apparently a population isolated in the +Marquesas has evolved the distinctive _G. rubescens_. + + +=Caloenas nicobarica pelewensis= Finsch + +Nicobar Pigeon + + _Caloenas nicobarica_ var. _pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 159 (in reprint p. 27). (Type locality, + Palau.) + + _Caloenas nicobarica pelewensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 77 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 188 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, + 3, 1937, p. 139 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 210 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 291 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 62 (Garakayo). + + _Caloenas nicobarica_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 211 + (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 57 (Pelew). + + _Caloenas pelewensis_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 21, + 1893, p. 618 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, + 1898, p. 69 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 + (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 328 (Palauinseln); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Pelew). + + _Caloenas nicobaricus pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 53 (Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands-Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large heavy-bodied pigeon with head, neck, + and upper breast blackish; rest of plumage metallic bluish-green + with coppery sheen; wings glossy green; tail and under + tail-coverts white; feathers of hind-neck long and lanceolate; + bill heavy and slightly hooked with lump at base. + + Resembles _C. n. nicobarica_ (Linnaeus), but slightly smaller and + with upper parts metallic bluish-green and underparts darker and + less green. + + _Measurements._--One adult female measures: wing, 232; tail, 82; + culmen, 31; tarsus, 44; one immature female: wing, 236; tail, 89; + culmen, 32; tarsus, 45. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, three females from Palau + Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (undated). + +_Remarks._--_C. nicobarica_ is distributed from the Nicobar Islands east +through Malaysia to Melanesia as a single undifferentiated form. In the +northeasternmost part of its range, in the Palau Islands, it exhibits +geographic variation and is considered to be subspecifically distinct +from the rest of the population. _C. nicobarica_ appears to have no +close relatives. It may represent the last remnant of some ancient group +of pigeons. + +The Nicobar Pigeon is rare. Coultas, who visited the islands in 1931, +did not obtain the bird. The only specimens available for study are +those in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History taken +by Kubary in the period between 1870 and 1880. The NAMRU2 party did not +obtain specimens but saw the bird on five occasions at the island of +Garakayo in the middle Palaus. The writer expected the bird to be +ground-living in habit, but the individuals, which I saw at Garakayo, +were either perched on scrubby vegetation on high and inaccessible +cliffs or were flying high overhead. In its flight overhead, the short, +white tail was a particularly conspicuous mark of identification. The +flight reminded me very much of that of the Black Vulture (_Córagyps +atrátus_) of North America. No birds were found at Peleliu or Angaur, +and the small population of this pigeon that remains is probably +restricted to uninhabited coral islets, as Mayr (1945a:291) has already +noted. Marshall (1949: 207) saw one bird on Peleliu and one on Koror in +November and December, 1945. This endemic subspecies is probably on the +road to extinction unless governmental protection can be established and +enforced. + + +=Trichoglossus rubiginosus= (Bonaparte) + +Ponapé Lory + + _Chalcopsitta rubiginosus_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. + Paris, 30, February, 1850, p. 134; Consp. Avium, 1, after April 15, + 1850, p. 3. (Type locality, "ex Insulis Barabay et Guebe," error = + Ponapé.) + + _Chalcopsitta rubiginosus_ Bonaparte, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1850, p. 26, pl. 16 ("Ins. Barabay et Guebe," error = Ponapé); + Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 99, 162 (Puynipet); + Reichenow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1881, p. 162 ("Nordwestl. + Polynessische subregion Carolinen" = Ponapé); Tristram, Cat. + Birds, 1889, p. 73 (Ponapé); Finsch, Deut. Verein zum Schultze der + Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 458 (Carolinen = Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. + f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ponapé). + + _Domicella rubiginosa_ Finsch, Die Papageien, 2, 1868, p. 781 + (Puynipet); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. + 88 (Puinipet). + + _Lorius rubiginosus_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 153 + (Puynipet); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 3, no. 38, 1874, p. 58 + (Puynipet). + + _Lorius rubiginosa_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 502 + (Senjawin = Ponapé). + + _Trichoglossus rubiginosus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 18 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 284 + (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 111, 114 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 49 (Ponapé); + Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 161 (Puypinet); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 8 (Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 3, 1937, p. + 151 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. Sixth Pac. Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 201 (Ponapé); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 291 (Ponapé). + + _Eos rubiginosa_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 1, 1880, p. 267 + (Puynipet); _idem_, Cat. Birds British Mus., 20, 1891, p. 29 + (Ponapé); Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 357 (Ponapé); + Finsch, Notes Leyden Mus., 22, 1900, p. 142 (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. + Avium, 1902, p. 29 (Puinipet); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, + 1918, pp. 484, 493 (Ponapé); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 192 (Ponapé). + + _Chalcopsittacus rubiginosus_ Finsch, Sammlung wissensch. + Vorträge, 14th Ser., 1900, p. 639 (Ponapé). + + _Oenopsittacus rubiginosus_ Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 443 + (Karolinen = Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 58 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. + 295 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 181 + (Ponapé). + + _Eos rubiginosus_ Takastukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 53 + (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized, dark raspberry-red lory with + head and nape deep purplish-red; upper back, scapulars, and upper + wing-coverts raspberry-red, edged with blackish; lower back, rump, + and upper tail-coverts more purplish; tail yellowish-green + becoming more yellow and less green toward tip; wings black with + outer webs olivaceous-green; outer edges of primaries more + yellowish; lores, chin, auriculars, sides of head, and neck deep + purplish-red, chin feathers faintly barred with raspberry and + edged with blackish; throat, breast, abdomen, and flanks + raspberry-red, feathers edged with blackish except on lower + abdomen; under tail-coverts orange-red, under wing-coverts deep + purple with black edges; bill of male orange, of female paler + yellow; feet black; iris of male light yellowish-orange, of female + grayish-white. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but with narrow and more sharply pointed + tail feathers. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 29. + + +TABLE 29. MEASUREMENTS OF _Trichoglossus rubiginosus_ + + ===============+=====+===========+===========+=========+========= + | | | | Culmen | + Sex | No. | Wing | Tail | from | Tarsus + | | | | cere | + ---------------+-----+-----------+-----------+---------+--------- + Adult males | 18 | 147 | 105 | 20 | 16 + | | (143-153) | (100-110) | (19-20) | (15-17) + | | | | | + Adult females | 13 | 142 | 101 | 19 | 16 + | | (141-146) | (98-104) | (18-19) | (15-17) + ---------------+-----+-----------+-----------+---------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 31 (18 males, 13 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 2 (Feb. 12); AMNH--Ponapé, + 29 (Nov.). + + _Nesting._--According to Coultas (field notes) the nest is placed + in the top of a coconut tree or in a hollow of a large forest tree. + He says that one egg is laid, but does not record dates of nesting. + Four of the birds taken by Coultas at Ponapé in November had + swollen gonads. + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in November by Coultas were either in + fresh plumage or were completing the molt when obtained. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:484, 493) found the bird lice + (Mallophaga), _Psittaconirmus harrisoni_ and _Eomenopon + denticulatus_, on the Ponapé Lory. + +_Remarks._--There is little written information concerning the habits of +the Ponapé lory. Mayr (1945a:291) describes the bird as being "very +noisy" and with "habits apparently similar to _T. haematodus_." Coultas +made a number of observations on this species; some of these unpublished +notes are essentially as follows: _Trichoglossus_ is common on Ponapé. +It is found everywhere on the island, preferring the coconut palms; it +is noisy and quarrelsome. The parrot travels usually in small groups of +two to six or eight birds, keeping up a continuous chatter all of the +time. This chatter quiets down into a very pleasant-sounding +crooning-tone after sunset. _Trichoglossus_ is a continual nuisance to +the hunter, inquisitive and easily attracted by the slightest noise, to +which the bird responds with a frantic yapping that frightens everything +within a radius of a mile. One sometimes finds a bird alone working +quietly about among the low trees of the high mountain ridges. The +natives' name for the bird, "se ridt," means "always hide out in rain." +The bird stays under a big leaf and keeps dry during the rain. This lory +is intelligent, easily tamed, and sometimes learns to repeat a few +words. + +_Evolutionary history of Trichoglossus rubiginosus._--The Ponapé Lory is +the only native parrot in Micronesia. It is an aberrant species and +seemingly is of long residence on the island, as indicated by its +differences from related forms to the southward and southwestward. The +bird shows some relationships to _T. ornatus_ (Linnaeus) of Celebes, but +the plumage of _T. rubiginosus_ lacks the brilliant red, green, and +yellow of this bird. The plumage of the Ponapé Lory is also softer in +texture; this is a character exhibited also by other Micronesian birds, +for example, _Cleptornus_ and _Colluricincla_. _T. rubiginosus_ and _T. +ornatus_ correspond, however, in having the feathers of the breast edged +with blackish. _T. rubiginosus_ resembles also _T. flavovirides_ of +Celebes and Sula in that the edges of the feathers of the breast are +dark, no markings are present on the inner web of the wing, and feathers +of the upper back are edged with dark coloring. _T. rubiginosus_ may +have been derived from either of these two species; however, it shows a +close relationship also to the _T. haematodus_ group from the Papuan +region. In any case, the Ponapé Lory, isolated in Micronesia, has not +the multicolored plumage of its relatives and has, instead, a rather +uniformly colored plumage. The presence of this parrot at only a single +island in Micronesia is difficult to explain; perhaps at one time the +bird was more widely distributed in Micronesia, or it may be that the +population represents a single successful invasion to Ponapé. Like +_Aplonis pelzelni_, another endemic species at Ponapé, this lory may +have reached the island as a straggler, perhaps being carried north by +the prevailing winds in the post-nesting season. + + +=Cuculus canorus telephonus= Heine + +Common Cuckoo + + _Cuculus telephonus_ Heine, Journ. f. Ornith., 1863, p. 332. (Type + locality, Japan.) + + _Cuculus canorus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 100 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 12 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 10 (Pelew); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Pelew). + + _Cuculus canorus telephonus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 57 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 181 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 201 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to India, Malaysia, and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--exact locality not given. + +_Remarks._--The Common Cuckoo is a straggler on winter migration to the +Palau Islands. + + +=Cuculus saturatus horsfieldi= Moore + +Oriental Cuckoo + + _Cuculus horsfieldi_ Moore, in Moore and Horsfield, Cat. Birds Mus. + Hon. East-India Co., 2, 1856-58 (1857), p. 703. (Type locality, + Java.) + + _Cuculus striatus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 100 (Pelew); Finsch. Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 12 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 + (Pelew). + + _Cuculus intermedius_ Wiglesworth. Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 10 (Pelew). + + _Cuculus optatus optatus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 57 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 181 + (Palau). + + _Cuculus saturatus horsfieldi_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 201 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to India, Malaysia, and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau + Islands--Babelthuap, Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Oriental Cuckoo reaches the Palau Islands as a winter +visitor. On November 11 and 25 of 1931, Coultas obtained four immature +birds at Palau near taro swamps. The natives told him that the cuckoo +visited the islands each year from December to June. On September 21 at +Angaur the NAMRU2 party saw one bird which may have been this cuckoo. + + +=Eudynamis taitensis= (Sparrman) + +Long-tailed New Zealand Cuckoo + + _Cuculus taitensis_ Sparrman, Mus. Carls., fasc, 2, 1787, pl. 32. + (No type locality = Tahiti.) + + _Eudynamis tahitiensis_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 123 (Yap). + + _Eudynamis taitiensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 49 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 20 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 284, 298 (Ponapé, + Kuschai, Palaos, Marshalls); _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 331, 332 + (Taluit); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 104, 108, 113, 114 (Kushai, + Uleai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Ruk); + Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 358 (Ponapé). + + _Urodynamis taitensis_ Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. + 53 (Jaluit, Ponapé, Palau); Bogert, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 933, + 1937, p. 9 (Palau, Ruk, Kusaie, Ponapé, Truk, Iringlove, Wozzie, + Auru, Jaluit, Ratak); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. + 40 (Palaus, Carolines, Marshall); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 201 (Palau, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, + Elmore, Aurh, Wotze). + + _Urodynamis taitiensis_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 11 (Pelew, Ualan, Ponapé, + Luganor, Taluit); _idem_, Ibis, 1893, p. 212 (Marshalls); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 7 (Ruk); Finsch, Notes Leyden Mus., 22, + 1900, p. 120 (Ponapé, Palau, Kuschai, Ruk, Mortlock, Uleai, + Jaluit); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ruk); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 58 (Pelew, Ualan, + Ponapé, Luganor, Ruk, Taluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 180 (Palau, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Truk, Jaluit, + Elmore, Aurh, Wotze). + + _Urdynamis taitiensis_ Finsch, Sammulung wissensch. Vorträge, 14th + ser., 1900, p. 659 (Palau). + + _Eudynamis taitiensis_ Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 + (Marshalls); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Micronesia). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in New Zealand and adjacent islands. + Winters chiefly in Polynesia, also Melanesia and Micronesia. In + Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown; Caroline + Islands--Yap, Lukunor, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall + Islands--Jaluit, Elmore, Auru, Wotze, Bikini. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large, long-tailed cuckoo with upper parts + dark brown; top of head spotted with white; wings, upper back and + tail barred with rufous; underparts pale rufous or buffy-rufous + with shafts of feathers streaked with brown. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 4 (2 males, 2 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk, 1 (Jan. 7)--Kusaie, 2 + (March); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 1 (May 1). + +_Remarks._--Bogert (1937) has summarized the information known +concerning the migration of the New Zealand Long-tailed Cuckoo. Its +principal winter range is in eastern and central Polynesia: Fiji, Samoa, +Tonga, Union, Cook, Society, and Tuamotu islands. The bird reaches the +northern extent of its range in the Marshall and Caroline islands (see +map in Bogert, 1937:3-4). There are no records for the Marianas and only +one record from the Palaus (taken by Peters, as recorded by Finsch, +1875:49). The bird is seemingly much more numerous as a winter visitor +in the Marshall Islands than in the Caroline Islands. Coultas (field +notes) writes that the cuckoo appears at Kusaie about the first of +February. Bogert (1937) remarks that the cuckoo arrives at New Zealand +for the breeding period in October or November and leaves for the +northern wintering grounds in February or March. + +Bogert (1937:11) discusses briefly the history of migration of this +bird. She presents as a possible reason for the migration the fact that +the cuckoo feeds principally on caterpillars and that as a consequence +it moves northward to the tropics during the winter months because this +food is not available at the breeding grounds in the winter months. +Perhaps this cuckoo in developing its ability to fly long distances over +water on migration has expanded the breadth of its range eastward into +the oceanic islands, rather than westward through Malaysia and +Melanesia, because it has found less competition from resident birds and +from other migrants for feed and habitat. On many of the islands and +atolls of the Pacific Basin, this species is the only land bird known. + + +=Otus podarginus= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Palau Scops Owl + + _Noctua podargina_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, p. 90. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Noctua podargina_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, + 8, pl. 1, fig. 1 and 2 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. + 720 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 407 (Palau). + + _Ninox podargina_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 2, 1875, p. 151 + (Palau); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 51 + (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 + (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 181 (Palau). + + _Scops podargina_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 2, 1875, p. 313 + (Palau); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 394 (Palau); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 3 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 + (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 883 (Pelew). + + _P[isorhina] podargina_ Reichenow, Die Vögel, 1913, p. 424 + (Palau). + + _Otus podarginus_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, + p. 268 (Palau); Mayr. Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 3 + (Palau); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 291 (Palau). + + _Pyrroglaux podargina_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1938, p. 1 (Pelew); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 109 (Babelthuap, + Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror, Babelthuap, + Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A small owl with forehead and + superciliary area whitish tinged with buff and narrowly barred + blackish-brown; feathers at base of upper mandible with long, + blackish shafts, crown and back rufous-brown; some feathers on + neck narrowly barred ochraceous and black; some scapulars with + outer webs barred dark brown and white; rump and upper + tail-coverts dark rufous, barred white and dark brown; tail + rufous, barred indistinctly dark brown, inner webs barred white + and dark brown; wings sandy rufous, outer edges of all but first + primary spotted buffy-white; lores rufous, shafts white; + indistinct eye ring rufous; ear-coverts whitish with rufous tips, + chin white; throat white narrowly barred with wavy dark lines and + tipped with rufous; breast pale rufous, feathers barred with white + and black; abdomen paler rufous; under tail-coverts often barred + with black and white without rufous wash; under wing-coverts white + barred with dark brown; bill and feet whitish; iris brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but darker brown above with + fine vermiculations of blackish color; underparts may be pale or + dark rufous with slight or heavy white and brown barrings and + spots. + + Immature: Resembles adult male, but upper parts darker brown; + forehead, crown, and back barred ochraceous and black; scapulars + with white shaft streaks and spots of white; underparts more + heavily barred. + + _Measurements._--Eight males measure: wing, 155-163 (159); tail, + 82-88 (84); culmen, 22.0-23.5 (23.0); tarsus, 32-35 (33); two + females measure: wing, 158, 165; tail, 83, 90; culmen, 23.5, 24.0; + tarsus, 33, 35. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 11 (9 males, 2 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov. 3); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 10 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) found the Palau Scops Owl fairly +common around villages on the island of Koror. He obtained specimens at +night with the use of a flashlight. He writes that the bird moves about +considerably remaining on one perch and calling for only approximately +three minutes. The bird stays in the mangrove thickets in the daylight +hours. Marshall (1949:207) also found the owl at Koror as well as at +Peleliu in 1945. He observed 33 pairs on Koror (approximately one-half +of the total population) and four pairs on Peleliu. The NAMRU2 party did +not find the owl in the southern Palaus in 1945. + +Yamashina (1938:1) gave the Palau Scops Owl the generic name, +_Pyrroglaux_. Mayr (1944b:3) has reviewed this treatment and presents +evidence to show that the name _Pyrroglaux_ should not be recognized and +that the bird correctly belongs in the genus _Otus_. He presents a +detailed discussion to show its relationship to _O. spilocephalus_, and +that the characters possessed by _O. podarginus_ are no more different +or unusual than those found in other members of this widespread genus. +It is pointed out that the reduction of the feathering is probably +caused by the change in habitat--from a colder one in Asia to a warmer, +tropical one in the Palaus. The bird is probably derived from _O. +spilocephalus_ of Asia and Malaysia. + + +=Asio flammeus flammeus= (Pontoppidan) + +Short-eared Owl + + _Strix Flammea_ Pontoppidan, Danske, Atlas, 1, 1763, p. 617, pl. + 25. (Type locality, Sweden.) + + _Strix stridula_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, pp. + 680, 696 (Mariannes); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, 6, 1825, p. + 149 (Mariannes). + + _Otus brachyotus_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. + 17, 18 (Mariannen?). + + _Asio accipitrinus_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Marianne); Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 168 + (Mariannes); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 51 (Marianne); + Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 44 + (Mariannes); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); _idem_, + Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, + 1904, p. 263 (Tinian); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, + p. 79 (Tinian); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 88 + (Marianen). + + _Asi accipitrimus_ Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 12 + (Guam). + + _Asio flammeus sandwichensis_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds + (part), rev., 1932, p. 182 (Marianas). + + _Asio flammeus ponapensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d + ed., 1942, p. 202 (Pagan). + + _Asio flammeus flammeus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 292 (Marianas). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. + Winters to tropics. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Tinian. + +_Remarks._--The Short-eared Owl was taken at Tinian by Quoy and Gaimard +(1824:680, 696) and in recent years has been recorded at Pagan. The +committee which prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et +al._, 1942:202) writes that the bird taken at Pagan has a short wing +(288) and indicates that it belongs to _A. f. ponapensis_. In the +present work this bird is considered to be _A. f. flammeus_, a migrant +from Asia; possibly, however, there is an unrecorded resident population +of the Short-eared Owl in the northern Marianas, which may be closely +related to _A. f. ponapensis_ of Ponapé. Owls may have at one time been +resident in the southern Marianas. At Guam, for instance, owls are well +known to the native peoples, and there is suitable habitat for the owl +in the extensive grassland areas of the island. Perhaps an owl was +resident at Guam and at other islands but has been eliminated partly by +the overgrazing and burning of the grassy habitats preferred by the +owl. + + +=Asio flammeus ponapensis= Mayr + +Short-eared Owl + + _Asio flammeus ponapensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 609, 1933, + p. 1. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Otus brachyotus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, + pp. 17, 18 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), + p. 778 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 283 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 47 (Ponapé); _idem_, + Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 ser., 1900, p. 659 (Ponapé). + + _Asio brachyotus_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 114 (Ponapé). + + _Asio accipitrinus_ Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 4, 1882, p. + 367 (Strong's Island = Kusaie); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und + Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Ponapé); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 169 (Ponapi). + + _Asio flammeus sandwichensis_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), + rev., 1932, p. 182 (Ponapé). + + _Asio flammeus ponapensis_ Kelso, Oölogist, 1938, p. 183 (Kusaie); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 170 (Ponapé); + Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Ponapé); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 291 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé, Kusaie? + + _Characters._--Adult: a large, short-eared owl, dark brown above + streaked with buff and lighter below streaked with dark brown. An + adult female has upper parts dark brown, outer webs of feathers + buffy to give a streaked appearance; rump pale buff, feathers + edged subterminally with darker brown; scapulars like head and + back; wing-coverts dark brown tipped and edged with splotches of + buffy to buffy-rufous; primaries and secondaries brown with large + spots of pale rufous; tail brown barred with whitish buff spots, + webs with dark centers; forehead whitish tinged with buff; region + below and behind eye dark; chin pale with rufous tinged sides; + throat and breast rufous-buff with heavy streaks of brown, + becoming narrower on abdomen and under tail; under wing-coverts + buffy streaked with dark brown; auxilaries buffy; feathering of + tibia and tarsus pale buff; bill dark slate; feet grey-brown; iris + yellow. + + Resembles _A. f. flammeus_, but wing shorter and color darker. + + _Measurements._--Mayr (1933:2) lists the following measurements + for two adult females: wing, 295, 307; tail, 135, 139; culmen, 17, + 17.5; and tarsus, 48, 51. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 females, from Caroline + Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the Short-eared Owl + at Ponapé builds its nest in the grass on the ground. He did not + observe the nest but received reports of it from the natives. + +_Remarks._--The owl at Ponapé has been known since the time of Kubary. +Coultas, visiting the island in 1930, was the first naturalist to record +very much concerning the habits. According to him (field notes) the bird +inhabits the open grasslands of Ponapé and apparently has somewhat the +same habits as other members of the species. He estimated the population +in 1930 as two dozen or more. He found the birds extremely secretive +during the daylight hours. They were observed flying over the patches of +grassland at twilight and on moonlight nights. He comments that the +catlike call of this owl is heard occasionally in the night. Richards +writes (_in litt._) that twice in late December, 1947, he saw this owl +in a forested area near the summit of Jokaj Island (900 feet). + +Kelso (1938:138) records the Short-eared Owl from Kusaie on the basis of +a specimen taken by Gulick, which Ridgway (1882:367) thought came from +the West Indies. The specimen is labeled Strong's Island, which is an +old name for Kusaie. Kelso gives the measurements of this bird as: wing, +275; tail, 141; culmen from cere, 19.5, and comments that the wings are +shorter than those of specimens from Asia. The skin is in the U. S. +National Museum. + +The Short-eared Owl at Ponapé closely resembles _A. f. flammeus_ but is +slightly smaller and darker. Apparently the owl came to Ponapé as a +straggler on migration from Asia, and becoming acclimated and adapted to +the grassy areas at Ponapé remained as a resident. The occurrence of _A. +f. flammeus_ in the Marianas on migration offers evidence as to how the +bird originally reached Ponapé. + + +=Caprimulgus indicus jotaka= Temminck and Schlegel + +Jungle Nightjar + + _Caprimulgus jotaka_ Temminck and Schlegel, in Siebold's Fauna + Japonica, Aves, 1847, p. 37, pl. 12, 13. (Type locality, Japan.) + + _Caprimulgus indicus jotaka_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 179 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 + (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to tropics. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality + unknown. + +_Remarks._--According to the committee who prepared the Hand-list of +Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1942:199), one female was obtained +by Oba in the Palaus in November, 1930. The skin was placed in the +Kuroda collection. Coultas obtained a male on December 9, 1931, in the +Palaus, which is in the American Museum of Natural History. The bird is +apparently an occasional migrant to western Micronesia. + + +=Caprimulgus indicus phalaena= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Jungle Nightjar + + _Caprimulgus phalaena_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 91. (Type locality, Pelew.) + + _Caprimulgus phalaena_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 4, 13, pl. 2, fig. 1, 2 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. + und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 17 + (Pelew); Hartert, Cat. Birds British Mus., 16, 1892, p. 545 + (Pelew); _idem_, Das Tierreich, no. 1, 1897, p. 51 (Palau); Bolau, + Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 65 (Palau); Matschie, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium 1, + 1902, p. 124 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 154 + (Palau); Mathews, Syst. Avium. Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 396 + (Pelew); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, 1934, p. 120 (Pelew). + + _Caprimulgus indicus phalaena_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 179 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. + 204 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 + (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 + (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babeltuap, Koror, + Garakayo. + + _Characters._--Adult male: "Above grayish-brown, very finely + vermiculated, more rufous on the back, with large longitudinal + streaks and a few cross markings; scapulars partly with pale buff + bands, mostly pale gray at the basal portion; primaries deep + brown, with a white spot to the inner web of the first primary not + extending to the shaft, second and third primary with fine spots + to the inner web extending to the shaft and obsolete white spots + to the outer web, fourth primary with a smaller and less pure + white spot; chin and throat blackish brown, barred with rufous, + with two white spots on the throat; breast brownish gray, + vermiculated and spotted with brown and blackish; abdomen dirty + ochraceous buff barred with brown, the bars wider on the lower + tail-coverts; retrices rufous-brown with blackish bars, outer ones + with broad white terminal spots." (Hartert, 1892:545.) Bill + basally whitish with black tip; feet blackish pink; iris dark + brown. + + Adult female: According to Hartert (1892:545) similar to male, but + with small, more or less obsolete, rufous-buff (not white) spots + on the primaries; rectrices without white spots. + + Immature: Resembles adult but paler and less distinctly marked. + + _C. i. phalaena_ resembles _C. i. jotaka_, but is paler; the male + is more broadly barred and more buffy on abdomen and under side of + tail; the female has paler spots on wing. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of four males: wing, 161-168 (165); + tail, 118-129 (124); culmen, 22; tarsus, 14.0-15.1 (14.5); of four + females: wing, 161-165 (163); tail, 118-127 (123); culmen, 22; + tarsus, 14.5-15.6 (15.1). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 8 (4 males, 4 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 3, 20, 29); + AMNH--exact locality not given, 5 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--This subspecies of the Jungle Nightjar is restricted to the +Palau Islands and particularly to those islands possessing damp, shady +forests and mangrove swamps. In September, 1945, two birds were observed +at the edge of a mangrove swamp at Garakayo at twilight by the NAMRU2 +party, but neither of them was taken. Coultas (field notes) found the +nightjar in mangrove swamps. He writes that they remain quiet there +during the daylight hours. He took specimens both in the evening and at +dawn. He considers the bird as not very common. Marshall (1949:208) +obtained specimens at Koror in 1945. + +Among the races of _C. indicus_, the coloration of _C. i. phalaena_ +resembles most closely that of _C. i. jotaka_; probably _C. i. phalaena_ +was derived from _C. i. jotaka_ of Asia. Apparently this bird arrived at +the Palaus by way of the Philippines. It is found only in these islands +of Micronesia and maybe another one of that group of species which +reached the Palaus without expanding their ranges farther into +Micronesia. + + +=Collocalia inexpectata pelewensis= Mayr + +Edible Nest Swiftlet + + _Collocalia pelewensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 820, 1935, p. + 3. (Type locality, Palau Islands.) + + _Collocalia vanicorensis_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 829 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 4, 116, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, + 1875, pp. 4, 15 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 24 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1880, p. 575 (Palaos); _idem (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 104 (Pelew); + Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 111 (Pelew);_ Wiglesworth (part), + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 18 (Pelew); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 + (Palau). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 66 + (Pelew); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 1, 1872, p. 737 (Pelew). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 189 (Palaos); Reichenow, Die Vögel, + 2, 1914, p. 161 (Palau). + + _Collocalia francica_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1915, p. 53 + (Pelew). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Pelew). + + _Collocalia unicolor amelis_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Pelew). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga amelis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 179 (Palau). + + _Collocalia (vanikorensis) pelewensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., + no. 828, 1936, p. 11 (Palau). + + _Collocalia germani pelewensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, + 1937, p. 18 (Palau). + + _Collocalia inexpectata pelewensis_ Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 4, 1940, p. 224 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 292 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 63 (Garakayo, Peleliu). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis pelewensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 199 (Babelthuap, Koror). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult, according to Mayr (1935:3): "Small; tarsus + naked; upper parts dark fuscous-green, with a brownish tone on + back; crown not much darker than back; rump pale but no distinct + light gray bar across rump as in _C. spodiopygia_; color of the + rump showing much individual variation, bases of feathers always + being pale gray, but tips sometimes strongly glossy green; inner + margins of wing-feathers not particularly light; feathers of chin + and throat soft, with fuscous bases and rather sharply defined + silvery-gray edges, but no shaft-streaks; abdomen dull gray, + slightly darker than throat, inconspicuous shaft-streaks on breast + and abdomen, more pronounced shaft-streaks on under tail-coverts; + longest under tail-coverts fairly glossy green; white loral spot + inconspicuous." + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 30. + + +TABLE 30. MEASUREMENTS OF _Collocalia inexpectata_ IN MICRONESIA + + ====================+=====+===============+============ + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail + --------------------+-----+---------------+------------ + _C. i. pelewensis_ | 14 | 111 (109-113) | 50 (47-51) + | | | + _C. i. bartschi_ | 13 | 108 (105-108) | 54 (52-57) + --------------------+-----+---------------+------------ + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (12 males, 8 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 13)--Garakayo, 2 + (Sept. 18)--Koror, 3 (Nov. 5, 6, 7); AMNH--exact locality not + given, 14 (Oct., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party found the swiftlet to be numerous on +islands in the southern Palaus in 1945. The birds were observed flying +in clearings and about the cliffs. Coultas writes (field notes) that +they nest in caves on the smaller islands. + + +=Collocalia inexpectata bartschi= Mearns + +Edible Nest Swiftlet + + _Collocalia bartschi_ Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. + 476. (Type locality, Guam.) + + _Cypselus inquietus_ Kittlitz (part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké., + Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guahan); _idem_ (part), + Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 26 + (Guahan). + + _Collocalia nidifica_ Gray (part), Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (3), 17, + 1866, p. 125 (Marianne); _idem_ (part), Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, + p. 65 (Marianne). + + _Collocalia vanicorensis_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 12, 1876, p. 24 (Marianen); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 105 + (Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes); Wiglesworth + (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 18 (Marianne); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., + 1901, p. 112 (Guam, Saipan). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga_ Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1865, p. + 616 (Marianne); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 187 (Mariannes); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, + 1898, p. 53 (Rota, Guam, Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 46 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. + 60 (Marianas); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, pp. 84, 263 + (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); + Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 102 (Marianen); Cox, + Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. + 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam). + + _Collocalia fuchphaga_ Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 + (Guam). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga_ Oberholser (part), Proc. Acad. + Nat. Sci. Phila., 1906, p. 186 (Guam). + + _Collocalia unicolor amelis_ Oberholser, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. + Phila., 1906, p. 193 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Guam). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga tachyptera_ Obersolser, Proc. U. S. Nat. + Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Type locality, Guam); Stresemann, Verhandl. + Ornith. Gesellsch. Bayern, 12, 1914, p. 11 (Guam); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Marianas); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Michnoseia, 1922, p. 62 (Guam, Saipan, Rota). + + _Collocalia unicolor bartschi_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Guam). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga bartschi_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 402 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Marianas). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis bartschi_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 828, 1936, p. 11 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 198 (Saipan, Rota, Guam). + + _Collocalia germani bartschi_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, + 1937, p. 18 (Marianne). + + _Collocalia inexpectata bartschi_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, + 4, 1940, p. 224 (Marianne); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 292 (Marianas); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); + Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 105 (Tinian); Stott, + Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 63 (Guam, Rota). + + _Collocalia inexpectata_ Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); + Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan. + + _Characters._--Resembles _C. i. pelewensis_, but with wing shorter; + upper parts lighter; underparts more brownish and lacking dark + shaft-streaks on breast and abdomen; feathers on lores whiter + basally. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 30. + + _Weights._--The present author (1948:63) lists the weights of + seven adult males as 6.4-7.3 (6.8); of three adult females as + 6.8-7.6 (7.1). These birds were taken at Guam. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 48 (17 males, 19 females, 12 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 21 (Jan. 29, May + 20, June 21, July 20, 29)--Rota, 1 (Oct. 27); AMNH--Guam, 18 (Jan. + 22, 29, Feb. 15, July 10, Aug. 11, 12)--Saipan, 8 (Sept. 17). + +_Remarks._--The taxonomic relationships of the species and subspecies of +the genus _Collocalia_ are not fully known. The many different name +combinations applied to the five kinds named from Micronesia are +evidence of the lack of agreement among previous writers as to the +correct systematic positions of the kinds. The genus is widely +distributed in southeastern Asia and adjacent islands and is divisible +into a number of species and subspecies. This diversity is apparently +influenced by the restriction of the birds to local habitats caused, as +Stresemann (1931b:83) states, by the necessity of staying by their +nesting areas which are in caves. Stresemann also points out that the +birds are thus dependent on "narrowly limited ecological conditions." +The birds are confined to certain areas and are, therefore, isolated +from other populations. Most of the volcanic islands of Micronesia have +numerous caves which are suitable to the swiftlets for nesting. _C. +inexpectata_ evolved in the Malayan region and apparently spread to +Micronesia via the Philippines to Palau and to the Marianas. The two +subspecies of _C. inexpectata_ in Micronesia resemble closely those to +the westward but are smaller. I am following Peters (1940:224) in the +treatment of these, and although some future reviser may rearrange these +species and subspecies, it appears to me that the Micronesian swiftlets +fall into the two natural groups (_C. inexpectata_ and _C. inquieta_) +now recognized, even though their parent stocks in Malaysia, in my +opinion, are inadequately known. + +At Guam and Rota, the NAMRU2 party found swiftlets concentrated at cliff +areas, flying about in large groups. Away from the cliffs fewer were +seen and singles were observed in woodland openings, over fields, and in +the coconut groves. On May 18, 1945, a colony of nesting birds was found +approximately two miles east of Agaña on Guam. This colony was in a +coral sink-hole which was approximately 75 feet deep and 60 feet in +diameter. The nests were grouped in clusters of 5 to 25 or more, on +underhanging ledges, sheltered from the light. The nests, which were +fastened securely to the irregular ledges, were knocked down by shots +from our collecting guns. Approximately 250 nests were found; no eggs +were observed, the nests containing young birds. The young were in +various stages of development; some were with little feather growth, +others were completely feathered. Nests examined contained only one +young each. The pile of guano below each cluster of nests was large; an +estimate made at the time indicated that there were 10 or more tons in +each pile. Guano deposits in large quantities were found also in caves +at Amantes Point, Guam. + + +=Collocalia inquieta inquieta= (Kittlitz) + +Carolines Swiftlet + + _Cypselus inquietus_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285. (Type locality, Ualan.) + + _Cypselus inquietus_ Kittlitz (part), Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. + Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 26 (Ualan). + + _Collocalia ualensis_ Streubel, Isis, 1848, p. 368 (no type + locality = Kusaie?). + + _Collocalia nidifica ualensis_ Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist., 17, 1866, p. + 123 (Caroline Islands = Kusaie?). + + _Collocalia vanicorensis_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 12, 1876, p. 24 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1880, p. 575 (Kuschai); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, + pp. 285, 298 (Kuschai); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 104, 108 + (Kushai); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Ualan); Matschie (part), + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga_ Hartert (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., + 16, 1892, p. 498 (Kuschai); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 190 (Oualan). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga_ Oberholser (part), Proc. Acad. + Nat. Sci. Phila., 1906, p. 186 (Ualan). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis_ Oberholser (part), Proc. U. S. + Nat. Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Kusaie). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta_ Stresemann, Verhandl. Ornith. + Gesellsch. Bayern, 12, 1914, pp. 9, 11 (Ualan); Kuroda (part), in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Kusaie); Hand-list + Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 179 (Kusaie). + + _Collocalia inquieta inquieta_ Mayr, Amer. Mus., Novit., no. 915, + 1937, p. 11 (Kusaie); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. + 225 (Kusaie); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 + (Kusaie). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis inquieta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 199 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper parts dark (sooty-black) with a slight + greenish gloss on head and back and a more conspicuous + bluish-purple gloss on the wings and tail; feathers of lores + white, tipped with black; underparts smoky-gray; feet brownish; + bill black; iris dark brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 31. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (21 males, 20 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 8); + AMNH--Kusaie, 41 (Jan., Feb., March). + +_Remarks._--Kittlitz obtained this swiftlet when he visited Kusaie from +December 8, 1827, to January 1, 1828. In 1931, Coultas found the bird +common at Kusaie. The name _Collocalia ualensis_, published by Streubel +in Isis in 1848, p. 368, is without mention of a locality, but is later +used by Gray to denote the swiftlet in the Caroline Islands. + + +TABLE 31. MEASUREMENTS OF _Collocalia inquieta_ + + ============================+=====+==================== + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing + ----------------------------+-----+-------------------- + _Collocalia i. inquieta_ | 11 | 119 (116-125) + | | + _Collocalia i. ponapensis_ | 10 | 110 (107-114) + | | + _Collocalia i. rukensis_ | | (112-119.5)[C] + ----------------------------+-----+-------------------- + + [C] (Mayr, 1935:3). + + +=Collocalia inquieta rukensis= Kuroda + +Carolines Swiftlet + + _Collocalia fuciphaga rukensis_ Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 58, 59, + pl. 3, fig. 1. (Type locality, Ruk.) + + _Collocalia vanicorensis_ Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. London, 1880, + p. 575 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Uap and Ruk); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 11 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1901, p. 112 (Yap, Ruk). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis_ Oberholser (part), Proc. U. S. + Nat. Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Uala = Truk). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga rukensis_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 53 (Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 62 (Ruk, Yap); Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 706 (Truk); Mathews, Syst. + Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 402 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Ruk). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Ruk). + + _Collocalia inquieta rukensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, + 1937, p. 11 (Ruk); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 225 + (Truk, Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Yap, + Truk). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis rukensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 198 (Truk, Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _C. i. inquieta_ but with wing + shorter. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are given in table 31. + + _Specimen examined._--One unsexed bird from Caroline Islands, + USNM--Truk (Feb. 16). + +_Remarks._--Little is known concerning this swiftlet. The bird at Yap is +referred to this race; I have not seen specimens from this island. +McElroy reports seeing no swiftlets at Truk in December, 1945. _C. i. +rukensis_ appears to be intermediate in size between _C. i. inquieta_ +and _C. i. ponapensis_. Richards writes (_in litt._) that he found +swiftlets common at Truk in 1948. He also noted a large swiftlike bird +in "January or February," 1948, near the summit of Mount Tonáchian on +Moen Island. From his description, the bird may have been a large +migratory swift, possibly _Apus pacificus_ or _Chaetura caudacuta_, +neither of which have been reported previously from Micronesia. + + +=Collocalia inquieta ponapensis= Mayr + +Carolines Swiftlet + + _Collocalia vanikorensis ponapensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 820, 1935, p. 3. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Collocalia vanicorensis_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 12, 1876, pp. 17, 23 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., + 1880, p. 285 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga_ Hartert, Cat. Birds British Mus., 16, 1892, + p. 498 (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, + 1, 1915, p. 53 (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia vanikorensis ponapensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 828, 1936, p. 12 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 198 (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia inquieta ponapensis_ Mayr, Amer. Novit., no. 915, + 1937, p. 11 (Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. + 225 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 + (Ponapé). + + _Collocalia inquieta_ Mayr, Proc. 6th Pac. Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, + p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: According to Mayr (1936:12), "Very similar + to _inquieta_, but much smaller; on the upper parts apparently + somewhat less glossy, and not so dark, more brownish; under parts + very variable, sometimes very dark (partly on account of + greasing), sometimes quite silvery on the throat; very dark + specimens show some greenish gloss not only on the longest under + tail-coverts, but also on the entire under side, except on the + throat; rump of the same color as the back; tarsus unfeathered." + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 31. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 37 (19 males, 18 females) from + Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Coultas obtained young birds from nests in caves in + November and December. + +_Remarks._--I am following Mayr (1937:11) and Peters (1940:225) in this +treatment of these Caroline swiftlets, even though the differences +between _C. inquieta_ and _C. vanikorensis_ appear to be slight indeed. +_C. inquieta_ appears closest to the forms of _C. vanikorensis_ in +Northern Melanesia. The birds found in New Guinea and the Solomons are +similar in size to the birds in the Carolines, while those in the +Moluccas, Admiralties and Lihir are larger. Color differences are slight +with the pale color of the sides of the head and underparts being +variable. All of these dark-rumped birds evidently evolved in the +Melanesian area. + + +=Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina= Swainson + +Micronesian Kingfisher + + _Halcyon cinnamomina_ Swainson, Zool. Illustr., 2, 1821, text to + pl. 67. (No type locality = Guam.) + + _Halcyon cinnamomina_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Marianen = Guam); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, + p. 5 (Ladrone or Marian Islands = Guam); Sharpe (part), Monogr. + Alced., 1868-71, pp. xxxii, 213, pl. 80 (Guam); Gray, Hand-list + Birds, 1, 1869, p. 93 (Mariannes = Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, + p. 260 (Mariannes = Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 16 (Guam); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 175 (Guam); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113, 114 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., + 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); + Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam). + + _Alcedo ruficeps_ Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat., 29, 1823, p. 273 + (Mariannes = Guam); Pucheran, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1853, p. 387 + (Mariannes = Guam); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1855, p. 423 + (Mariannen = Guam). + + _Dacela ruficeps_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 247 + (Mariannes = Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamomeus_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guahan). + + _Dacelo cinnamomina_ Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. + und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 131 (Guahan); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, + 3, no. 17, 1863, p. 39; no. 39, 1874, p. 29 (Mariannes = Guam); + Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 3 (Mariannae = Guam). + + _Todiramphus cinnamominus_ Cassin, U. S. Expl. Exped. 1838-'42, + 1858, pp. 220, 225 (Ladrone or Marianna Islands = Guam). + + _Sauropatis cinnamomina_ Cabanis, Mus. Hein., 2, 1859-'60, p. 159 + (Marianen); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 1, 1880, p. 481 + (Marianne = Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 20 (Marianen = Guam); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 17, 1892, p. 259 (Marianne = Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 45 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, + 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 108 (Guam); + Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. + U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. + Mus., 36, 1909, p. 476 (Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 116 (Marianen = Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 63 (Mariannes = Guam); Cox, Islands of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); + Thompson, Guam and its people, 1942, p. 23 (Guam). + + _Halcyon rufigularis_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, 1892, + p. 260 (No type locality = Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamanea_ Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 12 + (Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamonius_ Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. + 102 (Marianen = Guam). + + _Souropatis cinnamominus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 59 (Guam). + + _Hyposyma cinnamomina_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, + 1927, p. 384 (Marianne = Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 179 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 200 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 293 (Guam); + Peters, Check-list Birds World, 5, 1945, p. 206 (Guam); Watson, + The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 63 (Guam). + + _Halcyon cinnamomius_ Bryan, Guam, Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. + 25 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Head, neck, upper back, and entire under + surface near "Sanford's brown"; auriculars black with bluish wash; + narrow black line extending around nape; orbital ring black; lower + back, lesser wing-coverts, and scapulars deep greenish-blue; outer + webs of wing feathers and tail blue; rump resembles tail but + slightly lighter; under wing-coverts greenish-blue; feet dark + brown; bill black, base of mandible paler; iris dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but chin, throat, and upper + breast paler; rest of underparts and under wing-coverts white; a + few cinnamon-tipped feathers on tibia and at bend of wing; back + and scapulars darker olive-green and less blue. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but brown of crown mixed with + greenish-blue; back and wing-coverts edged with pale cinnamon; + chin and throat whitish; rest of underparts buffy-white in male + and paler in female; feathers on breast and nape with dark + edgings. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 32. + + +TABLE 32. MEASUREMENTS OF _Halcyon cinnamomina_ + + =====================+==========+==========+=========+=========+======== + | | | | Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | Number | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + ---------------------+----------+----------+---------+---------+-------- + _H. c. cinnamomina_ |31 males | 102 | 77 | 37 | 15 + | | (96-105) | (73-83) | (35-39) | (14-17) + | | | | | + |25 females| 102 | 79 | 38 | 15 + | | (99-106) | (74-84) | (35-38) | (14-17) + | | | | | + _H. c. pelewensis_ | 5 males | 89 | 61 | 39 | 14 + | | (88-89) | (58-64) | (38-40) | (13-14) + | | | | | + | 4 females| 88 | 64 | 39 | 14 + | | (88-89) | (61-67) | (38-39) | (13-14) + | | | | | + _H. c. reichenbachii_|14 males | 99 | 74 | 41 | 16 + | | (96-101) | (72-77) | (39-43) | (16-17) + | | | | | + |15 females| 100 | 74 | 41 | 16 + | | (96-102) | (71-76) | (39-42) | (15-17) + ---------------------+----------+----------+---------+---------+-------- + + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained the following weights: 11 + adult males, 56-62 (59); 10 adult females, 58-76 (66). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 72 (40 males, 32 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 38 (Feb. 14, 24, March 8, May + 25, 26, 30, June 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 28, 29, July 6, 7, + 10, 18, 20, Aug. 24, 30, Nov. 19); AMNH--Guam, 34 (Jan., Feb., + March, April, July, Aug., Sept., Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--In 1945, the NAMRU2 party found the kingfisher nesting + in the months of March, April, May, and July. Nests were placed in + hollows of trees, usually ten or more feet above the ground. On + April 3, a nest was found in a banyan tree approximately 25 feet + above the ground in a hollow limb. There were two entrances to the + nest cavity and both the male and female were observed to feed the + young. They did not enter the hollow but placed food in the + protruding beaks of the young; the parents and nestling both were + exceedingly noisy throughout most of the feeding period. On July 8, + McElroy found a nest containing two white eggs, partly incubated, + in a cavity of a felled coconut palm at Agfayan Bay. + + _Molt._--Examination of specimens indicates that the time of molt + is irregular or that molting may occur at any time of the year. + However, there may be a peak in molting in July, August and + September; many of the adult birds taken then show evidence of + molting of wing and tail. This is immediately following the period + of greatest nesting activity. + + _Food habits._--The Micronesian Kingfisher at Guam feeds on various + kinds of animal life; lizards and insects are the principal items. + Of three birds taken on February 14, the stomach of one contained a + blue-tailed skink; one contained parts of insects and one contained + parts of a gecko. I watched a kingfisher capture and swallow a + skink on January 14. The bird remained motionless on its perch + until the reptile approached within striking distance. Seale + (1901:45) writes that the bird has a bad reputation as a chicken + thief. He remarks, "I rather doubted his ability in this line until + one day I actually saw him attack a brood of small chicks quite + near me, and he would have undoubtedly secured one had not the + mother hen rushed to the rescue." + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) obtained the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula_ sp., from the Guam Kingfisher. + +_Remarks._--In 1820, Quoy and Gaimard (1824:35) obtained five specimens +of this kingfisher at Guam and called the bird "Martin-chasseur à +têterouse." Kittlitz recorded the bird in March, 1828. Marche obtained a +series of 57 skins at Guam in 1887 and 1888; these were sent to the +Paris Museum. Sharpe described the female as a separate species in 1892. +There is considerable variation in the coloration of adult birds, which +is mostly due to fading, as suggested by Hartert (1898:52). Some +individuals have the crown feathers much abraided as a result of rubbing +the crown against the edge of the nest holes as the birds enter and +leave them. + +The kingfisher is fairly common at Guam. It is primarily a bird of the +forest, preferring particularly the marginal habitats between woodlands +and openings. I saw only a few birds in open country; only rarely were +birds seen sitting on the telephone lines along the roads. The writer +(1947b:124) found that of all the birds frequenting habitat along +roadways on Guam, the kingfisher comprised only 1.2 percent. Thus, it +can be said that it is not a bird of very conspicuous habits, although +its noisy "rattle" may be heard in the day and at night. + + +=Halcyon cinnamomina pelewensis= Wiglesworth + +Micronesian Kingfisher + + _Halcyon pelewensis_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 15. (Type locality, Pelew + Islands.) + + _Halcyon reichenbachii_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 4, 118 (Pelew); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., + 17, 1892, p. 261 (Pelew). + + _Halcyon cinnamomina_ Sharpe (part), Monogr. Alced., 1868-'71, pp. + xxxii, 213, pl. 30 (Pelew); Tristram (part), Cat. Birds, 1889, p. + 92 (Pelew). + + _Dacelo reichenbachii_ Schlegel, Mus. Pay-Bas, 3, no. 39, 1874, p. + 29 (Pelew). + + _Halcyon reichenbachi_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 4, 11 (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 116 (Palau). + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 20 (Palau). + + _Sauropatis cinnamomina_ Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 1, + 1880, p. 481 (Pelew). + + _Halcyon pelewensis_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 + (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 53 (Pelew); Uchida, + Annot. Zool. Japan., 9, 1918, p. 483 (Palau). + + _Halcyon Reichenbachi_ var. _pelewensis_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 186 (Pelew). + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ var? _pelewensis_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 108 (Pelew). + + _Sauropatis reichenbachii pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1932, p. 60 (Angaur). + + _Hyposyma cinnamomina pelewensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 385 (Palau). + + _Halcyon cinnamomina pelewensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 180 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 200 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 293 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 5, 1945, p. 206 + (Babelthuap, Koror); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, pp. 63, 64 (Peleliu, Ngabad). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Kayangel, + Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Ngabad, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _H. c. cinnamomina_, but + smaller and with underparts white; auriculars with less bluish + wash; outer webs of outer tail feathers edged with white. + + Immature: Resembles immature female of _H. c. cinnamomina_, but + smaller with white underparts edged with black on throat, breast, + and upper abdomen; outer webs of outer tail feathers edged with + white. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 32. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 17 (8 males, 8 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 1 (Nov. + 30)--Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 10)--Ngabad, 3 (Sept. 11); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 12 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Food habits._--Stomachs of specimens obtained by the NAMRU2 party + at Palau contained insects. One male had a large cicada in its + stomach. Coultas (field notes) writes that foods of this bird + consist of grubs and ants. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483) found the bird louse (Mallophaga), + _Docophorus alatoclypeatus_, on this bird at Palau. + +_Remarks._--In 1945, the NAMRU2 party found this kingfisher in forested +areas and at the edges of mangrove swamps on small islands near Peleliu. +Only six birds were seen. The bird was located by listening for and +determining the direction of its rasping call. After a search of the +area of leafy foliage from where the call was coming, the bird would be +seen sitting motionless on a near-by perch. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party +saw a kingfisher with cinnamon underparts at Bulubul Island at Ulithi +Atoll on August 21, 1945. It was not taken. + + +=Halcyon cinnamomina reichenbachii= (Hartlaub) + +Micronesian Kingfisher + + _Todirhamphus Reichenbachii_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, p. 131. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 19 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 285 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 285 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 47 (Ponapé). + + _Sauropatis cinnamomina_ Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 1, + 1880, p. 481 (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon cinnamomina_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 112, 114 (Ponapé); + Tristram (part), Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 92 (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon mediocris_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, 1892, p. + 260 (Type locality, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. and Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 16 (Ponapé); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, pp. 177, 180, + 181, 184, 185, 186 (Ponapi); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 116 + (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon reichenbachi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 15 (Ponapé); Oustalet, Nouv. + Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, pp. 176, 180, 181, 182, + 183, 184, 185, 186 (Ponapi); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 + (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Ponapé); + Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ var. _reichenbachi_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 108 (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon cinnamominus_ var. _mediocris_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 108 (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon reichenbachii_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 53 (Ponapé). + + _Sauropatis mediocris_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 195 (Ponapé). + + _Sauropatis reichenbachii reichenbachii_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 60 (Ponapé). + + _Hyposyma cinnamomina reichenbachii_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 384 (Ponapé). + + _Halycyon cinnamomina reichenbachii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 180 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 200 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 293 + (Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 5, 1945, p. 206 + (Ponapé). + + _Halcyon cinnamomina reichenbachii_ Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. + 82 (Ponapé); idem, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, + p. 290 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _H. c. + cinnamomina_, but with slightly smaller wing and smaller tail; + slightly longer bill; top of head paler cinnamon; feathers of back + tipped with cinnamon and bordered by backish; underparts white. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but feathers forward of black + nape band may be mixed white and cinnamon; back and scapulars + duller and less olive. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but crown streaked with greenish-black; + back and scapulars darker; wing-coverts edged with cinnamon, in + male chin and throat creamy, sides of throat, breast, and flanks + cinnamon, and axillaries, under wing-coverts, abdomen, under + tail-coverts paler cinnamon; in female chin and throat white and + rest of underparts paler than in male. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are presented in table 32. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 49 (25 males, 24 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. 12); AMNH--Ponapé, + 48 (Nov., Dec). + + _Molt._--Most of the specimens taken by Coultas in November and + December are either worn or in molt. + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:290) records a fly + (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoica pusilla_, from the Micronesian + Kingfisher at Ponapé. + +_Remarks._--The difference in coloration between the adults and +immatures has resulted in considerable confusion concerning the taxonomy +of this subspecies. According to Wiglesworth (1891a:15), the name +_Halcyon reichenbachii_ was established by Gustav Hartlaub in 1852 for a +kingfisher with a white abdomen in the Dresden Museum, which had been +figured by Reichenbach (Synopsis Avium, Alcedineae, 1851) and called +_Todiramphus cinnamomina_. This specimen had been mislabeled and +Hartlaub and Finsch (1868a:4), noting a resemblance between this bird +and specimens from the Palau Islands, used the name _H. reichenbachii_ +for the birds from the Palaus. Later, when specimens from Ponapé were +taken, Hartlaub's bird was found to be identical with them; thus the +name _H. reichenbachii_ could be restricted to the bird at Ponapé, and +Wiglesworth supplied the new name _H. pelewensis_ for the population at +Palau. _H. mediocris_ was used by Sharpe to designate the +cinnamon-breasted birds at Ponapé, because they were assumed to belong +to a species different from the white-breasted ones. This confused +situation was not clarified until additional collections were obtained +by the Japanese. + +Coultas (field notes) comments on the conspicuously different field +characters of the two color types in this bird. In 1930, he found the +bird common and usually in marginal habitat in the lowlands and at the +edges of mangrove swamps. + +_Evolutionary history of Halcyon cinnamomina._--The three races of +kingfishers belonging to the species _H. cinnamomina_ have been derived +from _H. chloris_. The principal distinction between the two species is +the presence of the cinnamon coloring in _H. cinnamomina_, although +within _H. chloris_ there are some subspecies possessing traces of this +coloration. The link between these two species, as pointed out to me by +Mayr, appears to be _H. chloris matthias_ Heinroth of the St. Matthias +and Squally islands, which is colored like _H. chloris_ except that on +the head, especially on the occiput, there is a faint wash of color +ranging from buff to ochre. This coloration of the head is a step toward +the condition in the Micronesian populations of _H. cinnamomina_. + +In _H. c. pelewensis_ and _H. c. reichenbachii_, the adult birds +resemble each other, although the former subspecies is slightly smaller. +The immatures of _H. c. reichenbachii_, however, possess cinnamon +coloring on the cheeks, sides of body, and breast in addition to that +present on the crown and nape. The crown and nape are of this same color +in the adults. In the subspecies at Guam, _H. c. cinnamomina_, the adult +male has the immature type of plumage found in _H. c. reichenbachii_. +The female of _H. c. cinnamomina_ has this cinnamon coloring on the +throat, but the breast, abdomen and under tail are white. The original +stock from which the Micronesian birds came may have invaded the area +via the Palau Islands, although Mayr (1940) is of the opinion that they +reached Micronesia via Ponapé (eastern Carolines) and spread to Guam +and Palau. He states further (1942b:181, 182) that the presence of _H. +cinnamomina_ and _H. chloris_ as reproductively isolated groups in the +Palaus may not indicate that they are distinct species, but that they +represent the overlap of terminal links of the same species, which have +diverged to such an extent as to leave these terminal links +reproductively isolated. + + +=Halcyon chloris teraokai= Kuroda + +White-collared Kingfisher + + _Halcyon chloris teraokai_ Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 56, pl. 3, + fig. 3. (Type locality, Pelew.) + + _Halcyon albicilla_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 828 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 4, 118 (Pelew); Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 1, + 1869, p. 93 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 49 + (Palau, Mackenzie, Matetotas); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 171 (Pelew). + + _Halcyon chloris_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 93 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 10 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 14 (Pelew); Mayr, Amer. Mus. + Novit., no. 469, 1931, p. 3 (Pelew). + + _Dacelo albicilla_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 1 + (Pelew). + + _Halcyon sanctus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 50 + (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, 1892, p. 267 + (Pelew). + + _Dacelo albicilla_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 1 + (Pelew). + + _Sauropatis chloris_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 1, 1880, p. 470 + (Pelew). + + _Halcyon chloris teraokai_ Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, + p. 482 (Palau); Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 707 (Pelew); Takatsukasa + and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 484 (Pelew); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 180 (Palau); Bequaert, + Mushi, 2, 1939, p. 82 (Palau); _idem_, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 290 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 201 (Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 293 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds + World, 5, 1945, p. 209 (Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 64 (Peleliu, + Garakayo). + + _Sauropatis chloris teraokai_ Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., + 55, 1919, p. 357 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 59 (Angaur); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, + 1927, p. 381 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Kayangel, + Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Dorsal surface bluish, head slightly + darker, back and scapulars more greenish, rump lighter blue; outer + webs of feathers of wing and of tail dark blue, entire first + primary blue, inner webs of other primaries black; collar and + underparts white; ariculars black with bluish wash, the black + extending around neck above white band; spot on upper lores and + narrow line above eye white; orbital ring and lower part of lores + black; under wing-coverts white; under tail black; feet black; + bill black, mandible with whitish base; iris dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but crown and back more green + and less blue; auriculars with greenish-blue wash. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but feathers of forehead edged with + buff; spot on lores and underparts buffy margined with dusky. + + _H. c. teraokai_ resembles closely _H. c. chloris_ (Boddaert), but + more greenish and less bluish, especially on tail. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 33. Adult males + and females have similar measurements and are treated together. + + +TABLE 33. MEASUREMENTS OF _Halcyon chloris_ IN MICRONESIA + + ==================+=====+===========+=========+=========+========= + | | | | Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + ------------------+-----+-----------+---------+---------+--------- + _H. c. teraokai_ | 17 | 113 | 76 | 45 | 14 + | | (110-116) | (72-81) | (41-52) | (13-16) + | | | | | + _H. c. orii_ | 9 | 111 | 80 | 44 | 16 + | | (109-116) | (78-83) | (42-45) | (15-16) + | | | | | + _H. c. albicilla_ | 17 | 116 | 81 | 46 | 16 + | | (109-119) | (78-84) | (42-49) | (14-17) + | | | | | + _H. c. owstoni_ | 3 | 115 | 81 | 44 | 17 + | | (114-116) | (80-82) | (42-45) | (16-17) + ------------------+-----+-----------+---------+---------+----------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 53 (25 males, 28 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Garakayo, 3 (Sept. 20)--Peleliu, 14 + (Aug. 27, 29, 30, 31, Sept. 1, 5, 6, Nov. 7); AMNH--exact locality + not given, 36 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Food habits._--Unlike _H. cinnamomina_, _H. chloris_ obtains much + of its food by fishing in inland waters or in tidal flats and + lagoons. It does, however, obtain terrestrial foods also. Stomachs + of birds taken by the NAMRU2 party at Palau contained insects, + fish, crab, and shrimp. One stomach contained 3 cc. of fragments of + crab, another 2 cc. of shrimp and other crustacea, and another 2 + cc. of grasshoppers. Marshall (1949:210) records the house mouse as + a food of this bird. + + _Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483) records the bird louse + (Mallophaga), _Docophorus alatoclypeatus_, from this bird at + Palau. Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:290) lists the fly + (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoica pusilla_, from _H. c. teraokai_. + +_Remarks._--The White-collared Kingfisher at Palau is a showy and +conspicuous bird. It cannot be classed as a forest bird but seems to +prefer openings and marginal woodlands. Its range does not overlap that +of the secretive and inconspicuous _H. cinnamomina pelewensis_, which +prefers the denser forests. In 1945, the NAMRU2 party found _H. c. +teraokai_ to be numerous in the cleared battle areas at Peleliu and +Angaur. A favorite perch of this bird was the telephone lines, from +which a number of our specimens were shot. Usually the bird was observed +singly; occasionally two birds were found together. A pair was seen in +copulation on August 29. The call of this bird, a loud and harsh rattle, +is noticeably different from the low rasping note of _H. c. pelewensis_. +Coultas found _H. c. teraokai_ to be numerous in 1931. He comments +(field notes) that the bird frequents salt water areas, especially the +mangrove swamps. He noted the bird fishing at the outer reef. + + +=Halcyon chloris orii= Takatsukasa and Yamashina + +White-collared Kingfisher + + _Halcyon chloris orii_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 43, 1931, p. 484. (Type locality, Rota.) + + _Halcyon albicillus_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, + 1892, p. 249 (Marianne = Rota). + + _Halcyon albicilla_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 169 (Rota); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., + 5, 1898, p. 53 (Rota). + + _Sauropatis albicillus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 58 (Rota). + + _Halcyon chloris orii_] Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 180 (Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 200 (Rota, + Saipan as straggler); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 293 + (Rota); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 5, 1945, p. 210 (Rota); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 64 + (Rota). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _H. c. teraokai_, but loral spot + larger and more buffy; occiput lightly streaked with white and + white line above eye; top of head and back more oily green and + less blue, darker in female. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but underparts and loral spot buffy + with dusky edges; feathers of forehead tipped with buff; remainder + of upper parts slightly darker. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 33. + + _Weights._--The author (1948:64) lists the weights of two adult + females as 84 and 85. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 11 (4 males, 6 females, 1 + unsexed), from Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota (Oct. 18, 19, 22, 26, + Nov. 2). + + _Molt._--The 11 specimens taken by the NAMRU2 party at Rota in + October and November are in molt. + +_Remarks._--The kingfisher at Rota was taken by Marche in June and July, +1888, and reported by Oustalet (1895:169). It was taken later by the +Japanese and described by Takatsukasa and Yamashina as a new subspecies. +Apparently, no other specimens were taken until the NAMRU party visited +Rota in October and November, 1945, and obtained 11 skins. The bird is +conspicuous and common at Rota. + +The color characters of white feathers intermingled with the bluish +coloring of the crown and the occiput and the large, whitish loral spot +place this subspecies as intermediate between _H. c. teraokai_ and the +two subspecies known from the more northern Marianas. + + +=Halcyon chloris albicilla= (Dumont) + +White-headed Kingfisher + + _Alcedo albicilla_ Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. Levrault, 29, 1823, + p. 273. (Type locality, Marianne = Tinian.) + + _Alcedo albicilla_ Pucheran, Rev. et Mag. Zool., 1853, p. 388 + (Marianne = Tinian); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1855, p. 423 + (Mariannen = Tinian); Cassin, U. S. Expl. Exped. 1838-'42, 1858, + p. 225 (Mariannes = Tinian). + + _Todiramphus albicilla_ Reichenbach, Syn. Avium, Alcedineae, 1851, + p. 30 (Mariannen = Tinian). + + _Halcyon albicilla_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen = Tinian); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 5 (Ladrone or Marian Islands = Tinian); Gray (part), + Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 93 (Mariannes = Tinian); Oustalet, Le + Nat., 1889, p. 260, (Saypan); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 14 (Marianne = + Tinian); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), + 7, 1895, p. 169 (Saypan); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. + 52 (Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113, 114 + (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 45 + (Saipan). + + _Dacelo albicilla_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 1 + (Marianne = Tinian). + + _Sauropatis albicilla_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 1, 1880, p. + 470 (Marianne = Tinian). + + _Halcyon albicillus_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, + 1892, p. 249 (Marianne = Saipan). + + _Halcyon saurophagus_ Schnee, Zeitschr. f. Naturwisch., 82, 1912, + p. 463 (Saipan). + + _Sauropatis albicillus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 58 (Saipan). + + _Leucalcyon albicilla albicilla_ Mathews (part), Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 376 (Saipan). + + _Halcyon chloris albicilla_, Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 180 (Saipan, Tinian); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 200 (Saipan, Tinian, Yap?); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 293 (Saipan, Tinian); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 5, + 1945, p. 210 (Saipan, Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., + 49, 1946, p. 97 (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan, Tinian. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _H. c. teraokai_, but slightly + larger; pileum white; white collar broad; black band on nape + narrow and faint in some individuals; back and scapulars more oily + green and less blue. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but pileum pale buff streaked with + bluish-green; back and scapulars darker; upper wing-coverts edged + with white; breast feathers edged with dusky black. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 33. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (12 males, 8 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 1 (Sept. 27)--Tinian, 4 + (Oct. 18, 23, 26); AMNH--Saipan, 11 (July 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, + August 5, 21, 26)--Tinian, 4 (Sept. 7, 8, 10). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1898:42) records an egg found in a hole of a + tree at Saipan on July 31, 1895. He writes that the egg "is only + slightly glossy, very thin, pure white, but soiled all over with + deep brown spots, evidently from the decaying wood in the nest + hole. It measures 33:25 mm." + + _Molt._--Most of the birds taken in July, August, September, and + October are in molt. + +_Remarks._--Quoy and Gaimard, who visited the Marianas while on the +expedition in the "Uranie," obtained this kingfisher at Tinian. +Additional material was taken by Marche in 1887 at Saipan and by +Owston's Japanese collectors in 1895. In 1932, Coultas (field notes) +found the bird to be common on both Tinian and Saipan, especially in +open country. At Saipan, Stott (1947:526) found the birds as singles or +in pairs on wooded hillsides. At Tinian, Gleise (1945:220) estimated the +population in 1945 as 150. + +The completely white head in _H. c. albicilla_ closely resembles that in +_H. s. saurophaga_ Gould of Melanesia. These two species resemble each +other in several other respects. _H. saurophaga_ is smaller than _H. +chloris_ with black or greenish blue on the anterior part of the +ear-coverts and the color of the back, wings, and tail is more greenish. +The presence of both _H. saurophaga_ and _H. chloris_ on the same +islands in Melanesia is an indication that the two groups are +specifically distinct. + + +=Halcyon chloris owstoni= Rothschild + +White-collared Kingfisher + + _Halcyon owstoni_ Rothschild, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 15, 1904, + p. 6. (Type locality, Asuncion.) + + _Halcyon albicillus Sharpe_ (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, + 1892, p. 249 (Marianne = Pagan, Agrigan). + + _Halcyon albicilla_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, pp. 169, 170 (Pagan, Agrigan); Hartert, + Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 52 (Pagan, Agrigan). + + _Sauropatis chloris owstoni_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 59 (Asuncion). + + _Leucalcyon albicilla owstoni_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 376 (Asuncion). + + _Halcyon chloris owstoni_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 484 (Asuncion); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 180 (Asuncion); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 200 (Assongsong, Pagan, Almagan); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 293 (Almagan, Pagan, Agrigan, Asuncion); Peters, + Checklist Birds World, 5, 1945, p. 209 (Asuncion, Pagan, + Alamagan); Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 417 (Agrigan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, + Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _H. c. albicilla_, but hind part + of crown blue-green and black collar broader. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but forehead buffy and edges of + feathering on anterior crown, upper wing-coverts, and tips of + secondaries brownish. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 33. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 4 (2 males, 1 female, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Asuncion, 4 (Jan., + July). + +_Remarks._--Marche obtained specimens of this bird at Pagan in November, +1887, and at Agrigan in December, 1888, and in February, 1889. Owston's +Japanese collectors obtained birds at Asuncion in 1904, which were named +as new by Rothschild. Apparently he used an immature specimen in +preparing the diagnosis of his new subspecies. Borror (1947:417) visited +Agrigan in 1945 and obtained specimens of this kingfisher. He reports +that the bird is a "common and abundant species and probably nests on +the island." + +_Evolutionary history of Halcyon chloris in Micronesia._--_Halcyon +chloris_ is distributed from eastern Africa at the Red Sea eastward +through southern Asia to Malaysia, Australia and the Pacific islands. +Peters (1945:207-213) recognized 47 subspecies within this species. + +In its colonization of Micronesia, _H. chloris_ apparently arrived first +at the Palaus probably from the Philippines or the Moluccas. Whether +_H. cinnamomina_ was established at Palau prior to the arrival of _H. +chloris_ is unknown. _H. chloris teraokai_ dominates most of the +available habitats at Palau, although it has differentiated but little +from subspecies to the west and southwest of Palau. Among named kinds it +most closely resembles _H. c. chloris_ (Boddaert) of the Moluccas, +Lesser Sundas and adjacent areas in color and structure. The species did +not succeed in establishing itself in the Carolines or at Guam, but did +so in the Marianas at Rota and northward. In comparison with other +subspecies of _H. chloris_ those in the Marianas are characterized by a +slight increase in size and a replacement of the bluish-green coloring +of the head either partly or wholly by white. It is noteworthy that on +the islands of Tinian and Saipan, which occupy a geographically +intermediate position in the Mariana chain, the bird has an almost +completely white head, whereas the birds on islands to the north and +south have only partly white heads. + +The geographic ranges of _H. chloris_ and _H. cinnamomina_ in Micronesia +overlap only at Palau as shown by Mayr (1942b:181). Even here each is +restricted to a different habitat. Possibly the present ranges resulted +from competition between each group, and both may have had more +extensive ranges in Micronesia in the past. Another possibility is that +the original stock of _H. chloris_ arrived in Micronesia via the Palaus +and that of _H. cinnamomina_ via Ponapé (eastern Carolinas), and that +the resulting successful colonizations were a matter of chance. If this +were the case the present day ranges may represent the total amount of +dispersal that has taken place. The absence of kingfishers from Kusaie, +Yap, Truk and other apparently suitable islands favors this possibility. + + +=Eurystomus orientalis connectens= Stresemann + +Dollar Bird + + _Eurystomus orientalis connectens_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 20, + 1913, p. 302. (Type locality, Moa.) + + _Eurystomus orientalis connectens_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. + 675 (Babelthuap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 + (Babelthuap). + + _Eurystomus orientalis pacificus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Celebes and adjacent islands, Lesser Sunda + Islands from Lombock to Damar, Southeastern Islands. In Micronesia: + Palau Islands--Babelthuap. + +_Remarks._--Yamashina (1940:675) records an adult male taken at +Babelthuap in 1938. He assigns it to _E. o. connectens_, comparing it +with a series of 15 specimens of this race from Celebes, Halmahera and +Batchian. Mayr (1045a:302) refers this visitor to Palau to _E. o. +pacificus_ (Latham); this form is migratory and may fly north from +Australia to the Melanesian area between breeding seasons. + + +=Hirundo rustica gutturalis= Scopoli + +Eastern Barn Swallow + + _Hirundo gutturalis_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faune, Insubr., 2, + 1786, p. 96. (Type locality, "in Nova Guinea," error = Panay, + Philippine Islands.) + + _Hirundo rustica_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 112 + (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + p. 391 (Yap). + + _Hirundo rustica gutturalis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 178 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 198 + (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau); + Baker, Smithson. Mus. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 65 (Guam, + Angaur, Ngesebus). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia, winters south to + Australia and Pacific islands. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Guam, Tinian; Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Ngesebus, + Peleliu, Angaur; Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 13 (9 males, 3 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Tinian, 10 (Oct. 23, + 25); Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 1 (Nov. 27)--Angaur, 1 (Sept. + 21); AMNH--exact locality not given, 1 (Oct. 26). + +_Remarks._--This swallow is a winter migrant to western Micronesia from +Asia. In the Palau Islands in September, 1945, the NAMRU2 party saw the +swallow at Ngesebus and Angaur in small flocks. At Guam, the NAMRU2 +party saw one bird on October 7 and four birds flying near Agaña River +on October 11. Strophlet (1946:535) saw one bird on October 28, 1945, +and six birds on November 16 at Guam. Marshall (1949:221) found swallows +at Tinian, Saipan and Palau from October to February. He found only +immature birds. + + +=Edolisoma tenuirostre monachum= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Cicada Bird + + _Campephaga monacha_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, p. 99. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Volvocivora monacha_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. + 4, 19, pl. 3, fig. 2-3 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, p. 28 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau). + + _Lalage monacha_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 105 + (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 186 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 25 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 53 + (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); + Dubois, Syn. Avium., 1, 1902, p. 303 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die + Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 276 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 68 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 + (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 + (Babelthuap, Koror). + + _Edolisoma monacha_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 541 (Pelew). + + _Edolisoma tenuirostre monacha_ Stresemann, Ornith. Monatsber., + 47, 1939, p. 126 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 294 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, + p. 65 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Peleliu. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Forehead, crown, nape, back, and + underparts near "Tyrian blue"; auriculars darker than back; lores + and chin black; throat black washed with blue gray; wing feathers + black, margined with pale blue; black tail tipped with whitish, + and basal part of middle two rectrices colored like back; under + wing dark except for whitish inner margins of secondaries; bill + and feet black; iris dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but forehead and under eye + pale buff; superciliary stripe darker buff; crown, nape, and sides + of neck dark slate-blue; mantle brown, feathers with buffy + centers; back brown washed with burnt brown; feathers of rump and + upper tail-coverts with terminal black bar edged with buff; wing + and tail brownish-black, primaries margined with buff, innermost + three secondaries and upper wing-coverts broadly edged with + lighter buff, tail tipped with buff, more broadly so on outermost + tail feathers, two outermost tail feathers with outer edge buff; + two central tail feathers basally dark ochre; ear-coverts buff, + tinged with black; chin, throat, and under wing-coverts deep buff; + breast, abdomen, and flanks buff, feathers with subterminal + blackish bar; under tail buff. + + Immature: Resembles adult female, but crown, nape, and sides of + neck brown; back faintly mottled with buff; tail feathers and + primary wing-coverts tipped with white; younger birds may have + upper parts margined with pale buff. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 34. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (13 males, 10 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 4 (Nov. 6, 14, 26, Dec. + 5)--Peleliu, 2 (Aug. 29, 30); AMNH--exact locality not given, 17 + (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + +TABLE 34. MEASUREMENTS OF _Edolisoma tenuirostre_ IN MICRONESIA + + -------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+----------- + | | | | Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + -------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+----------- + | | | | | + _E. t. monachum_ | 10 | 98 | 80 | 21.0 | 23.0 + | | 96-103 | 76-83 | 20.0-22.5 | 22.5-24. + | | | | | + _E. t. insperatum_ | 35 | 109 | 86 | 23.0 | 24.0 + | | 107-112 | 82-91 | 22.0-24.0 | 23.0-25.0 + | | | | | + -------------------+------+----------+---------+-----------+----------- + + + _Molt._--Molt in this bird appears to take place in the period from + August to December. Most of the specimens taken in August, October, + November and December were in molt. None was taken in other months. + + _Food habits._--This bird feeds principally on insects. A female + taken on August 29 had in its stomach about one and a half cc. of + parts of grasshopper. Marshall (1949:212) records both animal and + vegetable matter in the stomach of this bird. + +_Remarks._--The Cicada Bird at Palau inhabits the jungles, especially +the marginal areas between the thick jungle and the more open woodlands. +In 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed only two birds, both of which were +obtained. These were found at Peleliu in a small area of undisturbed +woodland at the edge of a mangrove swamp. Each bird was perched +approximately 25 feet above the ground on the outer branches of a +densely foliated tree. The bird is thought not to be so rare as our +records indicate; probably its secretive habits conceal it from man +except as he makes special search for it. Coultas (field notes) +describes the bird as one of the true forest. He found it shy and +retiring and possessing a very weak voice. + +It may be noted that Delacour (1946:2) does not accept the genus +_Edolisoma_ but places birds which are currently assigned to it in the +genus _Coracina_. + + +=Edolisoma tenuirostre nesiotis= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Cicada Bird + + _Campephaga nesiotis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, p. 98. (Type locality, Uap.) + + _Campehaga nesiotis_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 391 (Yap). + + _Volvocivora nesiotis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. + 28 (Yap). + + _Edoliisoma nesiotis_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. + 56 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 25 (Uap); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. + Hamburg, 1898, p. 53 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 112 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 299 (Uap); Reichenow, + Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 274 (Karolinen = Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 68 (Mackenzie, Yap). + + _Edolisoma nesiotis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 542 (Mackenzie group); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 174 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 + (Yap). + + _Edolisoma tenuirostre nesiotis_ Stresemann, Ornith. Monatsber., + 49, 1939, p. 126 (Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 294 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _E. t. + monachum_. Adult female: Resembles adult female of _E. t. + monachum_, but wings and upper parts less buffy and more rufous; + eye-stripe rufous; breast barred on sides only. + +_Remarks._--No specimen of the Cicada Bird from Yap has been examined by +me. For a long time this bird was thought to be a species distinct from +any other member of this genus, but Stresemann (1939:126) arranged it as +a subspecies of _Edolisoma tenuirostre_. The type specimen is an +immature, and the adult is unknown. The presence of rufous coloring +shows a relationship with _E. t. insperatum_ of Ponapé, but Mayr, who +has examined the type of _E. t. nesiotis_ in the Hamburg Museum, and has +obligingly showed me his notes on the bird, says that it has a greater +resemblance to the Cicada Bird at Palau especially because of the amount +of barring on the underparts. The true status of this bird, as well as +that of other members of the avifauna of Yap, will be incompletely known +until such time as good collections are available from this island +group. + + +=Edolisoma tenuirostre insperatum= (Finsch) + +Cicada Bird + + _Volvocivora inseperata_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875, + (1876), p. 644. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Volvocivora insperata_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, + pp. 17, 27 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), + p. 779 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 112, 115 (Ponapé); + Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 + (Ponapé). + + _Volvozivora insperata_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 289 + (Ponapé). + + _Lalage insperata_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. + 108 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 25 (Ponapé); Bolau, Mitteil. + Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 53 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Ponapé); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, + 1914, p. 276 (Karolinen = Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 68 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 174 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 194 (Ponapé). + + _Lisomada insperata_ Mathews, Novit. Zool., 24, 1928, p. 372 (new + generic name); _idem_, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. + 545 (Ponapé). + + _Edolisoma tenuirostre insperata_ Stresemann, Ornith. Monatsber., + 47, 1939, p. 126 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 294 (Ponapé). + + _Edolisoma tenuirostre_ Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, + 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _E. t. + monachum_, but larger; upper parts more grayish-blue; wings with + outer edges bluish-gray and inner webbings grayish-white; central + tail feathers with subterminal, roundish, black spots; two + outermost tail feathers black tipped with broad, pale bluish-gray + coloring; lores more bluish-gray and less black; ear-coverts pale + bluish-gray; chin, throat, breast, abdomen, flanks, under wing, + and under tail-coverts grayish-blue; bill and feet black; iris + dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _E. t. monachum_, but + larger; forehead slate-gray; crown brownish-gray, browner on nape; + back chocolate-brown; rump rufous; upper tail-coverts more + cinnamon; wing and tail brownish-black, outer margins of primaries + edged with buff; outer margins of secondaries and upper + wing-coverts except primary wing-coverts edged with rufous; + central tail feathers like back but tipped with buff, other tail + feathers more broadly tipped with buff; lores grayish-black; malar + stripe to auriculars darker and more brownish-black with lighter + shafts; underparts rufous, under wing paler and more buffy. + + Immature: Resembles adult female, but forehead grayish tinged with + ochre; crown and neck brown becoming slightly more reddish on back + and more burnt reddish-brown on rump; tail edged and tipped with + buff; primaries tipped with whitish, secondaries broadly edged + with buff, primary wing-coverts tipped with buffy-white; lores + blackish; ear-coverts rufous with lighter shafts; tail feathers + pointed while in adult more rounded. Younger birds resemble older + ones, but plumage except wings and tail may be spotted or barred + with buff and black with whitish margins. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 34. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 46 (23 males, 23 females), + from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the nest is + cup-shaped, made of grasses and strands of hair fern, and placed at + low elevations in small trees and bushes. He was told that two eggs + are laid. He comments that the nesting season had just been + completed in November and December (the time of his visit to + Ponapé), because he noted juveniles being attended and fed by the + adults. + + _Molt._--Most of the specimens taken by Coultas in November and + December are in fresh plumage or in the final stages of molt, + indicating that the molt was initiated possibly in September and + would be completed possibly in January. This time of molt appears + to be approximately one month later than the time of molt of _E. t. + monachum_ of Palau. Probably the bird at the Palau Islands breeds + slightly earlier in the year than the subspecies on Ponapé. + + Examination of the large series of birds taken by Coultas at + Ponapé shows the presence of three types of plumages. The writer + has not made a thorough diagnosis of these plumages, but suspects + that the phenomenon obtained here is the same as was found by Mayr + (1933e) in his study of _Neolalage banksiana_ (Gray), which is a + related bird. Immatures of _E. t. insperatum_ seemingly present + two plumages, which, if Mayr's arrangement is followed, may be + interpreted as a more primitive or "retarded" type in one case, + with less striking plumage, barred with black and buff, and a more + advanced or "progressive" type in the other case, with plumage of + the latter resembling more the adult type, especially the adult + female. It was not ascertained whether any of these specimens + represented adult birds in "retarded" plumage. + +_Remarks._--The Cicada Bird at Ponapé resembles in habits its related +subspecies at Palau. Coultas (field notes) writes that it is a forest +bird, with retiring habits. He observed the birds in small groups, and +describes their musical call notes as "to-to-wee, to-to-wee" repeated +several times. + +_Evolutionary history of Edolisoma tenuirostre in Micronesia._--Mayr (in +Stresemann, 1939:126) first pointed out the close relationship between +the cicada birds of Micronesia and _Edolisoma tenuirostre_ of the +Solomon Islands. Up to that time the Micronesian birds were considered +to belong to the genus _Lalage_. The cicada birds probably invaded +Micronesia along two independent routes from a dispersal center in the +Papuan area. The form at Palau, _E. t. monachum_, resembles closely +several of the subspecies to the south and southwest, particularly those +in the New Guinea area. Aside from the smaller size of the Palau form +there are differences in coloration between this bird and those of +Melanesia. In the adult female and the juvenile there are differences in +the amount of barring on the underparts and in the shade of color on the +upper parts. In the adult male there are differences in the marginal +coloring of the primaries and secondaries. _E. t. nesiotis_ may have +arrived at Yap from Palau. Little is known concerning the taxonomic +position of this bird. On the basis of the information available, it +appears closer to the Palau bird than the Ponapé bird in color; however, +in size it probably more closely approaches the latter subspecies. + +The Ponapé Cicada Bird, _E. t. insperatum_, appears to represent a +colonization distinct from that which established the populations at Yap +and Palau. This conclusion is based on the fact that the adult female of +_E. t. insperatum_ has distinctive reddish coloring and lacks the +barring on the underparts, and that it may have been derived from an +ancestral stock, which was reddish and not barred, such as _E. t. +remotum_ of the New Ireland area. The three subspecies in Micronesia may +represent remnants of a single colonization, since additional material +from Yap may prove that this island population has characters +intermediate between those of the other subspecies of Micronesia. + + +=Dicrurus macrocercus harterti= S. Baker + +Black Drongo + + _Dicrurus ater harterti_ S. Baker, Novit. Zool., 26, 1918, p. 299. + (Type locality, Formosa.) + + _Dicrurus macrocercus_ Baker, Trans. 11th N. Amer. Wildlife Conf., + 1946, p. 211 (Rota). + + _Dicrurus macrocercus harterti_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 65 (Rota). + + _Geographic range._--Formosa. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota + (introduced). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 3 females), from + Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota (Oct. 18, 19, Nov. 2). + +_Remarks._--This drongo was introduced from Formosa to Rota by the +Japanese South Seas Development Company (Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha) +apparently in 1935. An illustrated booklet, printed by this organization +and seen by members of the NAMRU2 party at the Rota Civil Government +headquarters, showed pictures of the captive birds before release and +indicated that they had been brought to Rota for the purpose of +controlling destructive insects. Dr. Charles Vaurie has examined these +birds and compared them with a series of drongos from Formosa in the +collection of the American Museum of Natural History. + +The drongo appears well adapted at Rota, where it prefers cultivated +areas and the bombed village sites to thick woodlands. Birds were found +in small flocks often perched in large shade trees in village areas. +Weights of two immature males are 53 and 61 grams. One adult male +measures: wing, 144, tail, 153, culmen, 26, tarsus, 22. + + +=Corvus kubaryi= Reichenow + +Marianas Crow + + _Corvus Kubaryi_ Reichenow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1885, p. 110. (Type + locality, Palau, error = Guam.) + + _Corvus solitarius_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guahan); Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus + Acad. Sci. Paris, 37, 1853, p. 830 (Mariannes); Kittlitz, Denkw. + Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 143 (Guahan); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 + (Guam and Rota). + + _Corvus_ spec. Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 + (Mariannen); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 12 (Marianne). + + _Corvus kubaryi_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 59 (Guam, + Rota); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); + Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam); Seale, Occ. + Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1901, p. 55 (Guam); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, pp. + 3, 264 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 + (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 87, 102 + (Marianen); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 306 (Palau); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianne); Cox, + Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 69 (Guam, Rota); Meinertzhagen, Novit. Zool., + 33, 1926, p. 73 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 169 (Guam, Rota); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 187 (Guam, + Rota); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 298 (Guam, Rota); + Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., + 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 540 (Guam); + Baker, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 408 (Guam); _idem_, Condor, 49, + 1947, p. 125 (Guam); _idem_, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 66 (Guam, Rota). + + _Corone phillipina_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 46 (Marianne). + + _Corone kubaryi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 46 (Pelew, error = Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small, black crow with a slight + greenish-black gloss on head; back, wings, and tail with + bluish-black gloss; underparts with dull, greenish-black gloss; + bases of feathers light grayish, more nearly white on neck, + producing a somewhat ragged appearance; nasal bristles short but + extending over nostrils and base of culmen; bill and feet black; + iris dark brown. Female smaller. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but feathers with less gloss; wings and + tail browner. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _Corvus kubaryi_ are listed in + table 35. + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of the Marianas Crow + as follows: from Guam, 5 males, 231-270 (256), 11 females, 205-260 + (242); from Rota, 1 male, 256; 1 female, 260 grams. + + +TABLE 35. MEASUREMENTS OF _Corvus kubaryi_ + + =========+===========+===========+===========+=========+========= + | Number | | | Full | + LOCATION | and sex | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + ---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+--------- + Guam | 9 males | 236 | 165 | 55 | 51 + | | (229-244) | (158-170) | (51-57) | (49-52) + | 19 females| 227 | 151 | 50 | 50 + | | (222-241) | (143-166) | (47-54) | (46-54) + | | | | | + Rota | 3 males | 235 | 167 | 54 | 50 + | | (233-236) | (166-169) | (53-56) | (49-51) + ---------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 49 (20 males, 27 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 26 (May 25, 29, + June 4, 7, 8, 9, 18, 28, 29, July 10, 12, 18, Sept. 5, 11)--Rota, 4 + (Oct. 22, 25, 29); AMNH--Guam, 19 (Jan., Feb., March, Aug., Sept., + Dec.). + + _Nesting._--In the spring of 1945, the NAMRU2 party obtained + records of nesting activities by crows. One nest was observed on + March 8 in a banyan tree. Specimens collected from May to September + were not in breeding condition, and it is thought that the nesting + period is concentrated in the winter and spring months. Watson + (1946:41) reports finding a young crow being fed on May 8 by an + adult. + + _Molt._--The Marianas Crow molts in the period from May to August + or September. Most of the birds taken by the NAMRU2 party in this + period were in the process of molt. Skins obtained at Rota in late + October also exhibit signs of molt. Specimens taken in December, + January and February are in fresh or slightly worn plumage. The + crow presents an exceedingly shabby appearance in molt, because the + grayish and whitish basal parts of the feathers are exposed. + + _Food habits._--The crow is an omnivorous feeder. Stomachs + examined contained both plant and animal food. Both Seale + (1901:55) and Safford (1905:79) comment on the damage which the + crow does to the corn crop at Guam. Seale remarks that the crow + has a reputation for plundering nests of other birds. The NAMRU2 + party saw crows being chased by starlings on several occasions. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) obtained the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula_ sp., from the crow at Guam. + +_Remarks._--The Marianas Crow is confined to the forested areas and to +the coconut plantations at Guam. The birds were seen as singles or in +small flocks, often along the roadways. In a count of the number of +birds seen along the roadways of Guam, the author (1947:124) found crows +to constitute 2.4 per cent of the total population of birds counted and +observed the crow on 21.6 per cent of the 125 roadway counts made. +Coultas (field notes) noted the birds at the northern part of Guam. The +NAMRU2 party found the birds distributed in most parts of the island but +usually they were infrequent near areas where large numbers of service +personnel were stationed. The birds were often noisy when flying in +small flocks or in pairs; Seale (1901:55) also notes this. When observed +in jungle areas, the birds were generally quiet, feeding and perching in +dense foliage. At Rota, the NAMRU2 party found the bird to be fairly +numerous and with habits resembling those of the crow at Guam. No +differences in color or structure could be found between the specimens +of crows obtained at the two islands. + +Kittlitz (1836:305) was the first person to write an account of the crow +at Guam. He called it _Corvus solitarius_ and remarked that he later +found the same species in the Philippines. Wiglesworth (1891a:46) also +considered the crow at Guam to resemble one found in the Philippines and +called it _Corone phillipina_. Later Reichenow named the bird _Corvus +kubaryi_ with the type locality as the Palau Islands. This locality +proved to be erroneous and the bird was judged to be from Guam by +Hartert (1898:59), who did not use the name _C. solitarius_ because it +was a _nomen nudum_, and recognized _C. kubaryi_ as the correct name. + +_Evolutionary history of Corvus kubaryi._--Meinertzhagen (1926:59) +writes that "Environmental influences seem to be mainly, if not +entirely, responsible for geographic differences in the genus _Corvus_." +Such may be the case in _C. kubaryi_, which is a small, dull-colored +crow with a relatively unmodified bill. In structure, it has little +resemblance to other crows found in the Pacific area. Kittlitz was the +first to note a resemblance between the bird at Guam and one in the +Philippines. Oustalet (1896:70) wrote that the bird at Guam is related +to crows of the Moluccas and New Guinea. Although not closely related to +the Hawaiian Crow, _C. tropicus_, both have little gloss on their +feathers, a character which is common to many of the insular populations +of crows. Mayr (1943:46) is of the opinion that the Hawaiian bird was +derived from a North American ancestor, although Bryan (1941:187) +suggests that it is related to _C. macrorhynchus_ of southeastern Asia +and remarks that the Hawaiian Crow, "has some relation to the Guam +Crow." In looking for the ancestral stock of _C. kubaryi_, the several +species of crows which occur to the north, west and south of the +Marianas have been examined. In size and general structure, _C. kubaryi_ +appears to be closest to the _C. enca_ group, and not as closely related +to the _C. macrorhynchus_ group. The small size, the shape of the +culmen, the lack of pointed feathers on the breast, and the presence of +white on the basal parts of the feathers of the nape are characters +which _C. kubaryi_ has in common with _C. enca_. Nasal bristles cover +the frontal base of the culmen in _C. kubaryi_; this character is found +also in _C. enca florensis_. _C. kubaryi_ differs from the _C. enca_ +group by lacking the purple sheen on the upper parts; this sheen is +conspicuous in the latter species. _C. kubaryi_ appears to have little +in common with _C. meeki_ of the Solomons and _C. orru_ of the Moluccas +and New Guinea area. There is apparently no close relation between the +Marianas Crow and the crow which reaches the Bonins. The latter crow, +according to the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, +1932:1), is called _C. coronoides hondoensis_ Momiyama and is apparently +now extinct in the Bonins. + +In summary, it may be said that _C. kubaryi_ is an isolated and modified +species of crow, which probably has been living at Guam and Rota for a +considerable length of time. Whether it once lived on other islands in +Micronesia is unknown, but it is entirely possible that the present +population may represent a remnant of one which formerly had a more +extensive distribution. The characters which show its distinctness from +possible ancestral species include its small size, its slender bill, +and its dull coloration. It is thought to have been derived from the _C. +enca_ group, _C. e. pusillus_ of the Philippines or _C. e. celebensis_ +of the Celebean area. + + +=Luscinia calliope calliope= (Pallas) + +Siberian Rubythroat + + _Motacilla Calliope_ Pallas, Reise durch versch. Prov. russ. + Reichs, 3, 1776, pp. 261, 325, 697. (Type locality, Yenesei.) + + _Luscinia calliope calliope_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 178 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 + (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to + Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Siberian Rubythroat is considered to be a casual winter +visitor to the Palau Islands. + + +=Monticola solitaria philippensis= (Müller) + +Chinese Blue Rock Thrush + + _Turdus philippensis_ Müller, Natursystem Supplements- und + Register-Band, 1776, p. 145. (Type locality, Philippine Islands, + _ex_ Buffon.) + + _Monticola philippensis philippensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 177 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 302 (Palau). + + _Monticola solitarius philippensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 197 (Koror). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Chinese Blue Rock Thrush is apparently an infrequent +winter visitor to the Palau Islands. + + +=Turdus obscurus obscurus= Gmelin + +Dusky Thrush + + _Turdus obscuras_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, 1789, p. 816. (Type + locality, Lake Baikal.) + + _Turdus obscuras_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 96 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 22 (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 66 (Pelew). + + _Merula obscura_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 39 (Pelew). + + _Turdus obscuras obscuras_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 177 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 + (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to + Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Dusky Thrush is considered to be a casual winter visitor +to the Palau Islands. It was first taken there by Captain Heinsohn, +according to Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:96). + + +=Psamathia annae= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Palau Bush-warbler + + _Psamathia annae_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 5, pl. 2. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Psamathia annae_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 116, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, + pp. 89, 94 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, + 22 (Palau); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, pp. 399, 404 + (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + p. 407 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 7, 1883, p. 101 + (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 155 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 40 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 57 + (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); + Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 536 (Palau); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 629 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 196 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu); Delacour, Ibis, + 84, 1942, p. 514 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 294 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, + p. 197 (Peleliu, Ngabad). + + _Calamodyta annae_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 208 (Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad. + + _Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized warbler with a rather long + bill and tail; upper parts near "buff olive," slightly lighter on + head; lores olive-gray to olive-green; supraloral stripe and + orbital ring pale yellow-buff; auriculars yellow-brown; underparts + lighter and more olive-yellow than back, especially in midsection; + chin paler; sides, tibia and under tail-coverts darker and more + olivaceus; wings and tail dark brown with outer edges olive; under + wing-coverts light yellow; axillaries more whitish; upper mandible + horn-colored, darker at base; lower mandible yellowish, darker at + base; legs and feet light yellowish-brown; iris grayish-brown. + Adult female resembles adult male but is slightly smaller. + Immature: Resembles adult but forehead and crown slightly lighter + and more yellowish; back and rump more brownish. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 36. + + +TABLE 36. MEASUREMENTS OF _Psamathia annae_ + + ===============+=====+=========+=========+=============+============= + | | | | Exposed | + SEX | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + ---------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + Adult males | 7 | 74 | 64 | 21.0 | 28.5 + | | (72-77) | (62-68) | (19.5-22.5) | (27.0-30.0) + | | | | | + Adult females | 11 | 69 | 58 | 21.0 | 26.5 + | | (65-74) | (55-61) | (19.5-22.0) | (25.0-29.0) + ---------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (9 males, 14 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 5 (Nov. 7, 9, 11, 18, + 19)--Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 4, Dec. 5)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. + 11); AMNH--exact locality not given, 13 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Nehrkorn (1879:399, 404) records the egg of _Psamathia_ + from Palau. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of nesting of + this bird in August and September, 1945. In 1931, Coultas secured + birds in November and December, which had enlarged gonads. Marshall + (1949:219) records breeding in November and December. + + _Molt._--Most of the skins taken from August to December have worn + or molting feathers. Apparently there is a high point in the + molting process in autumn and early winter. + + _Food habits._--Stomachs obtained from birds taken by the NAMRU2 + party in August and September contained parts of insects and small + seeds. One stomach contained about one-half cc. of parts of + insects. Coultas (field notes) found the bird scratching "on the + ground for seeds as well as working in the low trees and bushes." + Marshall (1949:212) records insects and snails as food items. + +_Remarks._--_Psamathia_ has the habit of a typical bushwarbler, +occurring in jungle undergrowth and along woodland margins. In 1945, +specimens were obtained by the NAMRU2 party in the scrub vegetation +which was growing over the devastated battle areas of Peleliu. The bird +was not common in this habitat, nor was it very numerous on the smaller +offshore islands. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rather tame +and frequently to live close to human habitation. Its call, as noted by +Coultas, is a loud whistle that breaks off into a beautiful song. The +bird is quick in its movements; one seen by the writer at Ngabad was +constantly moving about in low, second-growth vegetation and was making +a low, whistling call. The resemblance of _Psamathia_ to _Rukia +palauensis_ is noteworthy. These two unrelated birds live together in +jungle areas, although _Psamathia_ is perhaps confined more to the +forested undergrowth and is more solitary in its habits. Aside from its +longer legs and bill, _Psamathia_ closely resembles _Rukia_ in shape and +coloration. They appear to have developed along somewhat similar +evolutionary lines with regard to structure, color and ecologic +requirements. + +The Palau Warbler was first discovered by Captain Tetens and described +as belonging to a new genus by Hartlaub and Finsch (1868a:5). In the +original description the authors remark that, "The generic position of +this new form is in the _Calamoherpe_ group; the feet are the same as in +_Calamoherpe_; but the beak is weaker and slenderer, and the wings are +very different. _Calamoherpe_ has the first quill quite spurious, the +third is the longest, and the second and sixth are subequal. In +_Calamoherpe_ there are twelve tail-feathers; in _Psamathia_ I can find +only ten. _Tatare_ is a very different form, with a scutellated tarsi, a +very different structure of the plumage, a much more elongated beak, and +a twelve-feathered tail. _Tatare syrinx_ is a typical Calamoherpe. In +the structure of the wing of _Psamathia_, there seems to be a great +resemblance to the genus _Arundinax_ of Blyth, a form with which it is +not in my power to compare." The genera _Calamoherpe_ and _Tatare_ are +now included in _Acrocephalus_; the describers were comparing the Palau +Warbler with the reed-warblers of Micronesia and Polynesia. + +Sharpe (1883:93) writes that the Palau Bush-warblers are "Aberrant reed +warblers, and should, in my opinion, be placed in future classifications +of the Cichlomorphae near the genera _Cettia_ and _Acrocephalus_, from +which they are separated by their larger first primary only. Through +_Megalurus_ and _Sphenoeacus_ they approach the grass-warblers and +Cisticolae especially." + +Mayr (1941b:203) cites _Psamathia_ as an example of "restricted +endemism" and points out that the nearest relative occurs in the +Philippines. Delacour (1942:514), in a discussion of the bush-warblers +of the genera _Cettia_, _Bradypterus_ and related forms, says, +"_Psamathia annae_, from Palau Islands, is related to _Cettia_, +differing mainly in its much longer bill and legs." + +_Psamathia_ is a specialized bush-warbler and has followed a pattern of +evolution which characterizes some of the other island birds in that the +bill and legs are long and the wing is rather short and rounded. +_Psamathia_ resembles many of the bush-warblers, as well as the +reed-warblers {_Acrocephalus_); in general, body coloring being paler +below and darker above. It differs from _Acrocephalus_ by having a +longer tenth primary, smaller second and third primaries, only ten tail +feathers, a more rounded wing, differently shaped nostrils, and by much +softer plumage (the latter character is found also in _Collurcincla +tenebrosus_ and _Cleptornis marchei_ of Micronesia). Rather than being +related to the reed-warblers, as was supposed by Hartlaub and Finsch, +_Psamathia_ seems closest to _Cettia_, especially to _Cettia_ +(_Horeites_) _diphone seebohmi_ of the Philippine Islands. _Psamathia_ +has a longer bill than this bird, but the general appearance and +structure of the feet, tail, wing, body and bill are the same. + + +=Acrocephalus luscinia luscinia= (Quoy and Gaimard) + +Nightingale Reed-warbler + + _Thryothorus luscinius_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "l'Astrolabe," + Zool., 1, 1830, p. 202, pl. 5, fig. 2. (Type locality, Marian Is. = + Guam.) + + _Sylvia syrinx_ Kittlitz (part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Seniavine," 3, 1836, p. 306 (Guahan); _idem_ (part), Denkw. Reise + russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 141 (Guaham). + + _Tatare luscinia_ Gray, Genera Birds, 3, 1849, App. 8 (Marian Is. + = Guam); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen = + Guam); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 14 + (Ladrone or Marian Is. = Guam); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, p. 31 (Guaham); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 41 (Guam); Büttikofer, Notes + Leyden Mus., 14, 1892, p. 16 (Guam); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 209 (Guam). + + _Tatare luscinius_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 224 (Guam); + _idem_, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 41, 1855, p. 1111 + (Mariannes = Guam); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 194 (Ladrone + = Guam). + + _Hybristes_ [_luscinia_] Reichenbach, Syst. Avium, 1850, pl. 57, + fig. 7 (no locality = Guam). + + _Acrocephalus orientalis_ Pelzeln, Reise, "Novara," Vögel, 1865, + p. 64 (Guaham). + + _Tatares luscinius_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 599 + (Marianae). + + _Acrocephalus mariannae_ Tristram, Ibis, 1883, p. 45 (Type + locality, Guam). + + _Tatare mariannae_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 7, 1883, p. + 528 (Marianne = Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes + = Guam). + + _Acrocephalus luscinia_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 + (Guam, Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 53 (Guam, Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 112, 113 (Guam, Saipan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 369 (Marianne); Safford, Amer. + Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, + p. 264 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, pp. 30, + 79 (Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 545 (Marianen); Cox, + Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Guam, Saipan); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam); Thompson, Guam and its people, 1942, p. + 23 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 539 (Guam). + + _Conopoderas luscinia_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 594 (Marianas); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 177 (Marianas). + + _Conopoderas luscinia hivae_ Yamashina, Bull. Biogeogr. Soc. + Japan, 12, 1942, p. 81 (Type locality, Saipan); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Almagan, Saipan). + + _Conopoderas luscinia luscinia_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 197 (Guam). + + _Acrocephalus luscinia luscinia_ Mayr (part), Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 294 (Guam, Saipan, Almagan); Stott, Auk, 1947, + p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 67 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Saipan, + Almagan. + + _Character._--Adult: A rather large warbler with long, curved + bill; upper parts near "Saccardo olive"; feathers of head grayer + because of darker shafts; rump paler and browner; lores dark; + supraloral stripe light buffy-yellow; auriculars, cheeks, and + sides of neck slightly darker; chin, throat, breast, and abdomen + pale buffy-yellow; tibia darker and more olivaceous-brown; under + tail-coverts pale yellow-buff; wing and tail feathers brown, edged + with ochraceous; under wing grayish, inner edges lighter; + axillaries pinkish-white; upper mandible dark horn colored; lower + mandible lighter yellow; feet light gray; iris brown. Female + resembles male but is slightly smaller. + + +TABLE 37. MEASUREMENTS OF _Acrocephalus luscinia_ + + -----------------+----+--------+-------+-------+-----------+----------- + | | | | |Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | No.| Sex | Wing | Tail |culmen | Tarsus + -----------------+----+--------+-------+-------+-----------+----------- + | | | | | | + _A. l. luscinia_ | 11 | males | 84 | 83 | 36.0 | 30.5 + | | |(81-86)|(80-86)|(35.5-39.0)|(30.0-31.0) + | 1 | female | 78 | 73 | 37.0 | 28.5 + | | | | | | + _A. l. syrinx_ | 31 | males | 78 | 71 | 26.5 | 26.5 + | | |(76-80)|(68-75)|(25.0-27.0)|(25.0-29.0) + | 12 | females| 75 | 68 | 25.5 | 26.0 + | | |(74-78)|(65-70)|(24.0-27.0)|(24.0-26.0) + -----------------+----+--------+-------+-------+-----------+----------- + + + Immature: Resembles adult, but upper parts duller and more brown + and less olive; underparts less yellow; wing and tail feathers + lighter brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 37. + + _Weights._--The weights of three adult males obtained at Guam by + the NAMRU2 party are 30, 30, and 31 grams. An adult female from + Guam weighed 27 grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 12 (11 males, 1 female), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 6 (June 2, 13, July 2, + 18)--Saipan, 6 (Sept. 27, 30). + + _Nesting._--Oustalet (1895:209) writes that Marche found nests at + Guam in June, 1887. The NAMRU2 party obtained two males with + enlarged gonads in June, 1945. + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in June, July, and September are either + in worn plumage or in molt. Birds in worn plumage become a faded + straw-brown above. Oustalet apparently interpreted this coloring + of the worn plumage as a seasonal coloration. + + _Food habits._--Seale (1901:53) reports that four stomachs which + he examined contained insects and larvae. Marshall (1949:21) lists + as food items: lizards, snails, spiders, and insects. + +_Remarks._--The Nightingale Reed-warbler at Guam is restricted to cane +thickets and adjacent areas in and near fresh and brackish water +marshes. In 1945, the NAMRU2 party found the bird fairly numerous in +some of these habitats. Seale (1901:53) writes, "This bird is now quite +scarce on the island of Guam. It lives exclusively among the reedy +swamps, and those swamps are now being drained to make room for the +Chinaman's rice paddies." Mayr (1945a:295) also notes the rarity of the +species. As a result of the late war, the cultivation of rice was +reduced and the reed-warbler probably has been able to increase in some +of the now fallow areas. The most extensive range of this bird at Guam +is found in the Agaña Swamp, where there is a large area consisting of +thick cane. Here, and in the other large cane patches, the chief hazard +to the bird population appears to be fire. In dry periods, the entire +habitat might be easily destroyed by fire. The birds are extremely shy; +their melodious songs may be heard in the reeds, but their active +movements in the thick cane are difficult to observe. While hunting for +these birds along the edges of Agaña Swamp on June 2, the writer +observed, or located the calls of, at least six or seven individuals but +could only get within shooting range of three birds. Within the cane +thickets, these birds feed and move about near the ground or the surface +of the water. Rarely do they perch in a conspicuous manner in the upper +parts of the cover. Their color patterns blend perfectly with the +coloration of the dry cane stalks. Perhaps failure to find many of the +birds because of their secretive habits has caused many observers to +assume that the bird is near extinction. Nevertheless, it is my +contention that the bird, being restricted to these limited areas, has +never been very abundant at Guam. The absence of natural enemies, +especially snakes, may be one of the principal reasons why they have +been able to survive. + +Reed-warblers were not found by the NAMRU2 party at Rota in 1945, nor +have they been reported from Tinian. Yamashina in 1942 described the +populations at Saipan and Almagan as distinct. I have not seen this +description, but on the basis of examinations of specimens from Saipan, +I can see no recognizable differences between these and birds from Guam. + + +=Acrocophalus luscinia syrinx= (Kittlitz) + +Nightingale Reed-warbler + + _Sylvia syrinx_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, 2, + 1835, p. 6, pl. 8. (Type locality, Lugunor and Ulcei = Woleai.) + + _Sylvia syrinx_ Kittlitz (part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 297 (Lougounor); _idem_, Denkw. Reise + russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 92 (Ualan, Lugunor, + Ulea). + + _Eparnetes_ Reichenbach, Syst. Avium, 1850, pl. 57 (no locality = + Carolines); Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 41, 1855, + p. 1111 (Carolines). + + _Tatare syrinx_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 131 + (Ualan, Lugunor); Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, 3, 1853, p. 92 (Hogoleu + = Truk); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, pp. 164, 168 + (Hogoleu); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 14 + (Ualan); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 7, 1883, p. 527 + (Carolines); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, + no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 41 (Ruk, Ualan, Luganor, Uleei, + Nukuor, Ponapé); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 210 (Ruk, Ponapi, Mortlock, Kusaie, Uleei, + Nukuor). + + _Acrocephalus orientalis_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, + pp. 63, 162 (Puynipet, Lugunor, Ulcei). + + _Calamodyta syrinx_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 208 + (Ualan); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 1, 1872, p. 529 (Carolin.). + + _Calamoherpe syrinx_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. + 17 (Ponapé, Lugunor, Ruck, Ualan, Uleei); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith, + 1880, pp. 287, 297 (Ponapé, Ruck, Mortlocks, Kuschai); _idem_, + Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 (Ruk, Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, + 1881, pp. 108, 112, 115, 247 (Kuschai, Ruck, Ponapé, Mortlocks); + Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 298, + 330, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlocks, Nukor, Ruk); Finsch, Ibis, 1883, p. + 143 (Ruck); _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 49 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 ser., 1900, p. + 659 (Carolinen). + + _Acrocephalus syrinx_ Seebohm, Cat. Birds British Mus., 5, 1881, + p. 100 (Ponapé); Tristram, Ibis, 1883, p. 44 (Ponapé, Ruk, + Mortlock, Lugunor, Uleei); _idem_, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 152 + (Ponape, Ruk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 33 (Ponapé, Ruk); + Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Carolines); _idem_, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 3 (Ruk); Seale (part), Occ. Papers + Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 53 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. + f. Ornith., 1900, pp. 112, 113 (Ruk, Ponapé, Ualan); Dubois, Syn. + Avium, 1, 1902, p. 369 (Ponapé); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 545 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 + (Ponapé, Ruk); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. + 204 (Ponapé). + + _Conopoderas syrinx_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. + Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 214 (Ponapé, Truk); Takatsukasa and + Yamashina, Dobotsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 485 (Caroline Is.); + Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 405 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 177 (Carolines). + + _Acrocephalus stentoreus syrinx_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Ruk, Ualan, Lugunor, Wolea, Nukuoro, + Ponapé). + + _Conopoderas luscinia syrinx_, Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 197 (Wolea, Lamotrek, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, + Kusaie). + + _Acrocephalus luscinia syrinx_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 294 (Carolines); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, + no. 15, 1948, p. 67 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Woleai, + Lamotrek, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. l. luscinia_, but smaller; + with shorter, straighter bill; head and neck more reddish-brown; + back, rump, wing, and tail edged with cinnamon; flight feathers + faintly tipped with white. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but lighter and more rufous in color; + wings and rump paler, wings edged with rufous buff. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 37. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 62 (35 males, 20 females, 7 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. + 12)--Truk, 4 (Feb. 16, Mar. 15); AMNH--Ponapé, 35 (Nov., + Dec.)--Truk, 22 (Feb., March, May, June, Nov.). + + _Nesting._--Birds nest in reedy swamps and scrub vegetation in the + Caroline Islands, although Finsch (1881b:115), recording a field + note by Kubary, states that nests were found in trees at Mortlock + Atoll (= Lukunor). Yamashina (1932a:405) reports the collecting of + seven sets of eggs at Ponapé in July and August, 1931. The sets + consisted of one or two eggs each. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party + obtained specimens with enlarged gonads at Truk in December and + noted that birds were carrying nest materials to cane swamps. Of + the birds secured by Coultas in November and December at Ponapé, + only a small number had enlarged gonads. He also found nests + containing no eggs in low bushes at Ponapé. Hartert (1900:3) + reports that at Truk Owston's Japanese collectors obtained "many + nests" from the end of May to the beginning of July. These nests + contained one or two eggs and were found 7 to 20 feet above the + ground in breadfruit, coconut and ivory-nut palm trees. Hartert + writes, "The eggs are white, covered with darker and lighter brown + patches, and underlying ashy grey or lavender-grey spots. These + spots are generally thicker near the broad end, sometimes forming a + loose ring, and they are sometimes equally spread over the whole + surface." He lists measurements of 48 eggs. + + _Molt._--Of the specimens examined by me, those taken in the + spring and summer are in fresh or worn plumage; those taken in + fall and winter are in molt, with a few skins exhibiting worn or + fresh plumage in the latter period. Apparently the peak in the + molting process occurs from September to December. + + _Food habits._--The reed-warbler is an insect feeder. Coultas, in + his observations of the bird at Ponapé, relates that he was able + to locate the warbler by listening for the "snapping of the + mandibles as the bird is catching food." + +_Remarks._--From the observations of Kittlitz, Kubary, Coultas, McElroy, +and others, it is apparent that the Nightingale Reed-warbler in the +Caroline Islands is restricted to the lower elevations of the islands. +Whereas the reed-warbler at Guam seems closely associated with cane +swamps and adjacent vegetation, the bird in the Carolines may range more +extensively into brush lands, forest margins and grass lands. Coultas +(field notes) notes that the reed-warbler at Ponapé is a "common bird of +the small bush and grasslands. One is attracted by its warbler-like +song. The bird spends hours perched on a stem of a bush caroling the +time of day. When feeding, one finds it on the ground or working away +quietly among the bushes. _Acrocephalus_ is a friendly bird who does not +become frightened easily. He responds to man-made calls." + +The Nightingale Reed-warbler is found on many of the islands in the +Caroline Chain, including both the "high" volcanic islands (Ponapé and +Truk) and the "low" coral islands (Lukunor and Nukunor). Although the +bird has been recorded at Kusaie by Kittlitz and Finsch, it was not +taken there by Coultas in 1931. Reed-warblers are unknown at Yap, +Ulithi, Fais or at other islands of the extreme western Carolines, or in +the Palau Archipelago. + +They are unrecorded also in the Marshall Islands, but at Nauru in the +Gilbert Islands, to the southeast, an isolated population of this bird +occurs and has been named _A. l. rehsei_ (Finsch). + + +=Acrocephalus luscinia yamashinae= (Takatsukasa) + +Nightingale Reed-warbler + + _Conopoderas yamashinae_ Takatsukasa, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. + 485. (Type locality, Pagan.) + + _Tatare syrinx_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 210 (Pagan). + + _Acrocephalus syrinx_ Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 + (Pagan); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 53 (Pagan). + + _Acrocephalus stentoreus syrinx_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 67 (Pagan). + + _Conopoderas yamashinae_, Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 177 (Pagan). + + _Conopoderas luscinia yamashinae_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 196 (Pagan). + + _Acrocephalus luscinia yamashinae_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 294 (Pagan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan. + + _Characters._--Resembles _A. l. syrinx_, but duller and more + brownish and less olive-rufous on back, rump and tail; bill + shorter and more curved. + + Takatsukasa (1931:485) gives the following description: + "Upperparts dark olive brown, paler on the lower rump; remiges and + rectrices dark olive-brown, margined with brown. Superciliary + stripe distinct and buff; chin, throat, breast and abdomen pale + brown; ear-coverts, sides of neck, sides of breast and flanks + dusty greyish brown, belly and under tail-coverts pale buff. Bill + clove brown, legs grey, and iris Van Dyke brown." He continues, + "It differs from _Conopoderas syrinx_ of Caroline Islands by its + colouration and the shape of the bill, namely in the new form the + culmen is more curved and more stout, and the tail is less + roundish and nearly square." + + _Measurements._--Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1931b:485) lists the + following measurements: 13 adult males--wing, 75-80; tail, 65-70; + culmen, 20-22; 6 adult females--wing, 73-77; tail, 60-65; culmen, + 20-22. + + Mayr examined seven specimens from Pagan in the Paris Museum. His + measurements are: five males--wing, 76-79; tail, 66-69; bill from + nostril, 14-14.5; two females--wing, 75, 77; tail, 66, 67; bill + from nostril, 14.5, 15. + +_Remarks._--No specimens have been examined by me. Oustalet (1895:210) +was the first to note the difference between the reed-warblers from +Pagan and those from Guam and Saipan (_A. l. luscinia_). He regarded +those from Pagan as similar to the population in the Carolines, calling +them _Tatare syrinx_. Hartert, Seale, and Momiyama followed Oustalet in +this regard, and it was not until 1931 that the population at Pagan was +recognized as distinct, when further collections were made by the +Japanese. + + +=Acrocephalus luscinia nijoi= (Yamashina) + +Nightingale Reed-warbler + + _Conopoderas luscinia nijoi_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 674. + (Type locality, Agiguan.) + + _Conopoderas luscinia nijoi_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 196 (Agiguan). + + _Acrocephalus luscinia luscinia_ Mayr (part), Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 294 (Agiguan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agiguan. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. l. luscinia_, but with shorter + bill. Yamashina (1940:674) describes the birds as, "upper parts + much less rusty in colour and the flanks and bellies are darker + and more brownish than those of the specimens from Almagan and + Saipan." + + _Measurements._--Yamashina (1940:674) gives the measurements of + five adult birds from Agiguan as: exposed culmen 27-29, bill from + nostril 17.0-20.0; as compared with 27 adult birds from Almagan + and Saipan as: exposed culmen 30-34, bill from nostril 21.2-24.5. + +_Remarks._--No specimens have been examined by me. The island of Agiguan +is a very small one lying offshore from Tinian and not far from Saipan, +where _A. l. luscinia_ occurs. _A. l. nijoi_ is given tentative +recognition, on the basis of the measurements of the five adult +specimens given by Yamashina. These indicate that the population has a +distinctly shorter bill. + +_Evolutionary history of Acrocephalus luscinia._--The species of +_Acrocephalus_ in Micronesia and Polynesia have received several +taxonomic treatments. In regard to the Micronesian forms, Quoy and +Gaimard called the population at Guam _Thryothorus_ while Kittlitz +called the population in the Carolines, _Sylvia_. Evidently to emphasize +the distinctness of these two birds, Reichenbach in 1850 renamed the +bird in the Marianas as _Hybristes_ and the bird in the Carolines as +_Eparnetes_. The birds were later placed in the genus, _Tatare_, by +Hartlaub, Gray, Sharpe and other workers. Gray also used the name, +_Calamodyta_, for the bird in the Carolines. The generic term, +_Calamoherpe_, was employed also by a number of workers for the Caroline +population. Sharpe (1883:525) placed the reed-warblers in the family +Timelidae and retained the name, _Tatare_, for the Micronesian and +Polynesian forms. In distinguishing _Acrocephalus_ from _Tatare_ he has +the following to say of _Acrocephalus_: "besides having a much shorter +bill, possesses a very much more pointed wing, the distance between the +primaries and the secondaries being much more than the length of the +hind toe and claw; whereas in _Tatare_ the wing is much more obtuse, and +the distance between the primaries and the secondaries is less than the +length of the hind toe and claw." More recent authors have followed +Sharpe using the generic name, _Conopoderas_ (= _Tatare_, old name +preoccupied). However, Tristram (1883:38-46) regarded the separation of +these oceanic forms from _Acrocephalus_ as a taxonomic error. He said +that this is "one of the very few links (the others being the solitary +_Hirundo tahitica_ and the Merulae) between the avifauna of Oceania and +our own; and it has a much wider range east and west than either of the +other links, extending from the Carolines in the east to the Marquesas +in the west." Mayr has pointed out (orally to the writer) that the +separation of the Oceanic reed-warblers from _Acrocephalus_ is an +unnatural one, although it is perfectly true that the extreme members +(_A. caffra_ and _A. l. luscinia_) have a very long bill, but forms with +shorter bills like _A. l. syrinx_ point to the close affinity between +the continental species and these insular birds. This has also been +noted by Hartert (1898:58). Mayr (_in litt._) comments that "There is no +difference between _Acrocephalus_ and _Conopoderas_ in regard to the +wing formula, provided that we compare the Polynesian species with the +tropical forms of _Acrocephalus_ (such as _toxopei_ and _cervinus_). The +character mentioned by Sharpe is very artificial and merely indicates +the difference in the wing between a migrant of the temperate zone and a +resident of the tropics. There is no denying that some of the warblers +of eastern Polynesia are no longer reed-warblers but have become +dwellers of trees and bushes. However, this same tendency prevails among +some of the unquestionable species of _Acrocephalus_ (_scirpaceus_ and +_palustris_) and at any rate a slight change in habits is not sufficient +for generic separation." Earlier, Mayr (1942b:169) used _Conopoderas_ as +one of the several genera that is based on "morphologically distinct +geographic forms." The degree of modification that has occurred in these +oceanic reed-warblers, would, if the birds were in a continental area, +undoubtedly be considered worthy of specific or even generic rank by +some authors; however, as Mayr (1942b:162) points out, "the majority of +well-isolated subspecies have all the characters of good species and are +indeed considered to be such by the more conservative systematists." +Owing to their differentiation, the Micronesian and Polynesian +reed-warblers might not be considered by some ornithologists as +belonging to a single superspecies; however, all evidence seems to point +to the origin of this group by a single invasion from Asia." + +Tristram (1883:41) was the first worker to recognize the relationship of +the Micronesian and Polynesian reed-warblers to the continental forms, +when he placed them within the genus _Acrocephalus_. Rothschild (1893:2) +further stated, "_Tatare_ cannot be separated generically from +_Acrocephalus_." In discussing the status of the Hawaiian species, _A. +familiaris_, Hartert (1898:58) also follows this treatment. Bryan +(1941:187) also comments on the relationship of the "miller" birds of +Laysan and Nihoa to species at Guam, Christmas and other islands of the +Pacific. + +The reed-warblers of Polynesia and Micronesia represent an ancient +invasion from Asia. The continental form, _Acrocephalus arundinaceous_, +is apparently closest to the ancestral stock of these oceanic birds. +This species resembles the oceanic populations in size, general +coloring, shape of bill, and wing and tail structure. Some of the +continental races of this species have a shorter first primary which is +similar to that in the oceanic forms. How rapid the spread was of the +reed warbler through the large insular area that it now occupies is +unknown. _A. syrinx_ of Micronesia has a shortened wing and some +populations have a long bill. Species in Polynesia have stronger wings +than the one in Micronesia, but have become differentiated in other +ways, as, for example, by the long bill of _A. caffra_ and the small +size of _A. aequinoctialis_. In addition, call notes have become varied, +as noted by Chapin (in Mayr, 1942b:54). Also certain of the +reed-warblers have become bush and tree-living birds. The Hawaiian birds +are reduced in size and have become tree-living in a manner similar to +that of other Polynesian species. These modifications of the +reed-warblers of the Oceanic area appear, according to Murphy and +Mathews (1929), to indicate their long-time residence in the islands, as +compared with subspecies of _A. arundinaceous_ that are found in +Melanesia. The latter birds, which are not ancestral to the Polynesian +birds, resemble closely their Asiatic ancestors and have also retained +their swamp-living habits. This would seem to indicate that the birds in +Melanesia may be of more recent occurrence. Stresemann (1939b:324) +presents a map of the distribution of _A. arundinaceous_ in southeastern +Asia and adjacent islands. The original stock came from a point in +China, north of Indochina, spreading to the Philippines and to Celebes, +from where it reached the Solomons and New Guinea via the Lesser Sundas +and Australia. + +[Illustration: FIG. 15. Geographic distribution of _Acrocephalus_ in the +Pacific area and routes of its dispersal. (1) _A. arundinaceus_; (2) _A. +luscinia_; (3) ranges of _A. atypha_, _A. caffra_, and _A. vaughani_; +(4) _A. aequinoctialis_; (5) _A. familiaris_.] + +The path of invasion of Oceania by the reed-warbler is pictured in +figure 15. Probably the birds became established in Micronesia by an +invasion from the Bonins, where _A. arundinaceus orientalis_ is known to +occur today. From the Marianas and Carolines, the birds spread to +Polynesia; _A. l. rehsei_ of the Gilbert Islands (Nauru) might well be a +connecting link. Possibly, the Hawaiian birds came as a separate +invasion _via_ the Volcano and Bonin islands or through the Micronesia +Chain, or through the Line and Christmas islands from the south. It +seems evident, however, that owing to their geographic proximity and +comparative structural similarity, the species in Hawaii is closest to +_A. luscinia_ of Micronesia. The absence of reed-warblers from the +western Carolines and Palaus seems to reduce the possibility of an +invasion from the Philippine region. However, reed-warblers are absent +from the Marshall and the northern Gilbert islands, where there is +undoubtedly suitable habitat for their occurrence. Possibly these +islands were once occupied by the birds but they were eliminated by +natural causes or by man and his land uses. + + +=Rhipidura rufifrons uraniae= Oustalet + +Rufous-fronted Fantail + + _Rhipidura Uraniae_ Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5, + 1881, p. 76. (Type locality, Mariannes = Guam.) + + _Rhipidura pectoralis_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 17 (Ladrone or Marian Is. = Guam). + + _Rhipidura uraniae_ Reichenow and Schlow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1884, + p. 398 (Mariannes = Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 + (Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 20 (Marianne = Guam); Büttikofer, Notes + Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 76 (Guam); Wheeler, Report Island of + Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 112, 113 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 48 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Dubois, + Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (Guam); Safford, The Plant World, 7, + 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. + 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 477 (Guam); + Schnee, Zeitschr. f. Naturwisch., 82, 1910, p. 464 (Marianen = + Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 267 (Marianen = Guam); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam). + + _Rhipidura atrigularis_ Reichenow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1885, p. 110 + (Type locality, Palau, error = Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und + Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Pelew, + error = Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 + (Marianne = Guam). + + _Rhipidura versicolor_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 190 (Guam). + + _Rhipidura rufifrons uraniae_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 490 (Marianne = Guam); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 295 (Guam); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 42 (Guam); + Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, pp. 3, 9 + (Guam); Baker, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 59, 1946, p. 77 + (Guam); _idem_, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. + 67 (Guam). + + _Rhipidura rufifrons_ Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1948, p. 174 + (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 339 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult: Forehead and anterior crown near + "cinnamon-buff"; lores and orbital ring black, auriculars more + brownish than lores; malar stripe white; a few feathers in + posterior malar region tipped with "citrine drab"; anterior part + of chin white; posterior part of chin, throat, and upper breast + black; feathers on breast edged with white; lower breast, abdomen, + sides, flanks, tibia, vent, and under tail-coverts near "royal + brown," becoming lighter on breast and more rufous on under + tail-coverts; sides of neck and back near "Dresden brown," + becoming grayer on neck and crown where feathers have darker + shafts; rump and upper tail-coverts near "orange rufous"; basal + half of tail slightly lighter than rump; terminal part of tail + black, tipped with white; wings dark edged with coloring like + back; under wing grayish with axillaries tipped with buffy-white; + bill black with base of upper mandible lighter; feet dark brown; + iris dark brown. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head, neck, scapulars, and + secondaries edged with rufous; feathers of chin and throat edged + with whitish. Younger birds may have less rufous on head but + feathers of body more rufous with creamy edges. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 38. + + +TABLE 38. MEASUREMENTS OF _Rhipidura rufifrons_ IN MICRONESIA + + ===================+============+=======+=======+===========+=========== + | Number | | | Exposed | + SUBSPECIES | and sex | Wing | Tail | culmen | Tarsus + -------------------+------------+-------+-------+-----------+----------- + _R. r. uraniae_ | 11 males | 66 | 78 | 13.6 | 16.6 + | |(64-69)|(75-82)|(13.1-14.5)|(15.6-17.2) + | | | | | + | 6 females | 65 | 76 | 12.3 | 16.8 + | |(61-68)|(73-81)|(11.6-12.5)|(16.1-17.6) + | | | | | + _R. r. saipanensis_| 7 males | 68 | 81 | 13.3 | 17.3 + | |(68-69)|(80-83)|(13.0-13.5)|(16.2-18.4) + | | | | | + | 6 females | 64 | 76 | 12.7 | 17.9 + | |(62-66)|(72-81)|(12.4-13.4)|(17.2-18.1) + | | | | | + _R. r. mariae_ | 2 males | 65, 67| 82, 82| 12.1, 12.4|17.1, 17.2 + | | | | | + _R. r. kubaryi_ | 14 males | 77 | 88 | 14.4 | 20.0 + | |(75-79)|(82-95)|(13.6-15.0)|(19.0-21.0) + | | | | | + | 10 females | 72 | 87 | 14.5 | 20.0 + | |(69-75)|(83-90)|(14.0-15.0)|(20.0-20.5) + -------------------+------------+-------+-------+-----------+----------- + + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party recorded the weights of nine males as + 9.0-10.0 (9.0); of three females as 7.2-9.6 (8.8) grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 41 (19 males, 14 females, 8 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 17 (May 29, 30, + June 6, 14, 18, July 12, 20); AMNH--Guam, 24 (Jan., Feb., March, + Aug., Sept., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1898:54) recorded nests taken at Guam in + February and March. + + _Molt._--On the basis of specimens examined, it is apparent that + molt begins in August or September and continues through the + months of the fall. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) obtained the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula_ sp., from this bird at Guam. + +_Remarks._--The Rufous-fronted Fantail at Guam is a bird of the forest +and forest scrub. It prefers the areas where leafy undergrowth is +present. It moves rapidly about continually fluttering its wings and +spreading its long fanlike tail. The birds are usually observed in +pairs. On January 21, 1945, E. W. Coleman of the NAMRU2 party killed a +fantail but before he could retrieve it, a large toad (_Bufo marinus_) +seized the fallen bird and carried it into a hole in the ground. + + +=Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensis= Hartert + +Rufous-fronted Fantail + + _Rhipidura saipanensis_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 54. + (Type locality, Saipan). + + _Rhipidura versicolor_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes + = Saipan); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Marianne = Saipan); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 190 (Saipan). + + _Rhipidura saipanensis_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 112, 113 (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 48 (Saipan); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 + (Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Marianne = + Saipan). + + _Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 490 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese + Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 176 (Saipan, Tinian); Hand-list + Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Saipan, Tinian); Mayr + (part), Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Saipan, Tinian); + Mayr and Moynihan (part), Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, p. 3 + (Saipan, Tinian); Baker, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 59, 1946, p. + 77 (Saipan, Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. + 98 (Tinian). + + _Rhipidura lepida saipanensis_ Stott, Auk, 64, 1946, p. 527 + (Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan, Tinian. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _R. r. uraniae_, but + forehead and anterior crown more rufous; posterior crown and nape + lighter; rump and upper tail-coverts lighter and richer in color; + white malar stripe broader; chin with white feathering more + extensive, covering edge of upper throat. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 38. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 16 (9 males, 6 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 1 (Dec. + 15)--Tinian, 3 (Oct. 16, 23); AMNH--Saipan, 6 (July, Aug.)--Tinian, + 6 (Sept.). + + _Molt._--Molt begins in July and extends through the autumn. Most + of the specimens examined, that were taken in this period, are in + molt. + + _Food habits._--Stott (1947:527) writes that the fantail forages + for insects in the undergrowth and also while on the wing captures + flying insects. Downs (1946:99) made similar observations + concerning this bird at Tinian. + +_Remarks._--In studying the collection of fantails obtained by Marche at +Guam and Saipan, Oustalet (1895:191) reached the conclusion that the +birds from these two islands were the same as the bird from Yap, which +he called _R. versicolor_. He thought that the white-throated birds were +in breeding plumage, and that the black-throated birds (from Guam) were +in autumn and winter dress. This error was corrected by Hartert +(1898:53). + +Downs (1946:98-100) has published some interesting observations +concerning the fantail at Tinian. He describes feeding behavior and the +song which he says is "a beautiful rolling whistle, starting rather +shrilly, then rolling on. Something like a meadow-lark and song sparrow +combined." Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of fantails at +Tinian to be "40-50" in 1945. In 1931, Coultas found the bird at Tinian +but not at Saipan. Stott (1947:527) observed the bird at Saipan "in +forested areas and vine-draped crevices in the lava above Magicienne +Bay." + + +=Rhipidura rufifrons mariae= R. H. Baker + +Rufous-fronted Fantail + + _Rhipidura rufifrons mariae_ R. H. Baker, Proc. Biol. Soc. + Washington, 59, 1946, p. 7. (Type locality, Rota.) + + _Rhipidura rufifrons saipanensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, + Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 222 (Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds + (part), rev., 1932, p. 176 (Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds + (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Rota); Mayr (part), Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Rota); Mayr and Moynihan (part), + Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, p. 3 (Rota). + + _Rhipidura rufifrons mariae_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, + no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Rota). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _R. r. saipanensis_, but + with richer brown coloring on the breast and abdomen; darker + above, especially the forehead, rump, and basal part of tail; chin + with small mount of white; malar line of white thinner. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 38. + + _Weights._--Baker (1946:78) records the weights of two adult males + from Rota as 8.3 and 9.0 grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 males, from Mariana Islands, + USNM--Rota (Oct. 22). + +_Remarks._--Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1932:222) published the first +account of the fantail from Rota although Coultas (field notes) obtained +a report of its presence at Rota in 1931. The NAMRU2 party obtained the +two specimens studied, and reported that the birds were numerous in the +forested areas of Rota in 1945. + + +=Rhipidura rufifrons versicolor= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Rufous-fronted Fantail + + _Rhipidura versicolor_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 96. (Type locality, Uap.) + + _Rhipidura versicolor_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 123 (Yap); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 320 (Yap); + Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 402 (Yap); Oustalet, Bull. + Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5, 1881, p. 76 (Uap); Schmeltz and + Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 (Yap); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Uap); Büttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, + 1893, p. 78 (Uap); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 191 (Yap); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, + p. 54 (Yap); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 54 + (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Yap); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (Yap); Reichenow, Die Vögel, + 2, 1914, p. 267 (Yap); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 64 (Mackenzie = Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 66 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Yap). + + _Rhipidura rufifrons versicolor_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 489 (Uap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 295 (Yap); Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, + 1946, p. 3 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _R. r. uraniae_, but chin and + upper throat white; upper parts darker; abdomen whitish. + + The description of the adult given by Hartlaub and Finsch + (1872:96) is "Upper parts a rich brown with a slight reddish + tinge; forehead bright rufous; upper and under tail-coverts + rufous; throat white, margined underneath by an irregular jugular + band of pure black; pectoral plumes black, broadly margined with + yellowish white; middle of abdomen whitish, sides of a paler + olive-brown under wing-coverts whitish; wing-feathers blackish + brown; tail feathers brownish black, all largely tipped with + white, the four middle ones rufous at the base, the white terminal + spots becoming smaller towards the middle; beak fuscous, the under + mandible paler except at tip; feet fuscous." + + Hartert (1898:54) writes that _R. r. saipanensis_ differs from the + bird at Yap "in having the bases of all rectrices rufous, the rump + and upper tail-coverts rufous. The sides of the abdomen are not + olive-brown, but rufous." + +_Remarks._--No specimens of the Rufous-fronted Fantail of Yap have been +seen by me. On the basis of published descriptions and comments, it +appears that the bird is subspecifically distinct from the forms in the +Marianas but shows close relationships to them. _R. r. versicolor_ has +the chin and throat white; _R. r. saipanensis_ has the chin and part of +the throat white and a heavy, white line in the malar region; _R. r. +mariae_ has the chin and only a small amount of the throat white and a +thinner, white malar stripe; _R. r. uraniae_ has only a small amount of +white present on the chin and a very thin, white line in the malar +region. + + +=Rhipidura rufifrons kubaryi= Finsch + +Rufous-fronted Fantail + + _Rhipidura kubaryi_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), + p. 644. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Rhipidura kubaryi_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12. 1876, pp. + 17, 29, pl. 2, fig. 2 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1877 (1878), p. 779 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, + p. 403 (Ponapé); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 289 (Ponapé); + _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 112, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and + Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); + Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 198 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. + und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 20 + (Ponapé); Büttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 76 (Ponapé); + Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Ponapé); Dubois, + Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 277 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, + Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 54, 64 (Ponapé); Wetmore, in Townsend and + Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 63, 1919, p. 204 (Ponapé); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Ponapé); + Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 403 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. + Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 196 (Ponapé). + + _Rhipidura kubarii_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. + 314 (Ponapé); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 + (Ponapé). + + _Rhipdura rufifrons kubaryi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 295 (Ponapé); Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, + 1946, pp. 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper parts smoky olivaceous-brown, less + smoky on rump and upper tail-coverts; anterior forehead and + supraloral region narrowly edged with white; lores and orbital + ring black; auriculars brown; feathers of chin and malar region + tipped with white; rest of chin and throat black, lower feathers + of throat edged with white; abdomen dark olivaceous-brown with + whitish mid-portion anteriorily; sides and under tail-coverts + ashy, the latter broadly tipped with white; wings and tail dark, + tail tipped with white and outer rectrices more broadly so; + axillaries and under wing-coverts gray, broadly tipped with white; + bill and feet black, mandible basally whitish; iris dark brown. + + _R. r. kubaryi_ resembles _R. r. uraniae_, but larger; lacking + rufous coloring; smaller and shorter, white malar stripe; white on + chin reduced. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 38. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 40 (24 males, 15 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. 12); + AMNH--Ponapé, 39 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:403) records nests containing one or + two eggs taken at Ponapé in 1931 on the following dates: July 11, + August 2, 14, 19, 22, 30. Coultas (field notes) obtained reports + that the eggs are two in number and laid in a cup-shaped nest of + grass and fern, which is placed near the ground. + + _Molt._--Many of the specimens examined that were taken in + November and December are in fresh or slightly worn plumage. Only + a few are molting. Apparently molt occurs earlier, perhaps + beginning in August and continuing until October or November. + +_Remarks._--Coultas obtained a large series of these birds at Ponapé in +1931. He writes (field notes) that the fantail is a common bird and is +found in forest and brush lands. This bird has a nervous behavior +similar to that of other fantails and is constantly "wagging its long +tail." Coultas describes it as an aggressive bird, chasing honey-eaters +and white-eyes. + + +=Rhipidura lepida= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Palau Fantail + + _Rhipidura lepida_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Rhipidura lepida_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew Islands); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, + 1869, p. 331 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 4, 21, pl. 4, fig. 2-3 (Palau); Sharpe, Cat. Birds + British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 322 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Tristram, + Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 198 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 21 (Pelew); + Büttikofer, Notes Leyden Mus., 15, 1893, p. 81 (Pelew); Bolau, + Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 (Palau); Matschie, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, + 1, 1902, p. 278 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 267 + (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 66 (Pelew); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum], 2, 1930, p. 484 (Pelew); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Palau); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 196 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu); + Mayr and Moynihan, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1321, 1946, pp. 3, 5, 8, + 10, 12, 19 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 68 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper parts near "cinnamon-rufous," slightly + lighter on the upper wing-coverts, scapulars, edges of inner + secondaries, and rump; lores blackish; orbital ring and auriculars + dark brown; chin, upper throat, and malar region white; lower + throat and upper breast black with ashy-gray sides; lower breast + whitish; rest of underparts like back but slightly paler; wings + dark; tail black with tips rufous, inner rectrices with rufous + tips narrower than on tail; under wing-coverts and axillaries + broadly edged with rufous; bill blackish, lower mandible whitish + at base; feet brownish; iris dark brown. Female slightly smaller. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head and neck brown; throat coloring + dingy; patch on breast blackish cinnamon. Younger individuals may + be more tinged with rufous above and below. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 39. + + +TABLE 39. MEASUREMENTS OF _Rhipidura lepida_ + + ================+=========+=========+=============+============= + Number and Sex | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + ----------------+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + 7 adult males | 80 | 89 | 15.5 | 23.3 + | (77-83) | (85-94) | (14.5-16.0) | (23.0-24.0) + | | | | + 7 adult females | 77 | 86 | 15.5 | 22.5 + | (76-79) | (83-88) | (14.5-15.0) | (21.7-23.0) + ----------------+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 18 (9 males, 9 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 2 (Nov. 6, 18)--Babelthuap, 1 + (Nov. 27)--Peleliu, 4 (Aug. 29, 30, 31); AMNH--exact locality not + given, 11 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Molt._--Some of the birds taken in August are in molt. Specimens + taken in November and December are mostly in fresh plumage. + Apparently this bird molts in late summer and early fall. + +_Remarks._--In 1945 the NAMRU2 party found the Palau Fantail in small +numbers at Peleliu, Garakayo and Ngabad. At Peleliu the birds were noted +as singles or in pairs in brushy undergrowth in forested areas. The +birds were observed also in the second growth vegetation in the battle +areas. Coultas (field notes) found the bird to be rare and restricted to +the true forest, when he visited the Palau Islands in 1931. The fantail +is one of the most attractive birds found in the jungles of the Palau +Islands. Its bright rufous coloring is conspicuously displayed by the +rapid movements of the wings and tail as the bird moves and feeds in the +undergrowth. The population is apparently not large, and the individual +or pair of birds probably ranges in a relatively large home territory. + +_Evolutionary History of Rhipidura in Micronesia._--The evolutionary +history of _Rhipidura_ in Micronesia has been studied considerably more +than that of some of the other genera in the area. Oustalet (1896:70) +notes a close relation between _Rhipidura_ of the Marianas and _R. +rufifrons_ of Australia. Mayr (1941b:202, 203) regards the genus +_Rhipidura_ as typical of the Polynesian area and remarks that +speciation within this genus has proceeded at a relatively rapid rate. +Mayr and Moynihan (1946) have devoted a 21-page paper to a thorough +discussion of the _R. rufifrons_ group, based on the extensive +collections at the American Museum of Natural History. They remark that +no other genera are closely related to _Rhipidura_ and that evolution +has proceeded further in _R. rufifrons_ than in any other species of the +genus. These authors regard the Papuan area, probably New Guinea, as the +original home of this group. From their study they point out that many +of the subspecies of _R. rufifrons_ of the Papuan area, especially those +of the Louisiades and the Solomons, appear to be the least specialized +of the species, and that this lack of specialization in these subspecies +indicates that the ancestral stock of the species _R. rufifrons_ +acquired its specificity somewhere in that area. With regard to the +kinds of _Rhipidura_ in Micronesia, Mayr and Moynihan (1946:fig. 2) have +logically found three separate colonizations within the area: one +represented today by _R. lepida_ at Palau; one of subspecies of _R. +rufifrons_ at Yap and in the Marianas; and one by _R. r. kubaryi_ at +Ponapé. + +_R. lepida_, according to Mayr and Moynihan (1946), is a result of an +early colonization by _Rhipidura_. It is related to _R. dedemi_, _R. +superflua_, and _R. teijsmanni_, which are mostly monotypic or have only +two or three subspecies within the species. These three species are +found in the region including Celebes and the Moluccas. _R. lepida_ +apparently invaded the Palau Islands from Celebes or an adjacent area +and, among named species, most closely resembles _R. teijsmanni_. Both +of these species have a white chin and throat, black breast patch, and +rufous abdomen. _R. lepida_ has become differentiated chiefly by the +presence of a rufous head and back, a more distinct breast band, and +proportionately different amounts of rufous and black coloration of the +tail feathers. + +Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) give as the chief characters of _R. +rufifrons_ the following: "a rufous forehead, a grayish brown head and +upper back, a well-defined rufous rump, a white chin and throat, a black +breast band with scaling at its lower edge, and a dark brown tail with a +distinct rufous base and a white tip." The Micronesian subspecies of _R. +rufifrons_ at Yap and in the Marianas display these characters. Of the +four subspecies found in the area including Yap and the Marianas, _R. r. +versicolor_, _R. r. saipanensis_, _R. r. mariae_ and _R. r. uraniae_, +the two first named most closely approach the ancestral stock, which may +have been _R. r. commoda_ Hartert of the northern Solomons or some near +relative in Melanesia. The amount of white on the chin and throat and on +the malar stripe, in _R. r. versicolor_ and _R. r. saipanensis_ is +probably nearer that which obtained in the ancestor. At Rota, _R. r. +mariae_, exhibits less white on the throat and a thinner, white malar +stripe, while at Guam, _R. r. uraniae_ possesses only a small amount of +white on the chin and only a very thin line of white in the malar +region. This variation in coloration suggests that the birds may have +originally become established at Yap, Saipan and Tinian and later, birds +from Saipan and Tinian spread to Rota and lastly to Guam. + +_R. r. kubaryi_ of Ponapé, although considered as a subspecies of _R. +rufifrons_ by most workers, has lost the rufous coloring found in most +members of the species. Mayr and Moynihan (1946:6) point to its +evolution through subspecies in the Santa Cruz Islands, where in _R. r. +agilis_ Mayr the rufous of the lower back is restricted to the upper +tail-coverts, and in _R. r. melanolaema_ Sharpe and _R. r. utupuae_ Mayr +the rufous is absent. In the latter two subspecies, as well as in _R. r. +kubaryi_, the forehead is white instead of rufous. + +The invasion of Micronesia by _Rhipidura_ has undoubtedly been the +result of abnormally long flights by a relatively weak flyer. The fact +that _Rhipidura_ has succeeded in establishing itself at only a few of +the seemingly suitable islands in Micronesia may indicate that the +possibilities for chance migration and resulting colonization are small, +but that new colonization may be expected in the future. + +It is my opinion that the populations of _Rhipidura_, as I have observed +them in Micronesia, are small because each individual or pair of birds +is dependent on a relatively large area of woodland to satisfy its +habitat requirements, especially for food. This suggestion needs to be +tested by observation made in the field. In comparison with the insect +fauna of New Guinea or some other large island, that of Micronesia is +indeed small in number of kinds. Hesse, Allee and Schmidt (1937:524) +explain the absence of insectivorous animals such as "swallows, swifts, +flycatchers, and insectivorous bats" in island communities on the basis +of the small number of flying insects in these communities. Probably +_Rhipidura_ is able to forage for sedentary insect life as well as for +the flying forms. + + +=Metabolus rugensis= (Hombron and Jacquinot) + +Truk Monarch + + _Muscicapa Rugensis_ Hombron and Jacquinot, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris, + (2), 16, 1841, p. 312. (Type locality, Roug = Truk.) + + _Monarcha rugensis_ Hartlaub, Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. + 133 (Gruppe Roug. = Truk); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Truk); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), + p. 829 (Hogoleu = Truk); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321 + (Caroline = Truk); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 614 + (Carolinae = Truk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk). + + _Colluricincla rugensis_ Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, Zool., 3, 1853, + p. 62 (Ruk); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 162 (Roug = + Truk). + + _Metabolus rugensis_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, + 38, 1854, p. 650 (no locality = Truk); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 4, 1879, p. 238 (Ruk); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 575 (Ruk); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 197 (Ruk); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 19 (Ruk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 26 (Ruk); + Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 4 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 262 + (Karolinen = Truk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 + (Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., + 63, 1919, p. 203 (Truk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 63 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, + p. 470 (Ruk); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 404 (Truk); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 197 (Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 295 (Truk). + + _Monarcha (Metabolus) rugensis_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 19 (Caroline Islands). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult male: White feathers (with dark bases) + throughout except for black ones on forehead, lores, chin, and + throat; chin and throat with steel-blue gloss; tips of second to + fifth or seventh primaries black, black coloring extending along + inner webs; shafts of primaries and basal half of tail feathers + black; bill and feet black. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but generally sooty-black, + darker above; under tail-coverts and sometimes rump splotched with + white; white coloring may also be present on tips of secondaries, + on chin, and on tail. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but bright cinnamon on upper parts and + on wings and tail; inner webs of primaries grayish or dark brown, + shafts of primaries lighter on basal half; lores, chin and throat + white or washed with creamy-buff; breast and abdomen whitish, + washed with cinnamon, sides darker rufous, under wing-coverts, + axillaries, and under tail-coverts usually light rufous although + somewhat variable in color; basal part of bill yellow, tip of bill + horn colored. Immatures may be observed in all stages of color + change toward the adult condition. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 40. + + +TABLE 40. MEASUREMENTS OF _Metabolus rugensis_ + + ================+==========+=========+=========+========= + NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + ----------------+----------+---------+---------+--------- + 8 males | 103 | 91 | 27 | 26 + | (98-105) | (88-93) | (26-28) | (25-27) + | | | | + 6 females | 100 | 87 | 27 | 26 + | (97-101) | (86-89) | (26-28) | (25-27) + ----------------+----------+---------+---------+--------- + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 27 (14 males, 13 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, not dated); + AMNH--Truk, 25 (Jan. 29, Feb. 1, 8, 10, 11, May 6, 9, June 11, 13, + 14, 15, Oct. 11, 31, Nov. 2, 11, Dec. 3, 12, 17, 20). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:404) reports on the taking of a nest + containing one egg at Natsushima, Truk Atoll, in May, 1931. + According to Hartert (1900:5) Owston's collectors obtained nests on + June 1, 4, and 12. Two were in breadfruit trees about twenty feet + above the ground. Each nest contained one egg. Hartert writes, "The + eggs are cream-coloured, speckled with brownish red, more + frequently and often very thickly on the large end, and with some + deeper lying pale purplish grey patches, and one has some very fine + black lines on the large end." + + _Molt._--A study of adult specimens obtained at various times of + the year indicates that _Metabolus_ normally molts in the period + from about October through January. + + Mayr (1933e:1-10) has studied the variation of immature and adult + plumages in _Neolalage banksiana_ (Gray) and other birds pointing + out the occurrence of "retarded" and "progressive" plumages. + Bogert has followed this work in interpreting the condition of the + plumages in _Metabolus_, and through the kindness of Ernst Mayr I + have examined Bogert's unpublished manuscript on the series of + _Metabolus_ at the American Museum of Natural History, from which + the following account of the plumage is taken. + + In the series of skins, there are specimens of non-molting, + immature males with "normal" plumage (that is to say, plumage with + upper parts cinnamon-colored and lower parts whitish and darker + buff) taken in October and in February. There are also specimens + of non-molting, immature females with "normal" plumage taken in + November and in May. These immatures are in fresh or slightly worn + plumages. In addition, there is one non-molting, male specimen + (November) which has some white on the crown and throat, some + black on the lores and chin, but because the black feathers are + fresh, the specimen is considered to be a "transition" bird and + may be either a "retarded" adult or a "progressive" immature male. + One non-molting female (October) shows some sooty-black mottling + on the chin and throat and a few black feathers on the crown; this + is apparently a "progressive" immature because the lower mandible + has a yellow basal part, characteristic of the immature. Another + female (June) shows black feathers on the crown, nape, chin, + throat, and breast; this bird is in the process of molting with + the black feathers representing new growth and is an immature + assuming the adult condition--in "progressive" plumage. One + non-molting male (January) has an intermingling of white feathers + in the cinnamon coloring of the head and body, black on the + forehead, chin and throat, primaries black with cinnamon edges, + and bill similar in color to that of the adult; it is considered + to be an adult with "retarded" plumage. Two molting males + (December) resemble adults except for cinnamon coloring on + shoulders, back, primaries, retrices and a slight cinnamon wash on + breast feathers; these may be "retarded" adults. One molting + female (June) has mixed cinnamon and sooty-black feathering; this + may also be a "retarded" adult. Another molting female (December) + with more sooty-black feathering and less cinnamon feathering is + also considered to be a "retarded" adult. In fully adult birds + there is considerable individual variation, especially in the + males where the amount of black on the throat, the extent of the + black on the terminal part of the primaries, and the extent of the + black on the basal part of the tail feathers is variable. + Scattered white feathers may be present on adult females. + +_Remarks._--Hombron and Jacquinot first obtained the Truk Monarch, but +it was not until the time of Kubary and of the Japanese collectors of +Owston that very much was learned concerning the bird. In 1945, McElroy +of the NAMRU2 party reported that he found no birds at the several +islands of Truk that he visited in December. Some of the Japanese +residents of the islands told McElroy that they did not know the bird. +Evidently, its numbers are low or it has been eliminated, at least on +the islands then populated by the Japanese. + +_Metabolus_ belongs to a group of flycatchers including the genera +_Pomarea_, _Mayrornis_, _Neolalage_, _Monarcha_, and _Clytorhynchus_. +The different plumages of the adults and the immatures are not unusual +in this group of genera, this feature being observed in many of the +flycatchers of Oceania. Mayr (1933c:1) points out some of the +relationships between _Metabolus_ and some of these other genera; he +comments that all of them have rather thin bills, in contrast to those +of other flycatchers. + +_Metabolus_ became established at Truk probably as the result of an +independent colonization. It is a well differentiated genus showing +little resemblance to _Monarcha godeffroyi_ of Yap. In looking over the +genera found in the Pacific area, it appears that _Metabolus_ is closest +to _Clytorhynchus_ of the Melanesian region, especially to +_Clytorhynchus hamlini_ Mayr, which is resident at Rennell in the +Solomon Islands. The bills of these two birds are similar, both being +long and thin, with a pronounced hook. In coloration there is some +resemblance; _C. hamlini_ has the blackish forehead and chin like the +male _Metabolus_ and also the burnt-orange underparts. In _C. hamlini_, +however, the sexes are similar, _Metabolus_ also resembles _C. +nigrogularis_. Like _Metabolus_, the immatures of this latter species +are different in color from the adults. + + +=Monarcha godeffroyi= Hartlaub + +Yap Monarch + + _Monarcha godeffroyi_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 829, pl. 38. (Type locality, Yap.) + + _Monarcha godeffroyi_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. + 50 (Yap); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 432 (Yap); + Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (Yap); Bolau, Mitteil. + Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 56 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 289 (Yap); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 261 (Yap); + Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 295 (Yap). + + _Monarcha godeffroyi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 321 + (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 (Yap); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 (Yap). + + _Monarches godeffroyi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Yap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, + 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Yap). + + _Pomarea godeffroyi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 19 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Yap). + + _Monarcharses geoffroyii_ Mathews, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 45, + 1925, p. 94 (new generic name); _idem_, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 514 (Yap). + + _Monarcharses godeffroyi_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 486 (Yap?). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult male: according to Sharpe (1879:432). + "General colour above white, from the hind neck to the rump and + including scapulars; wings black, the quills browner; upper + tail-coverts and tail black; head all around black, including the + lower throat; sides of neck and rest of under surface, from the + foreneck downwards, pure white; thighs and under tail-coverts + black; under wing-coverts black, quills ashy blackish below; white + along the inner edge of the primaries; 'bill entirely blue; feet + whitish blue; iris black' (Kubary M. S.)." + + Adult female: "Entirely black, excepting the hind neck and upper + mantle, sides of neck, lower throat, and fore neck, which are pure + white" (Sharpe, 1879:432). + + Immature: "Above brown, the head and hind neck ashy grey, the + scapulars rufescent at the tips, the rump rufous, becoming paler + and more fulvous on the upper tail-coverts; wing-coverts dusky + brown, broadly edged externally with rufous-buff, becoming fulvous + on the median and greater coverts; quills dark brown, externally + edged with rufous, the primaries narrowly, the secondaries more + broadly, the innermost of the latter edged and tipped with buff; + tail-feathers ashy brown, narrowly edged with ochraceous brown and + tipped with white, more broadly on the outer feathers; lores and a + broad eyebrow rufous-buff; ear-coverts rather deeper rufous, + shading on to the sides of the throat; under surface of body light + cinnamon-rufous inclining to rufous on the throat and under + tail-coverts; under wing-coverts light cinnamon, like the breast; + quills light brown below, whitish along the inner web; 'bill + horn-colour, the point brown, under mandible paler, feet dirty + white, iris black' (Kubary M. S.)." (Sharpe, 1879:433). + +_Remarks._--No specimens of this species have been seen by me. Most +taxonomists have regarded this bird as a member of the genus _Monarcha_, +although Mathews did propose the name _Monarcharses_ for this bird. On +the basis of descriptions and pictures (especially plate 38 in Hartlaub, +1868:828) the bird appears to be related to the monarch flycatchers of +the Melanesian area. It may be closest to _Monarcha menckei_ from the +Bismarcks, _M. manadensis_ of the New Guinea region, _M. barbatus_ from +the Solomons or to _M. leucurus_ from Buru. The drab color of the +immatures and the black and white color of the adults are +characteristics of the Yap Monarch which are shared with some of the +other species of _Monarcha_. The connection between _M. godeffroyi_ and +_Metabolus rugensis_ of Truk is not known, but they evidently represent +separate colonizations. _M. takatsukasae_ of Tinian appears to be an +offshoot of _M. godeffroyi_ of Yap, in which the black and white +plumage has been suppressed (or never developed). As indicated by the +published descriptions, the immature of _M. godeffroyi_ shows a close +resemblance to the adult of _M. takatsukasae_. The latter also shows +relationships to immature specimens of _M. leucotis_ and to _M. guttula_ +of Melanesia. + +The relationship of the two species of _Monarcha_ in Micronesia to the +Hawaiian Flycatcher, _Chasiempsis sandwichensis_ is not known. It is +apparent that this Hawaiian form was derived from some ancestor from +Melanesia, which arrived in the Hawaiian Islands by way of either +Polynesia or Micronesia. Mayr (1943:45) has already pointed out that +_Chasiempsis_ is "related to the _Monarcha_ group (_Pomarea_, +_Mayrornis_, etc.)." + + +=Monarcha takatsukasae= (Yamashina) + +Tinian Monarch + + _Monarcharses takatsukasae_ Yamashina, in Takatsukasa and + Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 485. (Type locality, + Tinian.) + + _Monarcha takatsukasae_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 400 (Tinian); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 (Tinian); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Tinian); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 296 (Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas + Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 100 (Tinian). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Forehead, lores, eyering, auriculars, + and underparts rufous, chin paler; under tail-coverts white; crown + and nape dark slate-gray; back reddish-brown; rump white; wing and + tail dark brown, outer edges of first three primaries white, tail + with white tips, more broadly tipped on outer tail feathers; outer + edges of scapulars and secondaries buffy but tips more whitish, + forming two wing bars; under wing-coverts whitish; bill + slate-blue, tip pearl; feet dark slate; iris dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but slightly smaller and crown + more brownish. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but base of bill lighter and underparts + paler. + + According to the original description by Yamashina, _M. + takatsukasae_ resembles closely the immature _M. godeffroyi_ of + Yap in coloration; however, the Tinian Monarch has a shorter wing. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 41. + + +TABLE 41. MEASUREMENTS OF _Monarcha takatsukasae_ + + ================+=========+=========+=============+============= + NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ----------------+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + 6 males | 70 | 68 | 18.0 | 22.0 + | (67-72) | (65-70) | (17.5-19.0) | (21.0-23.0) + | | | | + 10 females | 67 | 67 | 17.2 | 22.5 + | (65-68) | (64-69) | (17.0-19.0) | (21.7-23.0) + ----------------+---------+---------+-------------+------------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (10 males, 10 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Tinian, 10 (Oct.); AMNH--Tinian, 9 + (Sept.); KMNH--Tinian, 1 (Sept.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400, 401) records two nests of the + Tinian Monarch. He writes of one nest containing two eggs taken at + Churo, Tinian, on January 29, 1932, that was "hung on a fork of an + upward pointing branch of a road side tree commonly called 'Oba' + 1.5 m. high from the ground in a forest.... The ground color of the + egg shells is white. The spots are pale reddish-brown and + distributed all round the surface like small dots, being + concentrated especially round the larger end." Another nest + containing three eggs was found on January 29, 1932. Yamashina + writes that the eggs measure 20.5 x 15, 21 x 15, and 18 x 15 mm. In + describing these nests Yamashina notes, "The shape of the two nests + mentioned above is like a deep cup. The outer layer of them is made + chiefly of dead leaves, fibers, cotton, wools and moss, and the + inner layer of fine stems and fibers only." + + Downs (1946:101) writes that a nest found near Lake Hagoi at + Tinian on August 31, 1945, "was about three feet from the ground + carefully woven into the framework of a triangular crotch.... It + was composed exteriorly of small leaves, scattered white feathers, + and heavy grass; interiorly of grasses only." In the nest he found + a young bird which "was black-skinned, with ugly white quills and + a few short dark feathers on its tail and wings. The back feathers + were rusty brown as were the tufted head feathers." Marshall + (1949:219) assumes that this bird breeds all year. + + _Molt._--Birds taken by Coultas in September are in fresh plumage. + +_Remarks._--The Tinian Monarch is known only from Tinian, where it was +described in 1931 by Yamashina. Downs (1946:100-103) presents a detailed +account of this bird as he saw it in 1945. He found it living in brushy +woodlands where other birds, including _Rhipidura rufifrons_, were +observed. From his description, the actions and food-catching behaviors +of this bird must be much like those of _Rhipidura_. Gleise (1945:220) +estimated the population of these birds to be 40 to 50 in 1945. + + +=Myiagra oceanica erythrops= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Micronesian Broadbill + + _Myiagra erythrops_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Myiagra erythrops_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew Islands); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 97 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 4, 20 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 658 + (Pelew); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, pp. 399, 403 (Palau); + Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 383 (Pelew); Schmeltz + and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 195 (Palaos); Bolau, Mitteil. + Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, + p. 283 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260 (Palau); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 64 (Pelew); Yamashina, Tori, + 10, 1940, p. 674 (Palau); Handlist Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 195 (Babelthuap, Koror); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo). + + _Submyiagra erythrops_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 504 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 + (Palau). + + _Myiagra oceanica erythrops_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 296 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Crown, occiput, nape, and auriculars + dark "slate-blue"; forehead, lores and orbital ring dark + "cinnamon-rufous"; black and upper wing-coverts olive-brown; rump + more like crown; underparts near "cinnamon," paler on middle of + abdomen, sides, and under tail-coverts; wings and tail dark brown, + edged with white; secondaries edged with brownish; under + wing-coverts whitish with dusky bases; bill and feet black. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but slightly smaller and paler + in color. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head and rump browner; forehead, + lores, and orbital ring sandy in some individuals, more rufous in + others; underparts usually paler than in adult; bill basally + lighter. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42. + + +TABLE 42. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT SPECIMENS OF _Myiagra oceanica_ + + ==================+============+=========+=========+=============+========== + | Number | | | | + SUBSPECIES | and sex | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------- + _M. o. erythrops_ | 14 males | 69 | 53 | 16.4 | 19.5 + | | (68-71) | (51-56) | (16.0-17.3) | (18.5-20) + | | | | | + | 11 females | 66 | 51 | 16.1 | 19.5 + | | (64-68) | (48-53) | (15.5-17.0) | (18.5-20) + | | | | | + _M. o. freycineti_| 25 males | 70 | 60 | 16.3 | 19.5 + | | (67-73) | (57-64) | (15.8-17.0) | (18.5-20) + | | | | | + | 16 females | 67 | 57 | 16.0 | 19.0 + | | (65-70) | (55-62) | (15.5-17.0) | (18.0-19) + | | | | | + _M. o. oceanica_ | 11 males | 81 | 68 | 20.1 | 20.0 + | | (78-83) | (65-71) | (19.5-20.5) | (19.5-21) + | | | | | + | 10 females | 79 | 66 | 20.0 | 20.0 + | | (77-81) | (65-68) | (20.0-20.5) | (19-20.5) + | | | | | + _M. o. pluto_ | 14 males | 82 | 74 | 17.5 | 19.0 + | | (79-83) | (71-77) | (17.5-18.0) | (18.5-20) + | | | | | + | 14 females | 80 | 73 | 17.5 | 19.0 + | | (78-84) | (69-77) | (17.0-18.0) | (18.5-20) + ------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 33 (17 males, 15 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 1 (Nov. + 27)--Koror, 4 (Nov. 6, 19, 26)--Garakayo, 1 (Sept. 18)--Peleliu, 2 + (Aug. 30)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept. 11); AMNH--exact locality not given, 23 + (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Molt._--Molt apparently takes place in fall and early winter. Of + the specimens examined, there is little evidence of molt in those + obtained in August and September while there is considerably more + evidence of molt in those taken in November and December. + + _Food habits._--A bird taken by the writer on September 17, 1945, + at Garakayo had approximately one-half cc. of insect parts in its + stomach. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Broadbill at Palau is a friendly little bird +and easily called-up to within a few yards of a person by imitating its +note. It was seen by the NAMRU2 party in 1945 as singles and in pairs in +the dense underbrush of the undisturbed forested areas. The bird was +seen at only one woodland area at Peleliu (Southeastern Peninsula), but +it was observed more frequently on the smaller islands of Ngabad and +Garakayo. Coultas (field notes) also notes that in 1931 this bird was +found more frequently on the smaller islands. _Myiagra_ was found to be +much less conspicuous at Palau than _Rhipidura lepida_. _Myiagra_ +appears to be less active, more solitary in its habits, and possibly +more restricted in the territory that it covers in feeding than +_Rhipidura_. + + +=Myiagra oceanica freycineti= Oustalet + +Micronesian Broadbill + + _Myiagra freycineti_ Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5, + 1881, p. 73. (Type locality, Mariannes = Guam.) + + _Myiagra freycineti_ Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1884, p. 395 (Mariannes = Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 + (Mariannes = Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 24 (Marianne = Guam); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 194 + (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 54 (Guam); Wheeler, + Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 50 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 + (Guam); _idem_, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The + Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. + Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 260 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Kuroda, + in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 65 (Guam); Bryan, Guam + Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Guam). + + _Submyiagra freycineti_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 504 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 + (Guam). + + _Myiagra oceanica freycineti_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 296 (Guam). + + _Myiagra oceanica_ Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 539. (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A small flycatcher with head and neck + near "dark delft blue" with a metallic luster; lores and anterior + forehead ashy-gray, more bluish and darker on auriculars and sides + of neck than on lores; back and upper wing-coverts near + "green-blue slate" but darker and with metallic luster less + apparent than on head; rump grayer than back; chin and throat + white; breast light "cinnamon," fading to pale buff and white on + abdomen, sides, and under tail-coverts; tibia smoky-gray, tips of + feathers paler; wings dark brown edged with light bluish-gray; + tail bluish-slate, especially middle rectrices, tips of tail + feathers edged with white; bill and feet black; iris dark brown. + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. o. erythrops_, but + crown and neck near "deep Payne's gray," auriculars grayer than + neck; anterior forehead and lores buffy and tinged with cinnamon; + back browner than lores with upper wing-coverts and scapulars edged + with slightly lighter brown; rump resembles crown but grayer; + underparts paler than those of _M. o. erythrops_, especially chin + and throat; tibia more brownish. + + Immature male: Resembles adult male, but back more brown and less + blue-green, lacking luster; anterior forehead more rufous; + scapulars, upper wingcoverts, and wings edged with light brown; + underparts variable but generally more buffy than those of adult. + + Immature female: Resembles adult female, but more brown and less + blue on head and back; underparts more buffy; base of bill paler. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42. + + _Weights._--The author (1948:68) records the weights of five adult + males as 10.5-12.5 (11.9), and those of two adult females as 11.4 + and 12.0 grams. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 64 (33 males, 22 females, 9 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 26 (Jan. 21, + March 16, May 21, 29, 30, June 1, 3, 14, 24, 26, July 10, 12, 13, + 20, 23, Aug. 30); AMNH--Guam, 38 (Jan., Feb., March, July, Aug.). + + _Nesting._--The writer (1948:68) records a nest containing one egg + found by Muennink at Guam near Mt. Santa Rosa on May 7, 1945. The + nest was in a bamboo stump approximately six feet from the ground. + The egg hatched on about May 21. Seale (1901:50) reports on a nest + and egg taken in the period from May to July. The NAMRU2 party + obtained a female on March 15 with an enlarged gonad. Strophlet + (1946:539) observed a pair of broadbills building a nest on + September 20, 1945; it was completed on October 4 and was + approximately seven feet above the ground. Hartert (1898:33) + reports on a nest taken at Guam on February 14, 1895. + + _Molt._--As shown by the specimens examined, molt begins in June + or July. + + _Food habits._--The stomach of a bird obtained on January 21, + 1945, contained one unidentified bug (Hemiptera) and several parts + of other insects. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesia Broadbill at Guam is not a common bird, and +like its relative _Rhipidura rufifrons_ is an inhabitant of forested +areas, especially those containing brushy undercover. It is an active +bird, although less conspicuous than _Rhipidura_. The birds were found +as singles or in pairs. The pair of birds which had a nest at the west +base of Mount Santa Rosa in May, 1945, allowed the observers to approach +closely to them. The birds are easily attracted by squeaking sounds. +There is considerable variation in the amount of cinnamon coloring on +the breasts of adult birds. + +The Micronesian Broadbill at Guam was first discovered by Quoy and +Gaimard, who called it "Moucherolle à gorge rouge." Kittlitz (1836:304) +evidently records two species of flycatchers from Guam, which he calls +_Muscicapa_. I judge these birds to be _Myiagra_ and _Rhipidura_. It was +not until 1881 that Oustalet recognized this bird to be new. The first +large series of specimens was obtained by Marche for the Paris Museum +and was reported on by Oustalet (1895:194). Marche collected 12 skins in +August and September, 1887, and 4 additional skins in February, 1889. + + +=Myiagra oceanica oceanica= Pucheran + +Micronesian Broadbill + + _Myiagra oceanica_ Pucheran, Voy. Pôle Sud, Zool., 3, 1853, p. 77. + (Type locality, Hogoleu = Truk.) + + _Myiagra oceanica_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Truk); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 18 (Hogoleu = Truk); Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 94 (Hogoleu = Truk); Gray, Hand-list + Birds, 1, 1869, p. 328 (Caroline Is. = Truk); Pelzeln, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1875, p. 51 (Hogoleu = Truk); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British + Mus., 4, 1879, p. 383 (Hogoleu = Truk); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1879, p. 403 (Ruk); Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1880, p. 575 (Ruk); Oustalet, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, (7), 5, + 1881, p. 73 (Carolines = Truk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Reichenow and Schalow, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1884, p. 395 (Carolines = Truk); Tristram, Cat. + Birds, 1889, p. 200 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Ruk); Oustalet, + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 196 (Hogoleu = + Truk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 30 (Ruk); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 7, 1900, p. 5 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 111, 112, 113 (Ruck); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 283 (Hogoleu + = Truk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260 (Karolinen = Truk); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Ruk); Wetmore, in + Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 204 + (Truk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 64 (Ruk); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 195 (Truk); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 68 (Truk). + + _Myiagra albiventris_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 93 (Hoguleu = Truk); Giebel, Thes. + Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 658 (Carolinae = Truk). + + _Submyiagra oceanica_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 505 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 175 + (Truk). + + _Myiagra oceanica oceanica_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 296 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. o. freycineti_, but + larger with crown and nape less green and with less metallic + luster; lores and anterior forehead darker gray; chin, throat, and + sides of neck more buffy-cinnamon; back, rump, upper wing-coverts, + and scapulars less blue and more ashy gray; tibia, wings, and tail + more brownish. + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller with less blue and + more gray on crown; lores and anterior forehead lighter. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but crown and nape grayish, slate-blue; + under-parts paler. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (12 males, 10 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16); + AMNH--Truk, 21 (Feb., June, Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1900:5) reports the taking of several nests in + the period from March to July by Owston's Japanese collectors. One + nest contained two eggs, the other nests contained one. + +_Remarks._--The broadbill at Truk was first taken by Hombron and +Jacquinot, who called it "Platyrhynque océanien." Later, Kubary obtained +material which was studied by Finsch (1880e:575). In December, 1945, +McElroy of the NAMRU2 party examined two adults with enlarged gonads. +Specimens obtained by him at Truk were lost in shipment to the United +States. In coloration this subspecies is closest to _M. o. freycineti_; +in size it is closest to _M. o. pluto_. + + +=Myiagra oceanica pluto= Finsch + +Micronesian Broadbill + + _Myiagra pluto_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), p. + 644. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Myiagra pluto_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, + 19 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 779 + (Ponapé); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 4, 1879, p. 380 + (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith. 1879, p. 404 (Ponapé); + Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 288 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. + 110, 112, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 280 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 23 (Ponapé); + Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 195 + (Ponapi); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 55 + (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 26 (Ponapé); Christian, + The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 358 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, 112, 113 (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 283 (Ponapi); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 260 + (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Ponapé); + Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, + 1919, p. 204 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 64 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, + 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 195 (Ponapé). + + _Submyiagra pluto_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, + p. 505 (Ponapé); Yamashina, Tori, 1, 1932, p. 401 (Ponapé); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 176 (Ponapé). + + _Myiagra oceanica pluto_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 296 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult male: A dark, bluish-gray broadbill with + head, ear-coverts, and nape dark, metallic, steel-blue; back and + rump darker and more slate-blue than head; upper tail-coverts + blackish; tail black edged with greenish gloss; wings dark brown, + scapulars and secondaries with outer edges tinged with metallic + bluish-gray; lores black; chin, throat, and upper breast dark with + light metallic-blue wash; lower breast and abdomen slate-gray; + under wing-coverts brownish-black; bill black; feet bluish-black; + iris dark brown. Female resembles male, but slightly smaller and + somewhat duller. Immature duller. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 42. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (23 males, 19 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 3 (Feb. 11); AMNH--Ponapé, + 39 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:401) records nests and eggs of the + Ponapé broadbill. The nests were at heights of between .9 and 2.2 + meters above the ground. Nests, each containing a single egg, were + obtained on July 21, 25, and August 6. The eggs measure 19.5 by 16, + 20.5 by 15.7, 20.5 by 16, and 20.2 by 16. Coultas (field notes) + describes the nest as a cup-shaped structure, made of fine grasses + and ferns, and placed in small trees and bushes at low elevations. + Of specimens taken by Coultas in November and December, 1931, + approximately fifty percent of the males had enlarged gonads. + According to his specimen labels, none of the females was in + breeding condition. + + _Molt._--Of the large series of broadbills taken by Coultas, + approximately twenty percent of those taken in November were in + molt whereas only approximately ten percent of those taken in + December were in molt. Specimens taken in February were not in + molt. It is evident that molting takes place in the fall, possibly + from August to December. + +_Remarks._--The coloration of the Micronesian Broadbill at Ponapé is in +marked contrast to that of other representatives of _Myiagra_ in +Micronesia, being dark, bluish-gray in color. Probably the bird has +taken on melanistic characters, which is not unusual in birds which have +become isolated; examples of this condition may be observed in +_Rhipidura_, _Terpsiphone_ and other genera. + +Coultas (field notes) writes that the bird is "Common everywhere on the +island except in the grasslands. Two birds are working together usually, +darting around in the low trees, among the branches or on the ground. +The birds are playful, friendly and inquisitive. I should not call them +noisy as one or more will sit for many minutes watching the intruder +without making a peep. Their call, "Que Que," is a spasmodic outburst +that might be repeated many times or just once. The male, presumably, +erects the long crown feathers when calling. Perhaps both male and +female do this, I can't say. The bird flutters on the wing and displays +the feathers as does _Rhipidura_. When sitting, the bird often erects +the crest and fluffs the tail and feathers." + +_Evolutionary History of Myiagra oceanica._--According to Mayr (1933d:1) +_Myiagra_ "is easily recognizable by its broad bill and the color +pattern which is similar in all species." The range of the genus +_Myiagra_ extends from Australia and Tasmania westward to Timor, +northward to the Moluccas, and Micronesia, and eastward to Polynesia. +_Myiagra oceanica_ is restricted to Micronesia and consists of four +subspecies, which until recently have been considered as four separate +species. Unlike many of the species of this genus, _M. oceanica_ shows +comparatively little sexual dimorphism. The male of _M. oceanica_ has +metallic coloring on the head and the upper back and often has rich, +rufous coloring on the breast. The female is less brilliant in coloring, +lacking the sheen. The four subspecies vary from each other in size, +color and even, to some extent, in basal breadth of the bill. _M. +oceanica_ resembles several broadbills, including _M. galeata_ of the +Moluccas, _M. rubecula_ of Australia, _M. vanikorensis_ of Fiji, and _M. +ruficollis_ of Australia and the Lesser Sundas; however, in my opinion, +it has probably been derived from _M. galeata_ of the Moluccan area or +from a closely related species. In Micronesia, _M. o. oceanica_ and _M. +o. freycineti_ appear to resemble closely this parent stock, whereas _M. +o. erythrops_ and _M. o. pluto_ are more differentiated but are +considered to have been derived from this same colonization. _M. o. +pluto_ bears some resemblance to _M. atra_ of the Papuan area, +particularly in the dark coloring; this is probably only a parallel +evolution, since they have little else in common. _M. vanikorensis_ of +the Fiji area is close to _M. oceanica_ in color and structure; the two +species, I suspect, have been derived from a common source rather than +from each other. Study of the evolutionary history of the entire genus +is necessary before we can understand fully the derivation of the +Micronesian and Polynesian species. It seems safe to say that the center +of dispersal has been in the Australian region; the lack of diversity of +this genus within the Papuan area is at present unexplained. + + +=Muscicapa narcissina narcissina= Temminck + +Narcissus Flycatcher + + _Muscicapa narcissina_ Temminck, Pl. Col., 3, 1835, pl. 577, fig. + 1. (Type locality, Japan.) + + _Muscicapa narcissina narcissina_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 302 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality + unknown. + +_Remarks._--Mayr (1945a:302) records the Narcissus Flycatcher as a +migrant visitor to the Palau Islands on the basis of two specimens in +the Turloff collection, formerly in the Zoölogical Museum in Hamburg. + + +=Muscicapa griseisticta= (Swinhoe) + +Chinese Gray-spotted Flycatcher + + _Hemichelidon griseisticta_ Swinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 330. (Type + locality, Amoy.) + + _Hemichelidon griseisticta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 175 (Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 194 + (Koror). + + _Muscicapa griseisticta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 302 (Palau); Marshall, Condor, vol. 51, 1949, p. 221 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern Asia and Japan. Winters + south to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror. + +_Remarks._--The Chinese Gray-spotted Flycatcher is a casual winter +visitor to the Palaus. Marshall (1949:221) took two specimens at Palau +on November, 1945. + + +=Colluricincla tenebrosa= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Palau Morning Bird + + _Rectes tenebrosus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 6. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Rectes tenebrosus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, p. 118 (Pelew Islands); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 99 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 18, pl. 3, fig. 1 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. + und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 27 + (Pelew). + + _Colluricincla tenebrosa_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 386 + (Pelew); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 496 (Pelew); Mayr, Amer. + Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 5 (Palau); _idem_, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 297 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Peleliu, Ngabad, Garakayo). + + _Pinarolestes tenebrosus_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 3, + 1877, p. 298 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 + (Palau); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 296 (Palau); Takasukasa + and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 54 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 69 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau). + + _Myiolestes tenebrosus_ Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1899, p. 188 + (Pelew). + + _Caleya tenebrosus_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 649 (Pelew). + + _Malacolestes tenebrosus_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 590, 1933, + p. 5 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 193 + (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper parts between "snuff brown" and + "bister," head blacker; chin, throat, and upper breast like upper + parts but darker; lower breast and abdomen lighter and more buffy, + sides darker; feathers of underparts with darker shafts producing + a streaked appearance; underside of wing and under tail-coverts + light-colored; bill dark brown; feet lighter brown; iris + yellowish. Female smaller. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but head and neck lighter; ear-coverts, + sides of neck, throat, upper breast darker; lower breast and + abdomen paler. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 43. + + +TABLE 43. MEASUREMENTS OF _Colluricincla tenebrosus_ + + ================+===========+=========+=============+========= + NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ----------------+-----------+---------+-------------+--------- + | | | | + 20 males | 104 | 76 | 23.5 | 31 + | (100-107) | (73-79) | (22.5-24.5) | (29-31) + | | | | + 9 females | 97 | 73 | 23.0 | 30 + | (94-101) | (71-76) | (22.0-24.0) | (30-31) + ----------------+-----------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 32 (21 males, 11 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 6 (Nov. 5, 18)--Garakayo, 3 + (Sept. 18)--Peleliu, 5 (Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 1, 6)--Ngabad, 2 (Sept. + 11); AMNH--exact locality not given, 16 (Oct. 8, 13, 26, Nov. 11, + 13, 17, 19, 21, 23, Dec. 9). + + _Molt._--The molting process in this species seemingly takes place + from August until December. Most of the birds taken by the NAMRU2 + party in August and September were in molt. Molting specimens were + obtained by Coultas in October, November and December. + + _Food habits._--The Palau Morning Bird feeds on plant and animal + materials. Stomachs obtained by the NAMRU2 party contained green + plant material, seeds, insect parts, and grit. The bird feeds + principally on the ground or in low bushes. + +_Remarks._--The Palau Morning Bird is a thrushlike bird which spends its +time on or near the ground in areas where ground cover is thick. In +1945, the NAMRU2 party found the bird in the thick matting of vines +which had covered over the battle-cleared areas. I did not find the bird +at elevations of more than three to four feet above the ground. When +flushed, it would flutter a short distance and disappear into the brush. +It has a sweet song and may be considered as one of the finest singers +in Micronesia. It heralds the break of day with its melodious carol, and +its name is derived from its calling early in the morning. I heard the +bird only infrequently in the hot part of the day, although it would +sing when the skies were overcast. Its song could be heard also as +evening approached. The bird is moderately common, and evidently is more +abundant on the smaller islands than on Peleliu. Its occurrence on the +smaller islands was noted also by Coultas. + +The taxonomic status of the Palau Morning Bird has been one of +uncertainty as shown by the fact that the bird has been treated under +six generic names since its discovery by Captain Tetens. Mayr (1933a:5) +erected a new genus, _Malacolestes_, for the morning bird pointing to +its differences from "_Rhectes_ (= _Pitohui_) and _Pinarolestes_ (= +_Myiolestes_)." Later, he (1944b:5) disregards this name and places the +bird in the genus _Colluricincla_ stating that its special characters +"are due to isolation." This treatment is followed here. The Palau +Morning Bird is the most northern representative of a group of birds +which have their center of dispersal in the New Guinea and Australian +area. As Mayr has pointed out, _C. tenebrosus_ appears closest to the +_C. megarhynchus_ group of New Guinea. These species have bills of +similar shape, coloration which is darker above and lighter below, soft +feathers on underparts, and streaked appearance of throat and breast. +The resemblances between _C. tenebrosus_ and _C. megarhynchus_ might be +such as to indicate that these are merely subspecifically distinct from +each other. + + +=Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis= Finsch + +White-breasted Wood-swallow + + _Artamus pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. + 41. (Type locality, Palau.) + + _Artamus leucorhynchus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 116, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 99 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 4, 18 (Palau); Walden, Ibis, 1876, p. 188 (Pelew). + + _Artamus pelewensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), + p. 739 (Pelew); Tweeddale, Ibis, 1878, p. 385 (Pelew); Sharpe, + Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 9 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 26 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 + (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 533 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, + 2, 1914, p. 346 (Pelew). + + _Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 20, + 1913, p. 293 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 193 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 297 (Palau). + + _Artamus melanoleucus pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 69 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 635 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese + Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper surface black, except for back which + is slightly brownish and for rump which is white; underparts + white, except for chin, throat and upper breast which are black; + wings with grayish tips; bend of wing black; bill milky blue, + nostril and tip black; feet black; iris dark brown. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but black feathers with brownish + tinges; primaries tipped with white. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 44. + + +TABLE 44. MEASUREMENTS OF _Artamus leucorhynchus pelewensis_ Finsch + + ------------------+-----------+---------+---------+------------- + Number and Sex | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + ------------------+-----------+---------+---------+------------- + | | | | + 5 males | 134 | 68 | 25 | 16.5 + | (132-136) | (66-69) | (24-26) | -- + | | | | + 4 females | 134 | 68 | 24 | 17.0 + | (132-136) | (67-69) | -- | (16.5-17.0) + ------------------+-----------+---------+---------+------------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 12 (7 males, 5 females), from + Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (March, Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--Little is known concerning the habits and distribution of +the white-breasted Wood-Swallow at Palau. Coultas obtained a series of +eight birds in 1931; he writes (field notes) that his native hunter took +every bird that he saw. The natives told him that they did not know the +nest of the bird. Coultas concluded that the bird was not common. He +commented that it may be found perched in the top of a tree on a dead +branch or "even displaying in the air." The NAMRU2 party found no +evidence of this bird in the southern Palaus in 1945. The specimens +obtained by Coultas in November and December, 1931, were in molt and had +small gonads. + +This wood-swallow is the only Micronesian representative of _Artamus +leucorhynchus_. Like several other species of birds it has become +established only at the Palau Islands, and has either been unsuccessful +in colonizing other parts of Micronesia or has not had the opportunity +to do so. This bird had been compared with specimens representing ten +subspecies of _A. leucorhynchus_ in Melanesia and Malaysia. _A. l. +pelewensis_ differs from these subspecies examined by its blacker +appearance, with only a faint brownish wash on the back, and by its +shorter, first primary. The curvature of the upper mandible of the bird +in the Palaus is similar to that of _P. l. leucorhynchus_ of the +Philippines; the mandible is less curved than that of _P. l. +celebensis_ of Celebes; the mandible is slightly thicker than that of +_P. l. leucopygialis_ of the New Guinea and Australian region. In length +of wing _P. l. pelewensis_ resembles closely _P. l. leucorhynchus_; _P. +l. celebensis_ has a longer wing and _P. l. leucopygialis_ has a shorter +one. Stresemann (1913:293) points to a close relationship between _P. l. +pelewensis_ and _P. l. musschenbreeki_ of Tenimber and Babber islands +and _P. l. melaleucus_ of New Caledonia; Mayr (1945a:284) says the bird +in the Palaus came from the Papuan area. Probably _P. l. pelewensis_ has +reached the Palau Islands from the New Guinea area by way of the +Philippines. + + +=Aplonis opacus opacus= (Kittlitz) + +Micronesian Starling + + _Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2, + 1833, p. 11, pl. 15, fig. 2. (Type locality, Ualan = Kusaie.) + + _Turdus colombinus_ Lesson (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1832, p. 406 + (Carolines = Kusaie?). + + _Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. + Petersbourg, 2, 1935, p. 7 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Obser. Zool., + in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 285, 297 (Ualan); + Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 68 (Ualan). + + _Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, + p. 417 (Carolinen = Kusaie?). + + _Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, p. 133 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. + 168 (Carolinen = Kusaie?); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. + Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 376 (Ualan). + + _Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 26 (Oualau = Kusaie); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 255 + (Kusaie); Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 75 + (Ualan). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna Central + polynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Ualan, Puynipet, Marianen; type + locality, by subsequent restriction, Ualan = Kusaie); Finsch + (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 23 (Ualan). + + _Calornis kittlitzii_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 + (1868), p. 830 (Ualan). + + _Amadina Kittlitzi_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 58 (Ualan). + + _Calornis pacifica_ Sharpe, Ibis, 1876, p. 47 (Caroline Is. = + Kusaie?); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 49 + (Kuschai). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, p. 32 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. + 289, 301 (Kuschai); _idem_, (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 576 (Kuschai); _idem_, (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 103, 104, 108, + 111 (Kuschai). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, + 1890, p. 136 (Kuschai); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ualan); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 216 (Oualan); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 59 + (Ualan); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Kusaie). + + _Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542 + (Kuschai). + + _Aplonis opaca_ Oberholser, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 98, 1917, p. 59 + (Ualan); Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. + Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Kusaie). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1 + (Kusaie). + + _Aplonis opaca opaca_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. + 6, 12 (Kusaie); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 70 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 847 (Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1931, + p. 109 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 + (Kusaie). + + _Aplornis opaca opaca_, Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 188 (Kusaie). + + _Aplonis opacus opacus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 298 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult: Feathers black with dusky appearance caused + by lighter bases; edges of feathers with slight amount of + steel-green gloss; underparts slightly duller than upper parts; + bill black, with maxilla rather strongly curved; feet black, iris + yellow. Females slightly smaller. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but upper parts more brown and less + black; underparts dusky with edges of feathers tinged with smoky + yellow producing a streaked appearance; base of bill horn-colored. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 30 (18 males, 12 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 5 (Feb. 8); AMNH--Kusaie, + 25 (Jan., Feb., March). + + +TABLE 45. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT SPECIMENS OF _Aplonis opacus_ + + ====================+============+=========+=======+========+=========== + | Number | | | | Depth of + SUBSPECIES | and | Wing | Tail | Full | culmen at + | sex | | | culmen | nostril + --------------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+----------- + _A. o. opacus_ | 15 males | 124 | 80 | 24 | 9.5 + | | 121-125 | 76-85 | 24-26 | 9.0-10.0 + | | | | | + | 12 females | 119 | 77 | 24 | 9.0 + | | 115-125 | 72-82 | 23-26 | 8.5-9.0 + | | | | | + _A. o. ponapensis_ | 17 males | 133 | 87 | 27 | 9.5 + | | 130-138 | 85-91 | 26-29 | 9.0-10.0 + | | | | | + | 11 females | 126 | 83 | 27 | 9.0 + | | 122-127 | 81-85 | 26-28 | 8.5-9.0 + | | | | | + _A. o. angus_ | 16 males | 129 | 88 | 28 | 9.5 + | | 125-131 | 84-92 | 27-29 | 8.0-9.0 + | | | | | + | 7 females | 124 | 85 | 27 | 8.5 + | | 121-129 | 83-88 | 25-28 | 8.0-9.0 + | | | | | + _A. o. orii_ | 11 males | 128 | 86 | 27 | 7.5 + | | 124-131 | 83-90 | 25-28 | 7.5-8.5 + | | | | | + | 7 females | 124 | 79 | 26 | 7.5 + | | 121-126 | 77-82 | 25-27 | 7.5-8.0 + | | | | | + _A. o. guami_ | 41 males | 128 | 86 | 27 | 9.5 + | | 120-136 | 81-92 | 24-29 | 8.5-10.5 + | | | | | + | 32 females | 121 | 84 | 26 | 9.5 + | | 117-126 | 78-89 | 24-30 | 8.5-10.5 + --------------------+------------+---------+-------+--------+----------- + + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Starling at Kusaie was first taken by +Kittlitz (1833:11), who named it in the following manner: "_Turdus +columbinus_ Gm. L. oder _Lamproth. opaca_ Lichtenstein." The bird was +later given the name of _Calornis kittlitzi_ by Finsch and Hartlaub +(1867:109). Oberholser (1917:59) has shown that the specific name +_opaca_ is applicable, since the manuscript name _Lamprothornis opaca_ +of Lichtenstein is made available by Kittlitz's published description +and figure, and since it is the earliest name used. Mathews (1938:342) +reports that the name _Aplornis_ appeared a few days before the name +_Aplonis_. I have been unable to check his source of information. + +The Micronesia Starling is one of the most abundant birds at Kusaie. +Coultas (field notes) observed the bird in all parts of the island, when +he visited there in 1931. He found the bird in flocks of two to six or +more and noted that birds in immature plumage seemed to outnumber the +birds in adult plumage approximately five to one. This subspecies is +characterized by the presence of only a slight amount of gloss on the +black feathers of the adult. + + +=Aplonis opacus ponapensis= Takatsukasa and Yamashina + +Micronesian Starling + + _Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1931, p. 109. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Calornis columbina_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 88, + 162 (Puynipet). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Puynipet); Schmeltz and Krause + (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Ponapé). + + _Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 + (Seniavin = Ponapé). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 32 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 779 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, + p. 289 (Ponapé); _idem_, (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. + 576 (Ponapé). + + _Calornis pacifica_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); _idem_, + (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien. 1884, p. 49 (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, + 1890, p. 136 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ponapé); Bolau + (part), Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Ponapé); + Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 122 (Ponapé); Matschie (part), + Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda + (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 (Ponapé). + + _Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542 + (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Ponapé); Mayr. Proc. 6th + Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + A_plonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1 + (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis opaca opaca_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 12 (Ponapé); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 70 (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 394 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis opaca ponapensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 188 (Ponapé). + + _Aplonis opacus ponapensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 297 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. o. opacus_, but larger with a + longer bill and richer green luster on the back and breast. + + Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. opacus_, but underparts + more brightly streaked but still dingy in appearance. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (31 males, 16 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. 11); AMNH--Ponapé, + 46 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:394) reports the taking of an egg on + August 2, 1931, and two eggs on August 30, 1931, at Ponapé. Coultas + (field notes) writes that the nests of these birds are hidden in + the tops of the tree-ferns and in holes in the trees. The natives + told him that the starling lays two eggs. + + _Molt._--Most of the adult specimens taken by Coultas in November + and December, 1931, are in molting plumage. + +_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that the starling is a common +bird at Ponapé. He found it in flocks of from two to 12 or more birds. +As at Kusaie he noted more birds in the immature plumage than in the +adult plumage at Ponapé. The starling occurs in large numbers even +though the people of the island hunt this bird persistently for part of +their food supply. + +The Micronesian Starling at Palau has the longest wing of any of the +subspecies of _Aplonis opacus_. It most closely resembles _A. o. +opacus_; both of these subspecies have only a faint amount of +bronzy-green luster of the feathers, and the immatures have dingy yellow +streaks on the abdomen. + + +=Aplonis opacus angus= Momiyama + +Micronesian Starling + + _Aplonis opaca anga_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 6. (Type + locality, Toroas, Ruk Island.) + + _Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz (part), Observ. Zool., in Lutké, + Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 297 (Lougounor = Lukunor). + + _Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, + p. 417 (Carolinen = Lukunor?). + + _Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, + p. 168 (Carolinen = Lukunor?). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, pp. 89, 100 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?); Finsch (part), + Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 23 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?); + Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, + pp. 298, 330, 353 (Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, + 1875, p. 23 (Mackenzie = Ulithi?); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. + Ornith., 1880, p. 290 (Ruck, Mortlocks); _idem_ (part), Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, + p. 111 (Ruk). + + _Calornis pacifica_ Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, + p. 49 (Rukgruppe). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, + 1890, p. 136 (Ruk, Lugunor); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Ruk or + Luganor, Nukuor); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 (Ruk, Nukuor, Luganor); Hartert + (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 59 (Ruk, Luganor); _idem_, + Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 6 (Ruk); Matschie (part), Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruck); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, + 1, 1915, p. 55 (Ruk). + + _Lamprocorax kittlitzi_ Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 542 + (Ruk, Luganor). + + _Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Truk). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi kittlitzi_ Momiyama (part), Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1 + (Truk, Wolea). + + _Aplonis opaca anga_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 71 (?Luganor or Ruk, ?Nukuor, Wolea or Oleai); Takatsukasa and + Yamashina, Tori, 32, 1930, p. 109 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 847 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 170 (Uluthi, Feys, Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep, + Lamotrek, Truk, Nukuoro). + + _Aplornis apaca anga_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 43, 1931, p. 458 (Truk?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 188 (Uluthi, Feys, Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep, Lamotrek, Truk, + Nukuoro). + + _Aplonis opacus angus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297 + (Truk and western Carolines); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 70, 71 (Ulithi Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Fais, + Wolea, Ifalik, Faraulep, Lamotrek, Truk, Nukuoro, Lukunor. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _A. o. opacus_, but larger and + with bill less deep and feathers with distinct greenish luster + both on the upper parts and the lower parts. Female smaller. + + Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. opacus_, but underparts + streaked with brighter, buffy-yellow coloring. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 38 (24 males, 14 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 27 (Aug. 15, 16, 19, 20, + 21, 22)--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, Dec. 13); AMNH--Truk, 9 (Jan. 29, Feb. + 1, 28, June 14, Oct. 9, 14). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1900:6) reports that at Truk nests of the + starling were obtained by Owston's Japanese collectors from May to + July and one in March. Nests contained from one to three eggs each. + + _Molt._--Adult birds taken by the NAMRU2 party at Ulithi in August + are in molting plumage. + + _Food habits._--The stomachs of starlings obtained in August at + Ulithi contained pieces of fruit and seeds. Twelve stomachs + contained between one and three cc. of these foods. Papaya and + small berries were the foods most frequently observed in the + stomachs. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Starling of the central and western +Carolines is one of the few land birds which lives on both the "high" +islands and the "low" coral islands in Micronesia. It is found on +several of the coral atolls in the Carolines. In the Hand-list of +Japanese Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1932:170), the birds at Ulithi and +Fais are placed in the subspecies _A. o. angus_, although these islands +are only a short distance from Yap, at which place another subspecies, +_A. o. kurodai_, occurs. Specimens from Yap are not available for +comparison. Specimens from Ulithi and from Truk closely resemble one +another. + +The NAMRU2 party found the starling to be numerous at Truk and at Ulithi +in 1945. At both places the natives make use of the birds as food. At +Truk, McElroy found a larger number of birds in immature plumage than +that of birds in adult plumage. Similar observations have been made at +several other islands in Micronesia. + +At Ulithi, the NAMRU2 party found the starling at all islands in the +atoll visited in 1945. The bird was more numerous at the islands of +Potangeras and Mangejang, and less numerous at the island of Losiep; the +former two islands were occupied--at the time of the visit in 1945--by +service personnel and the vegetation was disturbed, whereas Losiep was +uninhabited and rarely visited by people. I attribute the smaller +population of starlings at Losiep to the fact that on this island the +large monitor lizard, _Varanus indicus_, was numerous while at +Potangeras and Mangejang it was apparently entirely absent. These large +lizards depend principally on the birds, rodents, and insects for their +food supply. At Potangeras the rat _Rattus exulans_ was exceedingly +numerous, while at Losiep no sign of rodents was found nor were any +taken in traps set during the daytime. + + +=Aplonis opacus kurodai= Momiyama + +Micronesian Starling + + _Aplonis kittlitzi kurodai_ Momiyama, Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1. (Type + locality, Yap.) + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 100 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, + 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 5, 24 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Yap). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, p. 32 (Yap). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Yap); Oustalet (part), + Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 (Yap); + Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Yap); Bolau (part), + Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Yap); Matschie + (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 49, 1901, p. 112 (Yap); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Yap). + + _Aplonis opaca kurodai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 11 + (Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Yap); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 848 (Yap); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Yap). + + _Aplonis opaca kurodai_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu, + Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 458 (Yap?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 188 (Yap). + + _Aplonis opacus kurodai_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 297 (Yap); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, + p. 71 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult: According to Momiyama (1922:11), "Similar to + _A. o. anga_ from Ruk group, but the bill thicker (9-10.5 mm.; + that of the latter 8.5-9.5 mm.) and much longer (24-27.5 mm.; that + of the latter 21.5-25 mm.) and the wing also longer in average + (119.5-130 mm. instead of 116.5-129.5 mm.). It differs from + typical _opaca_ by the edge of feathers of both body sides very + distinctly tinged with a bronzy-green lustre, by the bill being + longer and thicker (in typical _opaca_ exposed culmen 21.5-24.5 + mm., depth of bill 9-9.5 mm.)." + + Immature: "Similar to the immature of the typical form, but both + sides of body somewhat deeper in colour and the edge of feathers + distinctly tinged with lustrous bronzy-green. It differs from the + same stage of _A. o. anga_ by the under-parts being without + pale-yellowish area." Momiyama (1922:11). + + Young: "Similar to the young of typical bird, but differs from it + by the mantle being very faintly tinged with bronzy-green and by + the under-parts being somewhat tinged with brown. In the same + stage of the typical form, the under-parts are much more + greyish-ashy in colour." Momiyama (1922:11). + +_Remarks._--No specimens have been examined. Momiyama (1920:1) regarded +the birds at Yap and at Saipan as _A. o. kurodai_. Later (1922:10) he +separated the birds at Saipan as _A. o. harterti_, remarking that the +birds from Saipan differ "from _A. o. kurodai_ Momiyama from Yap +islands, by the green lustre on both sides of body being less distinct +and showing tendency to a purplish lustre, by the bill being decidedly +shorter, and by the same thickness." + +Price (1936a:19) describes a method by which starlings and other birds +are captured by the natives of Yap. The natives make slashes in the +trunk of a breadfruit tree and allow the exuding juice to harden. This +material is then chewed until soft and adhesive. It is then placed on a +stick which has been secured directly under a papaya fruit. When the +birds alight on this perch, they become stuck and are captured. + + +=Aplonis opacus orii= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina) + +Micronesian Starling + + _Aplornis opaca orii_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 43, 1931, p. 458. (Type locality, Coror, Pelew Islands.) + + _Calornis kittlitzii_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1868, pp. 7, 117, 118 (Pelew). + + _Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 + (Pelew). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 8, 1875, pp. 5, 23 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. + Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Palau). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Kubary, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 4, 1873, p. + 225 (Palau-Inseln). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 32 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, + p. 289 (Palau); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. + 576 (Palau); _idem_ (part). Ibis, 1881, p. 111 (Pelew). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Pelew); Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212 + (Palaos); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Pelew); + Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 (Pelew). + + _Aplonis opaca_ subsp nov.? Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 13 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72 + (Pelew). + + _Aplornis opaca orii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 188 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Anguar). + + _Aplonis opaca orii_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 + (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 673 (Palau). + + _Aplonis opacus orii_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297 + (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. + 71 (Peleliu, Ngesebus, Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Kayangel, + Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Ngesebus, Peleliu, Ngabad, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _A. o. opacus_, but + slightly larger with bill longer and shallower, and feathers with + distinct greenish gloss both on the upper parts and the lower + parts. Resembles _A. o. angus_ in the amount of greenish gloss on + feathers, but bill shallower. Depth of bill of _A. o. opacus_ + measures, on the average, 9.5 for males and 9.0 for females; of + _A. o. angus_ 8.5 for both males and females; of _A. o. orii_ 7.5 + for both males and females. + + Immature: Resembles immature of _A. o. angus_, but streaking on + underparts duller. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 40 (21 males, 19 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 3 (Nov. 6)--Garakayo, 2 + (Sept. 19)--Ngesebus, 1 (Sept. 20)--Peleliu, 7 (Aug. 28, 29, 30, + 31, Sept. 5); AMNH--exact locality not given, 27 (Oct., Nov., + Dec.). + + _Molt._--Many of the specimens taken in August and September show + evidence of molt; most of the specimens taken in October, November + and December are not in molt. + +_Remarks._--The amount of greenish gloss on the feathers of _A. o. orii_ +and _A. o. angus_ appears to be the same, but the streaked underparts of +the immature of _A. o. orii_ are duller than those of the immature of +_A. o. angus_. The shallower bill in the Palau starling is caused by the +lower edge of the mandible being generally straighter than that in _A. +o. angus_ and _A. o. opacus_. In comparing _A. o. orii_ with _A. o. +kurodai_, Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1931a:458) state that "the greenish +gloss is less pronounced and of a duller shade than that of _A. o. +kurodai_ Momiyama." + +The starling is probably the most abundant land bird in the Palaus. It +was found as singles or in small flocks at all islands visited by the +NAMRU2 party in 1945. As at the other islands of Micronesia, the +starling at Palau is noisy and conspicuous. It is a most inquisitive +bird, often following the collector through the woodlands. Apparently +the starling prefers the open woodlands and marginal areas to the +thicker jungles; as a result of clearing operations during the war, the +bird probably has increased. The starling is primarily a vegetarian; I +found no animal matter in stomachs examined at Palau or at Ulithi or +Guam. At Palau, as at other islands, more of the starlings seen were in +immature plumage than in adult plumage. Coultas (field notes) found the +birds to be abundant at Koror and highly prized as food by the natives +and Japanese. He writes, "It is surprising what a fine wholesome meal +certain people can get out of handful of rice and a starling's breast." + + +=Aplonis opacus guami= Momiyama + +Micronesia Starling + + _Aplonis opaca guami_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 9. (Type + locality, Guam). + + _Turdus columbinus_ Lesson (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 406 + (Mariannes = Guam). + + _Lamproth[ornis] opaca_ Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. + Vögel, 2, 1833, p. 11, pl. 15, fig. 2 (Marianen = Guam); idem + (part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. + 298, 304 (Guahan). + + _Lamprotornis columbinus_ Bonaparte (part), Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, + p. 417 (Mariann. =Guam). + + _Lamprotornis columbina_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, + p. 167 (Mariannen =Guam); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. + Micron, und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 367, 376 (Guaham). + + _Calornis opaca_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, + 1859, p. 26 (Ladrone or Marian Is.); _idem_, (part), Hand-list + Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 (Ladrone = Guam?). + + _Calornis kittlitzi_ Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 109 (Marianen = Guam?); Oustalet, Le. + Nat., 1889, p. 261 (Mariannes). + + _Calornis columbina_ Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 427 + (Marianae = Guam?). + + _Calornis pacificus_ Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 32 Marianne). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Marianne; Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212 + (Guam, Saypan); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 + (Guam, Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 + (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 54 + (Marianas); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam); + Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, + 1904, p. 264 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. + 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 477 (Guam); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianas); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec, vol. 13, + no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam). + + _Aplonis opaca_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Guam). + + _Aplonis kittlitzi kurodai_ Momiyama, Tori, 2, 1920, p. (Saipan). + + _Aplonis opaca guami_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 71 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. + 847 (Guam); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 394 (Saipan, Rota); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 (Guam, Rota, Tinian, + Saipan). + + _Aplonis opaca harterti_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 10 (Type locality, Saipan); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 847 (Saipan). + + _Aplornis opaca harterti_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 487 (Saipan). + + _Aplornis opaca guami_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 44, 1932, p. 221 (Tinian, Rota); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 188 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam). + + _Aplonis opacus guami_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297 + (Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 + (Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 103 + (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan, Guam); Baker, + Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 69 (Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan). + + _Aplonis opacus_ Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); + Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 540 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. + 125 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Saipan. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles closely _A. o. angus_ in the + amount of greenish gloss present on the body feathers, but with + slightly shorter and deeper bill. + + Immature: Resembles the immature of _A. o. angus_ but streaks on + underparts brighter and less-dingy yellow. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 45. The writer + (1948:69) has given average measurements for the length of wing of + adult males from Guam as 127, from Rota as 122, from Tinian as + 131, and from Saipan as 131; for depth of bill of adult males from + Guam as 9.0, from Rota as 9.0, from Tinian as 9.5, and from Saipan + as 10.0. + + _Weights._--The NAMRU2 party obtained weights of six adult males + from Guam as 84-96 (87); of eight adult females from Guam as 78-108 + (86); of two juvenal males from Guam as 88 and 90; of five juvenal + females from Guam as 77-87 (80); of two adult males from Rota as 70 + and 83; and of five juvenal males from Rota as 64-80 (76). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 95 (55 males, 37 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 44 (Jan. 21, 22, + Feb. 5, March 8, 13, April 12, May 18, 22, 24, 27, 29, 30, June 3, + 4, 6, 14, 16, 18, July 6, 7, 14, 20, Aug. 24, Oct. 8, Nov. 19, + 23)--Rota, 12 (Oct. 18, 19, 26, 27, Nov. 2)--Tinian, 4 (Oct. 12, + 18); AMNH--Guam, 16 (Jan. 23, 24, 29, March 3, 12, 13, 24, May, + Aug. 12, Nov. 23, 28, Dec. 26)--Tinian, 15 (Sept. 7, 8, 10, 11, + 12)--Saipan, 4 (July 9, 17, Aug. 26, Sept. 2). + + _Nesting._--The NAMRU2 party found evidence of nesting by starlings + at Guam as early as January 28, in 1945. On this date a bird was + seen to carry food into a hollow tree at Oca Point. Signs of + nesting activities were observed in the months that followed, the + last record being obtained on June 11. Starlings nest in cavities + in trees, in holes in rocky cliffs, and probably in the tops of + coconut palms. On June 2 a nest was found by Muennink in a cavity + of a banyan tree at Oca Point, Guam. The nest was approximately 12 + feet from the ground and consisted of a flattened mass of green + foliage at the bottom of the cavity. Two eggs found in the nest + have been described by the author (1948:69) as "Niagara green" with + scattered, irregular spots of color, near "russet," "Mars brown" + and "pallid purple-drab," most abundant near the large ends. + Measurements are 32.1 by 22.1 and 32.0 by 22.4. + + Yamashina (1932a:394) records two eggs taken at Saipan on April + 14, 1931; two eggs taken at Rota on March 10, 1931; and one egg + taken at Rota on March 11, 1931. Seale (1901:54) writes that the + starling nests in a hole in the dead trunk of the coconut palm and + may lay three or four eggs. Hartert (1898:59) reports that two + eggs were taken at Guam on March 11. + + _Food habits._--Probably the chief food of the starling at Guam is + the fruit and seeds of the papaya. This plant grows in most parts + of the island, especially in the lowlands where land uses have + disturbed the climax vegetation. Many of the garden plots lay + fallow during the war and were allowed to grow up in thick stands + of papaya. As a fruit began to ripen, the starlings would peck out + one side of a ripe fruit, feeding on the tissues and the seeds. It + was seldom that a fully ripe papaya fruit was found that had not + been at least partly eaten by the starlings. Apparently the birds + do not feed on the fruit before it is fully ripened. Seeds of + other types of vegetation were also eaten by the birds. + + _Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) records the chigger (Acarina), + _Trombicula_ sp., from the starling at Guam. + +_Remarks._--According to Oustalet (1895:212), the starling was taken in +the Marianas by the expedition in the "Uranie" in 1820 and by the +expedition in the "Astrolabe" in 1829. Kittlitz, who visited Guam from +March 1-20, 1828, also recorded the starling. It was not until 1922, +however, that the starling in the Marianas was recognized as +subspecifically distinct from the birds in the Carolines and Palaus. +The Japanese ornithologists named the bird at Guam as _A. o. guami_ and +the bird at Saipan as _A. o. harterti_, but later regarded these as a +single subspecies _A. o. guami_. Momiyama (1920:2) had, previously to +the naming of the new forms in the Marianas, considered the bird at +Saipan as belonging to the same subspecies as that found at Yap. Among +named kinds, _A. o. guami_ found at Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan +appears to be most closely related to _A. o. angus_. These two +subspecies differ in that the streaking of the underparts in the +immatures is brighter in _A. o. guami_ and duller in _A. o. angus_. The +bird at Saipan has a longer wing and a deeper bill than the bird at +Guam; however, birds at Tinian show intermediate measurements. + +At Guam, the starling is the most numerous land bird. The writer +(1947b:124), in counting birds along the roadways of Guam, recorded the +starling on all of the 125 counts and found the birds to include more +than one-half (57.3 percent) of all the birds seen. Starlings may have +increased during the years of the war, with the disruption of normal +agricultural activities allowing the growth of papaya and other food +plants in fallow areas; however, the use of the birds as food by the +islanders probably increased during the war. + +As at other islands in Micronesia, the numbers of birds in immature +plumage at Guam seemingly exceeds the number of birds in adult plumage. +Animals which may prey on the starling at Guam include the feral house +cat, _Rattus mindanensis_, _Corvus kubaryi_, and the large lizard +_Varanus indicus_. The starling spends little time on the ground; it +feeds principally in the trees, which might limit the amount of damage +done to it by the feral house cats which are numerous on the island. The +rat, _R. mindanensis_, is a semi-arboreal animal and may feed on eggs +and young birds in nest cavities of trees or on cliffs. The crow, _C. +kubaryi_, has a reputation for stealing chicken eggs from poultry yards +and may prey on the eggs and young of the starling. The monitor lizard, +_V. indicus_, is known to prey on the starling, as well as on the +domestic chickens at farm houses. On January 31, 1945, one of these +large lizards was seen descending a tree after robbing a nest of a +starling; one of the starling's eggs was seen in the mouth of the +lizard. The noise and commotion set up by the parent birds and by other +starlings, which had been attracted to the area, did not appear to +perturb the uninvited guest. + +Downs (1946:103) writes that the starling at Tinian is less common than +the white-eye, _Zosterops conspicillata saypani_. Gleize (1945:220) +estimated the population of starlings on Tinian at 200. Coultas (field +notes) found the starling abundant at Tinian in 1931, but he did not +find the bird at Saipan. According to Stott (1947:527), the starling was +abundant at Guam but "appeared to be common only locally on Saipan." He +saw large flocks at the Marpi Point and Kingman Point areas on Saipan +but found the bird less numerous elsewhere on the island. At Rota, the +NAMRU2 party found the birds to be numerous and widely distributed over +the island in 1945. + +At Guam, the present writer observed behavior of the starling on January +31, 1945, which may have been a courtship ceremony. Two adults were +perched on a palm frond approximately 20 feet above the ground. The bird +which was perched more distally on the frond opened its tail +fan-fashion, spread its wings and at irregular intervals picked up in +its beak a part of the frond and then released it. As this behavior was +taking place, the birds would call in a sweet ascending song, which +reminded me very much of the song of the redwing blackbird of North +America. This was indeed a contrast to the usual squawking notes of this +subspecies. + + +=Aplonis opacus aeneus= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina) + +Micronesian Starling + + _Aplornis opaca aenea_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 43, 1931, p. 487. (Type locality, Pagan.) + + _Aplonis kittlitzi_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212 (Pagan, Agrigan). + + _Aplonis opaca harterti_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 11 (Pagan, Agrigan); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Pagan, Agrigan). + + _Aplornis opaca aenea_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 187 (Asongsong = Asuncion, Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan). + + _Aplornis opaca aenea_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, + 44, 1932, p. 221 (Pagan, Almagan). + + _Aplonis opaca aenea_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 + (Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 673 + (Asongsong). + + _Aplonis opacus aeneus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 297 (Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan); Borror, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 417 + (Agrihan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Alamagan, Pagan, + Agrihan, Asuncion. + + _Characters._--Adult: According to Takatsukasa and Yamashina + (1931:487), _A. o. aeneus_ resembles _A. o. orii_ of Palau, but + has a bronze rather than green luster. _A. o. aeneus_ resembles + _A. o. opacus_, but has a smaller bill. + +_Remarks._--No specimens of this subspecies have been examined by me. +Little information is available regarding the occurrence of this +subspecies in the northern Marianas. Oustalet (1895:212) writes that +Marche collected four specimens at Pagan and three at Agrihan. Borror +(1947:417) writes that in 1945, it was a "common and abundant species" +at Agrihan. He obtained one specimen between July 27 and August 14 and +comments that it had a grasshopper in its stomach. + +_Evolutionary history of Aplonis opacus._--_Aplonis opacus_ is known +from the Mariana, Palau, and Caroline islands in Micronesia. It consists +of several subspecies, which have relatively few distinguishing +characteristics. No starlings are known in the Marshall and Gilbert +islands, although atolls occur in these island-chains that offer a +habitat approximately the same as those in the western Carolines now +occupied by _A. o. angus_. + +In regard to parental stock, Sharpe (1876:47) considered _A. opacus_ as +"nothing but a slightly more metallic race of _C. mysolensis_, with a +still stouter bill." The species with which Sharpe compared _A. opacus_ +is known from Mysol, Buru, and Ceram. Oustalet (1896:70) thought that +the _Aplonis_ in Micronesia belonged to a group of starlings whose +members are scattered through the Pacific islands including Cook, Samoa, +Tonga, Fiji, New Britain, New Guinea, Banta, Mysol, Salwatti, and Timor. +Mayr (1941b:204) is of the opinion that _Aplonis_ in Micronesia was +derived from central Polynesia. Amadon (1943:8), in his study of the +genera of starlings, places _A. opacus_ within a superspecies containing +_A. cinerascens_, _A. tabuensis_, _A. fuscus_, and possibly _A. +feadensis_ and _A. cantoroides_. All of these are blackish birds with +greenish gloss with immatures having the underparts streaked. In +comparing _A. opacus_ with these mentioned species and with other +species of _Aplonis_, I find that _A. opacus_ more closely resembles _A. +feadensis_ and _A. cantoroides_ than any others. Although there are +differences in size of the bill, wing, and tail, these structures are +proportionally the same. The streaked underparts of the immatures of _A. +cantoroides_ are much like that of the immatures of _A. opacus_, whereas +the immatures of _A. feadensis_ are only faintly streaked with whitish +below. The eye of _A. cantoroides_ is red, and that of _A. opacus_ is +more nearly yellow. The ancestral stock from which _A. opacus_ developed +in Micronesia seemingly reached the area from Melanesia. In Micronesia +the birds dispersed to various groups of islands from some point in the +Caroline Islands. The birds are absent from the Marshall Islands. +Perhaps the birds never reached the Marshall Islands or they may have +been present in former times and disappeared since then. + + +=Aplonis pelzelni= Finsch + +Ponapé Mountain Starling + + _Aplonis pelzelni_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 (1876), p. + 644. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Aplonis pelzelni_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. + 17, 32, pl. 2, fig. 3 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1877 (1878), p. 779 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ, f. Ornith., 1880, p. + 290 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 110, 112, 115 (Ponapé); + Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 + (Ponapé); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 136 + (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 43 (Ponapé); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 215 (Ponapé); Bolau, Mitteil. + Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Ponapé); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, 112 (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, + p. 542 (Ponapé); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 355 (Ponapé); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 70 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. + Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 849 (Ponapé); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Mushi, 12, + 1939, p. 82 (Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, + 1941, pp. 204, 213 (Ponapé); Bequaert, Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 290 (Ponapé); Mayr. Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 298 (Ponapé). + + _Aplornis pelzelni_ Hand-List Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 189 + (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small, dark starling with upper parts + sooty-brown, darker on head with forehead and lores blackish; + wings, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail lighter and more + brownish than head; underparts paler and washed with olive-brown; + bill and feet black; iris brown. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but lighter brown, especially the + underparts. + + _A. pelzelni_ differs from _A. opacus_ by having no gloss on the + feathers, smaller size, more slender bill, and a brown iris. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 46. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 59 (32 males, 24 females, 3 + unsexed), from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Dec). + + _Nesting._--Coultas (field notes) obtained reports that the Ponapé + Mountain Starling nests in cavities in trees and lays two eggs. + + +TABLE 46. MEASUREMENTS OF _Aplonis pelzelni_ + + ==================+=========+=======+===========+==========+======== + | | | | Depth of | + NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Exposed | bill at | Tarsus + | | | culmen | nostril | + ------------------+---------+-------+-----------+----------+-------- + 10 adult males | 103 | 65 | 20.0 | 6.5 | 27 + | 101-105 | 63-67 | 19.0-21.0 | 6.0-7.0 | 26-28 + | | | | | + 10 adult females | 99 | 61 | 19.5 | 6.0 | 27 + | 97-102 | 57-64 | 19.5-20.5 | 6.0-6.5 | 26-27 + ------------------+---------+-------+-----------+----------+-------- + + + _Parasites._--Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:290) records the fly + (Hippoboscidae), _Ornithoica pusilla_, from _A. pelzelni_. + +_Remarks._--Coultas (field notes) writes that "the Mountain Starling is +a bird of the true mountain forest.... I did not record it below 1,400 +feet. Natives tell me that the Mountain Starling formerly covered the +whole of the island and that now some individuals can be found on the +low atoll of Ant, to the westward of Ponapé. Unfortunately, I was not +permitted to visit either Ant or Pakin." Coultas notes also that the +birds are quiet and usually travel in pairs. They are easily attracted +by squeaking the lips against the hand or by the cries of a wounded +bird. Many of these starlings were taken in fruit trees. Coultas +describes the call of _A. pelzelni_ as "weaker and finer" than that of +_A. opacus_. These two species may be found together, according to +Coultas, but _A. opacus_ is apparently the more aggressive and often +drives _A. pelzelni_ away. Richards (_in litt._) found this bird to be +"very rare" while on his visit to Ponapé in 1947-1948. He observed two +individuals on January 15, 1948, at an elevation of approximately 600 or +700 feet. A male was taken. + +_Evolutionary history of Aplonis pelzelni._--The Ponapé Mountain +Starling is a distinctive bird which evidently represents an ancient and +single colonization of Micronesia. It lacks the green gloss which is +found on many of the other starlings of the Pacific region. It has a +brown iris, and the immatures lack the streaked underparts which are +characteristic of _A. opacus_ and other species. The structure of its +wing resembles that of _A. opacus_, but the primaries are more rounded. +It is apparently better adapted to forested uplands, whereas _A. opacus_ +and its relatives, _A. cantoroides_ and _A. feadensis_, appear to prefer +lowland forests and coconut plantations. In habits and habitat +preference, _A. pelzelni_ seems to resemble _A. santovestris_, which is +restricted to mountain environment on Espiritu Santo in the New +Hebrides. The describers of this starling, Harrisson and Marshall +(1937:149), write that "_Aplonis santovestris_ apparently most closely +resembles _A. pelzelni_ from Ponapé, especially in bill and tarsus." +According to the description, _A. santovestris_ is approximately the +size of _A. pelzelni_ with brownish coloring, crown dark brown, lower +back and rump dark rufous, wing and tail blackish-brown, underparts +rufous-brown, and iris grayish-green. These two birds are separated +geographically and apparently exhibit evidences of parallel development. +Possibly they came from a common ancestral stock. Mayr (1941b:204) +writes that _A. pelzelni_ belongs with the starlings of the Polynesian +area. I have compared _A. pelzelni_ with other starlings of the +Southwest Pacific, including _A._ _feadensis_, _A. cantoroides_, and +_A. zealandicus_, but see no close resemblances. + + +=Aplonis corvinus= (Kittlitz) + +Kusaie Mountain Starling + + _Lamprothornis corvina_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2, + 1833, p. 12, pl. 15, fig. 3. (Type locality, Ualan = Kusaie.) + + _Lamprothornis corvina_, Kittlitz, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. + Peterbourg, 2, 1835, p. 7, pl. 9 (Ualan); _idem_, Obser. Zool., in + Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan). + + _Lamprotornis corvina_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 417 + (Ualan); Hartlaub, Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 133 + (Ualan); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., + 2, 1858, pp. 25, 43, 59, 103 (Ualan); Finsch, Ibis, 1881, p. 104 + (Kuschai). + + _Lamprocorax corvinus_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Kusaie); Sclater, Ibis, 1859, p. 327 (Caroline = + Kusaie); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 543 (Kuschai). + + _Calornis (Lamprocorax?) corvina_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. + Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 25 (Oualan). + + _Sturnoides corvina_ Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 108 (Ualan); Finsch, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1880, pp. 297, 302 (Kuschai). + + _Calornis corvina_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 (Caroline + = Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. + 100 (Ualan); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 427 (Caroline = + Kusaie); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 137 + (Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 46 (Ualan or Kushai); Matschie, Journ. f. + Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 64 (Kusaie). + + _Sturnoides corvinus_ Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 108 (Kushai). + + _Kittlitzia corvina_ Hartert, Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. + 75 (Ualan); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72 + (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 853 + (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 169 (Kusaie); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 187 (Kusaie). + + _Aplonis corvina_ Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 356 (Ualan); + Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 213 (Kusaie). + + _Aplonis corvinus_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 298 + (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie, probably + extinct for many years. + + _Characters._--According to Sharpe (1890:137), "Shining black; + each feather with a glossy margin, varying from steel-green to + purplish red; bill and feet black (Kittlitz)." + +_Remarks._--Kittlitz obtained two specimens of a unique starling at +Kusaie when he visited the island in December and January, 1827-'28. He +named the birds as new and deposited the specimens in the museum in St. +Petersburg. The bird has not been found at Kusaie since that time. +Sharpe (1890:137-138, footnote) writes "This species I have never seen, +and Dr. Finsch did not meet with it during his visit to Kuschai. He +writes to me:--'It no doubt exists on Kuschai, just as it did when +Kittlitz visited the island. Nobody has reached the mountains in the +interior since Kittlitz's time; and it is strictly a mountain bird.'" +Coultas spent considerable time searching the higher areas of Kusaie for +the bird in 1931. + +The Kusaie Mountain Starling apparently represents an early invasion of +Micronesia, independent of that of any other starling in the area and +perhaps the earliest of the three colonizations by starlings in +Micronesia. The drawing of the bird as pictured by Kittlitz (1833:pl. +14, fig. 3) shows the long bill to be one of its distinctive characters. +This suggests relationship to _A. atrifuscus_ of Samoa, as noted by Mayr +(1942a:6). _A. atrifuscus_ is larger than _A. opacus_ with a longer bill +and gloss on some of the feathering of the body; it looks a good deal +like the drawing of _A. corvinus_ by Kittlitz. _A. corvinus_ may also +have some relation to _A. magnus_ of Biak, although this species has a +longer tail and a shorter bill. _A. corvinus_ probably has undergone an +evolutionary development which parallels that of _A. atrifuscus_ and +possibly other species in the Polynesian and Melanesian areas. The +ancestral stock from which _A. corvinus_ was derived may have been close +to _A. grandis_, which is found in the Solomon area. _A. grandis_ is a +forest bird, somewhat solitary in habits. + + +=Sturnus philippensis= (Forster) + +Violet-backed Starling + + [_Motacilla_] _philippensis_ Forster, Ind. Zool., 1781, p. 41. + (Type locality, Philippines.) + + _Sturnus philippensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Palau). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in Japan. Winters to the Philippine + Islands. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown. + +_Remarks._--Mayr (1945a:302) records this starling as a migrant visitor +to the Palau Islands. Coultas obtained an immature female of this +species at Palau on October 13, 1931. + + +=Sturnus cineraceus= Temminck + +Ashy Starling + + _Sturnus cineraceus_ Temminck, Pl. Col. 2, 1832, pl. 556. (Type + locality, Japan.) + + _Spodiopsar cineracea_ Kishida, Lansania, 1, 1929, p. 17 (Saipan); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 187 (Saipan). + + _Geographic range._--Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters in + southern China and Philippines. In Micronesia: Mariana + Islands--Saipan. + +_Remarks._--The Ashy Starling has been reported from Saipan by Kishida. +It probably is a casual winter migrant. + + +=Cleptornis marchei= (Oustalet) + +Golden Honey-eater + + _Ptilotis Marchei_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260. (Type locality, + Saypan.) + + _Cleptornis marchei_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 35 (Saypan); Hartert, Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, + p. 112 (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 60 (Saipan); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 722 (Marianne + = Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianne + = Saipan); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75 + (Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 788 + (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 171 (Saipan); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Saipan); Mayr, + Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 298 (Saipan); Stott, Auk, 64, + 1947, p. 527 (Saipan). + +/# +_Ptilotis (Cleptornis) marchei_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. +Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Saypan). +#/ + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small honey-eater with head, rump, and + underparts near "light cadmium" becoming lighter on the chin and + darker on the nape; back near "orange-citrine"; wings and tail + feathers brown with outer edges colored like back and inner edges + whitish; orbital ring pale yellow; breast, belly, sides, and under + tail- and upper tail-coverts near "raw sienna"; under wing-coverts + pale yellow; axillaries yellow; bill and feet light yellow-brown, + maxilla darker; iris chestnut-brown. Immature has lighter bill. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 47. + + +TABLE 47. MEASUREMENTS OF _Cleptornis marchei_ + + ==================+=========+=========+=============+========= + NUMBER AND SEX | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ------------------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + 7 adult males | 79 | 64 | 19.5 | 26 + | (77-80) | (61-66) | (19.0-20.0) | (25-27) + | | | | + 5 adult females | 73 | 58 | 18.0 | 24 + | (72-75) | (56-59) | (17.5-18.5) | (23-25) + ------------------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 17 (9 males, 8 females), as + follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 4 (July 11, Dec. 15); + AMNH--Saipan, 13 (July 8, Aug. 1, 10, 13, 14, 21, 30, Sept. 3, 7, + 9, 15). + + _Nesting._--Hartert (1898:56) reports that one nest of the Golden + Honey-eater was found on July 7. It was hung from a fork of a + branch, "like the nest of a golden Oriole." He writes that four + other nests were obtained in late August. Hartert describes the egg + as "pale blue without gloss, spotted over and over with rufous, + more so on the thicker end, and measures about 20:15 mm." + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in July, August, and September are + molting. + +_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:202) writes that Marche obtained 25 specimens +of the Golden Honey-eater at Saipan in May, June, and July, 1887. Little +is known regarding its habits; Moran (1946:262) writes that the bird +"reminds one of the prothonotary warbler, with a long, curved, black +bill." Stott (1947:527) writes that "it appears to be restricted to a +single habitat, that of dense forest." He found the bird in forest on +the north shore of Magicienne Bay. Coultas obtained only one specimen on +his visit to Saipan in 1931. Marshall (1949:216) records some +interesting observations of this bird made in 1945. He notes (_op. cit._ +p. 219) that the bird breeds in January, February and April. + +Not only is it remarkable that the Golden Honey-eater has become +established on a single island in a rather closely associated chain of +islands, but it is also difficult to determine from where the bird came. +It seemingly has no close relatives in the Micronesian area. Oustalet +(1895:202) points out that one has to go to New Guinea, Moluccas, +Australia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga in order to find related forms. In +looking through the large collections of Meliphagidae in the American +Museum of Natural History, I found only a few genera to which the Saipan +Golden Honey-eater seems to be closely related. _Timeliopsis_ of New +Guinea has some resemblances to _Cleptornis_, although the coloration is +different. _Timeliopsis_ has a similar bill, but has a longer tail and +longer wing; the shortness of the wing in _Cleptornis_ is not unusual +since other insular forms also exhibit this characteristic. + +Perhaps _Cleptornis_ is closer to the genus _Meliphaga_ of New Guinea +and Australia, which has become differentiated into a number of diverse +species and subspecies. _Cleptornis_ compares rather favorably with _M. +pencillata carteri_ of Australia, but differs by the softness of its +feathers and the shorter wing and shorter tail. It shows also some +affinities with _M. flava_ of Australia, particularly in shape of bill; +the coloration of the feathers is light olive-green in _M. flava_. The +bird at Saipan seemingly has no relationships with the Hawaiian +honey-eaters. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis rubratra= (Lesson) + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson, Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. Levrault, 50, + 1827, p. 30. (Type locality, Oualan = Kusaie.) + + _Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool., 2, + 1828, pp. 433, 678 (Oualan); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith., 2, + 1828, p. 55 (Oualan); _idem_ (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. + 299 (Oualan); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 1832, + p. 6, pl. 8, fig. 1 (Ualan); _idem_ (part), Denkw. Reise russ. + Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 364, 381; 2, 1858, pp. + 39, 49 (Ualan). + + _Certhia Cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. + Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 4 (Ualan). + + _Cinnyris cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan). + + _Myzomela sanguinolenta_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 394 + (no loc. = Kusaie?). + + _Myzomela rubrater_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, pp. 109, 131 (Ualan); Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 57 (Ualan). + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. + 168 (Carolinen = Kusaie); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1867 (1868), p. 829 (Carolines = Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch + (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 95 (Ualan); Giebel + (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 681 (Carolinae = Kusaie); + Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 26 (Ualan); + Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 271 (Ualan); + Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 285, 298 (Kuschai); + _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 103, 108, 111 (Kuschai); _idem_ + (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Ualan); Hartert, + Kat. Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 31 (Ualan); Wiglesworth + (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 + (1891), p. 31 (Ualan); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, pp. 201, 202 (Kushai); Hartert (part), + Novit, Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Ualan); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, + 1, 1902, p. 716 (Carolines = Kusaie). + + _Certhia sanguinolenta_ Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron, + und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 364 (Ualan). + + _Myzomela major_ Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, + p. 11 (Oualan?). + + _Myzomela rubrata_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 112 (Ualan). + + _Myzomela rubratra rubratra_ Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, + 30, 1917, p. 117 (Kusaie); Wetmore (part), in Townsend and + Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 219 (Kusaie); + Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 15, 20, 21, 22, (Kusaie); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72 (Kusaie); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 743 (Oualan); + Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172 (Kusaie); + Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 191 (Kusaie). + + _Myzomela cardinalis rubratra_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 299 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Head (except lores), neck back, rump, + upper tail-coverts, chin, throat, breast, and upper abdomen black + with feathers tipped with coloring between "scarlet" and + "scarlet-red"; rest of feathering black; bill long and curved and + black; feet black; iris dark brown. + + +TABLE 48. MEASUREMENTS OF _Myzomela cardinalis_ OF MICRONESIA + + ===================+============+=========+=========+=============+========= + | Number | | | | + SUBSPECIES | and sex | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + -------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + _M. c. rubratra_ | 21 adult | 79 | 55 | 19.5 | 22 + | males | (76-81) | (53-56) | (18.5-20.5) | (21-22) + | | | | | + | 20 adult | 71 | 49 | 18.5 | 20 + | females | (69-74) | (45-51) | (17.5-19.5) | (19-21) + | | | | | + _M. c. dichromata_ | 24 adult | 78 | 53 | 21.5 | 22 + | males | (76-80) | (51-56) | (20.0-23.0) | (21-23) + | | | | | + | 22 adult | 69 | 47 | 19.0 | 20 + | females | (66-72) | (45-49) | (17.5-20.5) | (19-21) + | | | | | + _M.c. major_ | 9 adult | 77 | 55 | 20.0 | 22 + | males | (75-78) | (54-59) | (19.5-20.5) | (21-22) + | | | | | + | 2 adult | 70 | 50 | 19.0, 20.5 | 21.5 + | females | | | | + | | | | | + _M. c. saffordi_ | 47 adult | 73 | 55 | 20.0 | 22 + | males | (69-77) | (51-56) | (19.0-20.5) | (21-24) + | | | | | + | 14 adult | 65 | 49 | 18.5 | 21 + | females | (63-71) | (46-51) | (17.5-19.5) | (19-21) + | | | | | + _M. c. kurodai_ | 2 adult | 74, 75 | 52 | 20.0, 20.5 | 20, 21 + | males | | | | + | | | | | + _M. c. kobayashii_ | 17 adult | 74 | 54 | 20.5 | 21 + | males | (71-76) | (51-57) | (19.0-22.0) | (20-22) + | | | | | + | 8 adult | 67 | 48 | 18.0 | 20 + | females | (65-68) | (45-50) | (17.5-19.0) | (19-21) + -------------------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + Adult female: Resembles adult male, but smaller; red coloring duller; + wings and tail more brownish and less blackish; abdomen and under + tailcoverts dark gray. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but duller and less blackish and more + grayish with less red coloring on feathers and an olivaceous-brown + tinge to plumage. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 62 (35 males, 27 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 3 (Feb. 9); AMNH--Kusaie, + 59 (Jan., Feb., March). + + _Nesting._--Finsch records the taking of eggs of the honey-eater at + Kusaie on February 26 and March 10, 1880. + + _Molt._--Evidence of molt was observed in a few specimens taken in + January and in larger number of birds taken in March. In addition, + some skins obtained in March showed fresh plumage. Although there + is little evidence available, I suppose that nesting activities of + _M. r. rubratra_ at Kusaie occur in the winter months of December, + January, February, and March, and that molt begins in January, + especially in the males, and possibly reaches a peak in March. + +_Remarks._--_M. r. rubratra_ was first described by Lesson, who referred +to it under the name _Cinnyris rubrater_. The bird was found by Lesson +at Kusaie, when he visited the island in June, 1924, as a member of the +expedition from the ship "La Coquille." In his description he also +stated that the bird was found in the Philippines by Dussumier. The +report of the bird's occurrence in the Philippines proved to be +erroneous, as was pointed out by Wetmore (in Townsend and Wetmore, +1919:220). Oustalet (1895:200) contended that Lesson's description was +based on the specimens taken by Quoy and Gaimard in the Marianas; he +stated that none of the birds which Lesson mentions from Kusaie was +preserved. Bonaparte also considered _Cinnyris rubrater_ to be from the +Marianas, and he gave the name _Myzomela major_ to the honey-eater of +the Caroline Islands (apparently including Kusaie) on the basis of +specimens taken by Hombron and Jacquinot at Truk. Wetmore (in Townsend +and Wetmore, 1919:220) settles the argument and assigns Lesson's name +_rubratra_ to the honey-eater at Kusaie; apparently this treatment is +the correct one inasmuch as Lesson used his own field notes and records +of the occurrence of this honey-eater at Kusaie in preparing his +description, even if the actual specimens were not preserved. This +arrangement makes Bonaparte's name _major_ available for the population +at Truk and makes Wetmore's name _saffordi_ available for the population +in the Marianas. The placing of the honey-eaters of Micronesia within +the species _Myzomela cardinalis_ by Mayr (1932:19) is, I think, +justified. + +Little information is available concerning the habits of the honeyeater +at Kusaie. In 1931, Coultas (field notes) regarded the bird as common +in the lowlands, especially in the coconut groves. He did not find the +bird at high elevations on the island. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis dichromata= Wetmore + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Myzomela rubratra dichromata_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 220. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 55, + 162 (Puynipet = Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, + 1876, pp. 17, 26 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 + (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool., Soc. London, + 1879, p. 271 (Ponapé); Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. + 285 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 + (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 111, 115 (Ponapé); _idem_ + (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Ponapé); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Ponapé); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Ponapi). + + _Myzomela rubrata_ Nehrkorn (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. + 397 (Ponapé); Christian, The Caroline Islands, 1899, p. 358 + (Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 + (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 + Ponapé); Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 + (Ponapé). + + _Myzomela chermesina_ Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. + 137 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 + (Ponapé). + + _Myzomela rubratra dichromata_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + pp. 15, 20, 21, 22 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 73 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 743 (Ponapé). + + _Myzomela rubratra rubratra_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 395 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 191 + (Ponapé). + + _Myzomela cardinalis dichromata_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 299 Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult males of _M. c. + rubratra_, but with more extensive black markings on lores and + below eye; tips of feathers lighter "scarlet." + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubratra_, but + duller and with red coloring much reduced; head, neck, shoulder, + ear-coverts, and sides of neck sooty brownish-gray; rest of upper + parts dark brownish-gray with plumage of middle of back, rump, and + upper tail-coverts tipped with scarlet; wings and tail dark brown + with outer edges olivaceous-gray; chin and throat reddish; breast + light brownish-gray, may be washed with reddish; axillaries, + abdomen, and under tail-coverts grayish. + + Immature male: Resembles adult male, but scarlet coloring less + brilliant and thinner on forehead, middle of back, rump, upper + tail-coverts, and underparts and absent, or nearly absent, on + crown and neck. + + Immature female: Resembles adult female, but scarlet coloring + thinner and present only on underparts, back, rump, and upper + tail-coverts; abdomen and under tail-coverts washed with buff. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 52 (26 males, 24 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 3 (Feb. 11, + 12); AMNH--Ponapé, 49 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:395) records a large collection of + eggs of the honey-eater, taken at Ponapé in 1931. Of 13 sets of + eggs listed, 10 include two eggs per set and 3 include one egg per + set. These were obtained from July 20 to + September 2. Coultas (field notes) found one nest with young in a + tree-fern in the period of November and December, 1930. The nest + was cup-shaped and made of fern and fine grasses and lined with + lichens. Coultas writes that only the female feeds the young. He + suspects that the honey-eater nests at all times of the year. + + _Molt._--Most of the birds taken by Coultas in November and + December are in molting plumage. + +_Remarks._--The Cardinal Honey-eater at Ponapé is, according to Coultas, +found in most habitats of the island. He found it to be an aggressive +bird, often chasing the white-eye _Zosterops cinerea_. The committee +(Hachisuka _et al._) which prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds in +both the revised edition (1932) and the third edition (1942) does not +recognize the Ponapé honey-eater as separable from the bird at Kusaie. I +see no reason for this action and find the bird at Ponapé to be a +well-marked subspecies. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis major= Bonaparte + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Myzomela major_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, 38, + 1854, p. 264. (Type locality, "ex Ins. Carolinis ab Homb. et Jacq." + = Truk.) + + _Myzomela major_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 153 (Caroline + = Truk); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 1875, p. 681 (Carolinae = Truk?); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Ruk); Kuroda, + Dobutsu, Zasshi, 27, 1915, p. 28 (Ruk); _idem_, Dobutsu Zasshi, + 28, 1916, p. 71 (Ruk). + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 575 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 253 (Ruk); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Ruk); Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 + (Ruk); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 56 (Ruk); _idem_ + (part), Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2 (Ruk); Dubois (part), Syn. + Avium, 1, 1902, p. 714 (Carolines = Truk?). + + _Myzomela rubrata_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 112 (Ruck); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 + (Ruk). + + _Myzomela rubratra rubrata_ Wetmore (part), in Townsend and + Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 221 (Uala). + + _Myzomela rubrata wetmorei_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 15 (Type locality, Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 73 (Ruk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, + p. 743 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 172 (Truk); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Truk). + + _Myzomela cardinalis major_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 299 (Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 72 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles adult male of _M. c. + rubrata_, but tips of plumage lighter "scarlet." + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubrata_, but + underparts more heavily tipped with scarlet; abdomen and under + tail-coverts black; tail slightly darker. Differs from _M. c. + dichromata_ by presence of scarlet tips on feathers of head. + + Immature male: Resembles adult female, but scarlet coloring of + tips of feathers of head and neck narrower. + + Immature female: Resembles immature female of _M. c. rubrata_, but + upper parts grayer; underparts darker. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 19 (13 males, 6 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (Feb. 16, Dec. 13); + AMNH--Truk, 17 (Feb., March, Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Concerning the honey-eater at Truk, Hartert (1900:2) + writes "many nests were found from end of May to July, and one in + March." McElroy examined three males in December, which had swollen + testes. As seems to be the case with other races of this species, + the Cardinal Honey-eater at Truk may nest at all times of the year. + + _Molt._--Specimens examined that were taken in November, December + and February are in fresh or in molting plumages. + +_Remarks._--Bonaparte described his _Myzomela major_ as "Similis +praecedenti, sed major et percoccinea." He compares it here with +_Myzomela rubrata_, which he considered as a resident of the Mariana +Islands. According to Oustalet (1895:202) Hombron and Jacquinot obtained +one specimen of the honey-eater at Truk in 1841. This subspecies, as +well as most of the others of _M. cardinalis_ in Micronesia, is best +distinguished by the characteristics of the female. The male of the +different subspecies shows much less geographic variation. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis saffordi= Wetmore + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Myzomela rubratra saffordi_ Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, + 30, 1917, p. 117. (Type locality, Guam.) + + _Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Dict. Sci. Nat., éd. Levrault, + 50, 1827, p. 30 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Voy. "La Coquille," + Zool., 2, 1828, p. 678 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith., + 2, 1828, p. 55 (Mariannes); _idem_ (part), Traité d'Ornith., 1831, + p. 299 (Mariannes); Kittlitz (part), Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, + 1, 1832. p. 6, pl. 8, fig. 1 (Guaham); _idem_ (part), Denkw. Reise + russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, pp. 364, 381; 2, 1858, + pp. 39, 49 (Guaham). + + _Certhia cardinalis_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guaham). + + _Myzomela rubrater_ Hartlaub (part), Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, + 1852, p. 109 (Mariannen); Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna + Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 57 (Guaham). + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, + 38, 1854, p. 263 (Mariannes); Hartlaub (part), Journ. f. Ornith., + 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. + Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 11 (Guam); _idem_ (part), Handlist Birds, + 1, 1869, p. 154 (Marian); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, + 12, 1876, pp. 17, 26 (Marianen); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1879, p. 270 (Marianis); Giebel (part), Thes. Ornith., 2, + 1875, p. 681 (Marinae); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, + 1884, p. 48 (Guam); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. + Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Marianne); Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 197 + (Guam, Rota, Saypan, Pagan, Agrigan); Hartert (part), Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, p. 55 (Guam, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); _idem_ + (part), Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2 (Guam); Wheeler, Report Island + of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. + Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 55 (Marianae); Safford, The Plant World, + 7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, + p. 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 477 + (Guam); Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 482 (Marianen); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Marianas); + Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam). + + _Myzomela rubrata_ Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes); + Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam, Saipan); + Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen + Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Saipan). + + _Myzomela rubratra saffordi_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, + Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 221 (Guam, Saipan); Momiyama, + Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 17, 20, 21, 22 (Guam, Rota, Saipan, + Pagan, Agrigan); Kuroda in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 74 + (Guam, Rota, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 744 (Guam); Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1932, p. 395 (Marianas?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 171 (Marianas); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2. 1936, p. 25 + (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 (Guam, + Rota, Agiguan, Tinian, Saipan, Almagan, Pagan, Agrigan, + Assongsong). + + _Myzomela rubrata saffordi_ Yamashina, Tori, 19, 1940, p. 673 + (Assongsong, Agiguan). + + _Myzomela cardinalis saffordi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 299 (Marianas); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, + 1946, p. 103 (Tinian); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Stott, + Auk, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan, Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., + vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 72 (Guam, Rota). + + _Myzomela cardinalis_ Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); + Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 540 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. + 125 (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Rota, + Tinian, Agiguan, Saipan, Almagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. c. rubratra_, but smaller + with red coloring lighter and more orange; edges of wing and tail + feathers olivaceous. Differs from adult males of _M. c. + dichromata_ and _M. c. major_ by smaller size and presence of + olivaceous edgings on wing and tail feathers. + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. rubratra_, but + smaller and paler with upper parts dark olivaceous-gray, sparsely + mottled with scarlet; outer edges of wing and tail feathers + greenish-olive; abdomen and under tail-coverts buffy-gray. Differs + from _M. c. dichromata_ by smaller size and presence of scarlet + tips of feathers on top of head. Differs from _M. c. major_ by + smaller size and presence of broad olivaceous edges on tail + feathers. + + Immature male: Resembles adult male, but red coloring less + brilliant, upper parts, lower breast, and abdomen more narrowly + edged with the red coloring; plumage of breast, abdomen, and under + tail-coverts buffy-gray, lighter in very young birds. + + +TABLE 49. MEASUREMENTS OF ADULT MALES OF _Myzomela cardinalis saffordi_ + FROM THE MARIANA ISLANDS + + ==========+=====+=========+=========+=============+========= + ISLAND | No. | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ----------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + Guam | 35 | 72 | 54 | 20.0 | 22 + | | (69-75) | (51-56) | (19.5-20.5) | (21-23) + | | | | | + Rota | 1 | 73 | | 20.0 | 22 + | | | | | + Tinian | 5 | 73 | 53 | 19.5 | 22 + | | (71-74) | (52-55) | (19.0-20.0) | (21-24) + | | | | | + Saipan | 4 | 74 | 54 | 19.5 | 22 + | | (72-76) | (53-55) | (19.0-20.5) | (22-23) + | | | | | + Agrihan | 1 | 77 | 55 | 20.0 | 22 + ----------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + Immature female: Resembles adult female, but paler with upper parts + darker brown; underparts pale buffy-brown; outer edges of wing and + tail. feathers greenish-olive, more extensive than in adult. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of the subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ + in Micronesia are listed in table 48. Measurements of male + specimens of _M. c. saffordi_ from various islands in the Marianas + are listed in table 49. + + _Weights._--The author (1948:72) records weights of _M. c. + saffordi_ from Guam as: 17 adult males, 12.7-18.0 (15.0), and 5 + adult females, 10.4-15.0 (12.7). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 80 (61 males, 17 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 43 (Jan. 22, May + 26, 30, June 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 18, 19, 25, 28, July 6, 10, 12, + 17, 19, 20, 21, Sept., Nov. 20, 21)--Rota, 2 (Oct. 10)--Tinian, 3 + (Oct. 23, 25)--Saipan 2 (Sept. 27, 30); AMNH--Guam, 23 (Jan. 22, + 23, Feb. 5, 7, 9, 16, March 8, 10, 11, 13, 23, June 28, July 8, 21, + Aug. 22, Nov. 25, Dec. 4, 11)--Tinian, 2 (Sept. 7, 14)--Saipan, 3 + (July 8, Aug. 5, 22)--Asuncion, 1 (June)--Agrihan, 1 (June). + + _Nesting._--Seale (1901:55) obtained nests and eggs in the period + from May to July at Guam. He found the nests 8 to 15 feet above the + ground. Strophlet (1946:540) observed a pair of honey-eaters with + two young on October 9 at Guam. In 1945 at Guam the NAMRU2 party + obtained individuals with enlarged gonads on January 22, June 2, 5, + July 21 and 23, and found evidence of nesting on June 16. Hartert + (1898:56) writes that Owston's Japanese collectors obtained nests + in January, February, and March. Each nest contained two eggs; they + were placed four to eight feet from the ground. Probably the + Cardinal Honey-eater in the Marianas nests at most times of the + year. + + _Molt._--Specimens, with molting plumage, have been examined that + were taken at most times of the year. I suspect that this bird + molts at irregular intervals. + + _Food habits._--The honey-eater feeds partly on insect life and + partly on nectar and juices from flowers. At Guam, the honey-eater + was frequently found at flowers of the ink berry bush, where + evidently both nectar and insects were obtained. The birds were + attracted also to the coconut palms, especially when the + reproductive parts of the palms were developing. + +_Remarks._--The Cardinal Honey-eater is one of the most conspicuous land +birds in the Mariana Islands. Its scarlet plumage and characteristic +fluttering flight cause it to stand out against its habitat of forest, +scrub, and garden. At Guam, the author (1947b:124) found the honey-eater +on 37.6 percent of the 125 roadside birds counts made in 1945. The +species included 3.9 percent of all of the birds observed on these +counts. Seale (1901:55) and Strophlet (1946:540) also commented on its +abundance at Guam; however, in 1931, Coultas (field notes) wrote that +the bird was rare; he obtained only one skin at Guam. At Rota, the +NAMRU2 party found the honey-eater to be abundant. Coultas obtained only +a few birds at Tinian and Saipan in 1931. In 1945, Downs (1946:103) saw +only a single pair at Tinian; Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population +at Tinian to be 12 in 1945. At Agrihan, Borror (1947:417) reported that +the honey-eater was a common bird in 1945. + +Table 49 lists the measurements of males of _M. c. saffordi_ from +several islands in the Marianas. Measurements of birds from Guam, Rota, +Tinian, and Saipan are fairly similar, although the birds at Saipan seem +to have a slightly longer wing than those at Guam. A single skin from +Agrigan has larger measurements than those of birds obtained in the +southern Marianas. Whether the birds in the northern Marianas are +separable because of larger size can only be ascertained by the studying +of more material from that region. + +Mayr (1945a:102) writes that males of _M. cardinalis_ seem to outnumber +the females by approximately four to one. On the basis of collections +and field observations, the males were found to outnumber the females in +the Micronesian islands; although the ratio may not be so great as four +to one. At Guam, the NAMRU2 party obtained 21 males and 8 females. +Although these birds are often seen as pairs (male and female), single +males are frequently observed. The females do not appear to have more +secretive habits than the males. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis kurodai= Momiyama + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 17. (Type locality, Yap.) + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 94 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 122 (Yap); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 4 + (Yap); Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 271 (Yap); + Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Uap); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. + Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 202 (Yap); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Yap); Kuroda, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 27, 1915, pp. 331, 332 (Yap). + + _Myzomela rubrata_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. + 112 (Yap). + + _Myzomela rubrata kurodai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 74 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, + p. 743 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 172 + (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 190 + (Yap). + + _Myzomela cardinalis kurodai_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 299 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--Adult male: According to Momiyama (1922:17), _M. c. + kurodai_ is "Similar to _M. r. saffordi_ Wetmore from Southern + Marianne islands, but the tarsus is decidedly shorter, not + exceeding 21 mm. (more than 21 mm. in _M. r. saffordi_), and the + colour of plumage is not so much tinged with vermillion. It + differs from _M. r. rubratra_, _M. r. dichromata_, and _M. r. + wetmorei_ by the body measuring much shorter, and by the scarlet + colour of plumage being less pronounced. The length of bill in _M. + r. wetmorei_ and _kurodai_ is nearly the same." + + Adult female: According to Momiyama (1922:17), "Upper-parts of + body dark olivaceous brown; under-parts, including chin, throat + and fore neck like upper-parts, but somewhat paler; breast and + abdomen yellowish ashy-white; head, lower back, rump, upper + tail-coverts, chin, throat as well as lower breast tinged with + scarlet (the red colour more distinct on lower back but less so on + lower breast); pale olive margin to the outer web of + flight-feathers." + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 2 males, from Caroline + Islands, AMNH--Yap (Sept.). + +_Remarks._--This subspecies is tentatively recognized as distinct from +_M. c. kobayashii_ of Palau. No female has been examined, and the two +males seen and the description by Momiyama indicate that the population +at Yap closely resembles the one at Palau. The Hand-list of Japanese +Birds (Hachisuka _et al._, 1932:172) places the birds from Yap and Palau +in the same subspecies. + + +=Myzomela cardinalis kobayashii= Momiyama + +Cardinal Honey-eater + + _Myzomela rubratra kobayashii_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 19. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Cinnyris rubrater_ Lesson (part), Dict. Sci. Nat., éd., Levrault, + 50, 1827, p. 30 (Pelew); _idem_ (part), Voy. "La Coquille," Zool., + 1, 1828, p. 678 (Pelew); _idem_ (part), Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, + p. 55 (Pelew). + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Gray (part), Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific + Ocean, 1859, p. 11 (Pelew); Hartlaub (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1867 (1868), p. 829 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. + Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 5, 116, 118 (Pelew); Gray (part), + Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 154 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch + (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 94 (Pelew); Finsch + (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, 16 (Palau); _idem_ + (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 26 (Palau); + Forbes (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1879, p. 270 (Pelew); + Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Palau); + Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 129 (Pelew); Tristram, + Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 206 (Pelew); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und + Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 31 (Pelew); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 202 (Palaos); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 79 + (Palau-inseln); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., + 1, 1901, p. 57 (Pelew); Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 482 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 + (Pelew). + + _Myzomela rubratra_ Nehrkorn (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. + 397 (Palau); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 + (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 + (Pelew); Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 28, 1916, p. 71 (Pelew). + + _Myzomela rubratra kobayshii_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 74 (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 722 (Pelew). + + _Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., + 1932, p. 172 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., + 1942, p. 190 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu). + + _Myzomela rubratra kurodai_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 674 + (Palau). + + _Myzomela cardinalis kobayashii_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 299 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. + 15, 1948, p. 72 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands;--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur. + + _Characters._--Adult male: Resembles _M. c. rubratra_, but smaller + and with red coloring darker, near "scarlet-red"; margins of wing + feathers olivaceous. Differs from adult males of other subspecies + of _M. cardinalis_ by red coloring of feathers being darker. + + Adult female: Resembles adult female of _M. c. dichromata_ but red + coloring darker, top of head only partly red; abdomen, under + tail-coverts, and axillaries buff-gray; outer edges of wing and + tail feathers light olive. Differs from adult females of other + subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ by having top of head only partly + red. + + Immature male: Resembles adult male, but red coloring lighter and + thinly distributed; wings and tail brownish-olive; abdomen and + under tail-coverts grayish. + + Immature female: Resembles adult female, but red coloring paler + and underparts more buffy and less grayish. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 48. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 42 (28 males, 11 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 4 + (Nov.)--Peleliu, 11 (Aug. 29, 30, 31, Sept. 1, 5); AMNH--exact + locality not given, 27 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Molt._--Many of the specimens taken from late August to December + are in molt. Of the adult males obtained during this period almost + a half had enlarged testes. + + _Food habits._--Stomachs of specimens obtained by the NAMRU2 party + in August and September, 1945, contained vegetable matter, seeds + and small insects. + +_Remarks._--Honey-eaters were found by the NAMRU2 party in open +woodlands, in coconut groves and about human habitations. They were not +seen in dense jungle areas, and appeared to prefer the plantation areas. + +The Cardinal Honey-eater at Palau is distinguished from other subspecies +of _M. cardinalis_ in Micronesia by its deeper red coloring. In size, it +closely resembles the bird at Yap and in the Marianas. + +_Evolutionary history of Myzomela cardinalis in Micronesia._--The genus +_Myzomela_ is found in Australia, northward to Timor, Tenimber, +Moluccas, Celebes, Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. The range of the +species _M. cardinalis_ includes the islands from the eastern Solomons, +New Hebrides, and Loyalty Islands east to central Polynesia and north to +Micronesia. It appears likely that _M. cardinalis_ was derived, probably +along with _M. nigrita_, _M. lafargei_ and others, from an ancestral +stock in the Melanesian area. Within the species _M. cardinalis_ there +is one group of subspecies which exhibits a marked degree of sexual +dimorphism, with the males having a much greater amount of red +coloration than the females. These subspecies occur in the southern part +of the range of the species (Loyalty, Santa Cruz, New Hebrides, and +Samoa islands). A second group of subspecies exhibit a lesser amount of +sexual dimorphism, the females possessing more of the red coloration and +resembling the males more closely. This second group includes subspecies +which occur in the more northern part of the range of the species +(Solomons, Micronesia, and Rotuma islands). The males of the various +subspecies of _M. cardinalis_ vary one from another considerably less +than do the females. + +[Illustration: FIG. 16. Geographic distribution of _Myzomela cardinalis_ +and routes of its dispersal. (1) Probable center of dispersal of +_Myzomela_; (2) ranges of _M. c. sanfordi_ and _M. c. pulcherrima_ in +the Solomon Islands; (3) _M. c. rubratra_; (4) _M. c. dichromata_; (5) +_M. c. major_; (6) _M. c. kurodai_; (7) _M. c. kobayashii_; (8) _M. c. +saffordi_; (9) _M. c. chermesina_; (10) range of _M. cardinalis_ in the +Santa Cruz, New Hebrides, Banks and Loyalty islands; (11) _M. c. +nigriventris_.] + +Figure 16 shows the probable routes of colonization used by _M. +cardinalis_ to attain its present distribution in the Pacific islands. +The subspecies in the eastern Solomon Islands (_M. c. pulcherrima_ +Ramsey and _M. c. sanfordi_ Mayr) may be representative of the first +colonization by the supposed ancestral stock. From a focal point in this +area, _M. cardinalis_ has dispersed by what may be considered as two +routes. One route evidently was to the south as far as the Loyalty +Islands with a side branch extending to the Samoan Islands where _M. c. +nigriventris_ Peale occurs. The second route extended north to the +islands of Micronesia. The Caroline Islands were seemingly inhabited +initially, with invasions of the Palaus made via Yap, and of the +Marianas via Kusaie or Ponapé (as indicated by the comparison of +specimens). Mayr (in conversation) has pointed out the close +relationship between the subspecies in Micronesia and _M. c._ +_chermesina_ Gray of Rotuma Island. This subspecies at Rotuma, which is +located between Santa Cruz and Samoa, resembles closely _M. c. +dichromata_ of Ponapé, especially in the case of the female. It is +evident that the honey-eater arrived at Rotuma from Micronesia, rather +than from the Solomon and Santa Cruz area to the west. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata conspicillata= (Kittlitz) + +Bridled White-eye + + _Dicaeum conspicillatum_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 2, + 1833, p. 15, pl. 19, fig. 1. (Type locality, Guaham.) + + _Dicaeum conspicillatum_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. + Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 3, pl. 4 (Guaham); _idem_, Obser. Zool., + in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 305 (Guaham). + + _Zosterops conspicillatum_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. + 398 (Mariann. = Guam). + + _Zosterops conspicillata_ Reichenbach, Syn. Avium, 1852, p. 92 + (Guaham); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 187 (Mariannen = + Guam); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 16 + (Guam); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1865, pp. 5, 17 (Guaham); + Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 163 (Ladrone = Guam); Hartlaub + and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 95 (Guaham); Giebel, + Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 775 (Ladrone = Guam); Gadow, Cat. Birds + British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 187 (Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und + Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Guam); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 205 (Guam); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 + (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 3 (Guam); Matschie + (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Guam); Seale, Occ. + Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 58 (Guam); Finsch + (part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 37 (Guam); Safford, + Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 711 + (Guam); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 264 (Guam); _idem_, + Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Takatsukasa and + Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1901, p. 64 (Marianne = Guam); Cox, Island + of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 706 (Guam); Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. + 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 1948, p. 540 + (Guam). + + _Zosterops conspicillatus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 76 (Guam). + + _Zosterops conspicillata conspicillata_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. + Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 173 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, + p. 192 (Guam); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 + (Guam); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Guam); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 72, 73 + (Guam). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small white-eye with upper parts near + "serpentine green," becoming slightly lighter on the rump; orbital + ring broad and white; fronto-loral band light yellowish-white; + auriculars grayish-green; chin and throat yellowish-white; breast + and abdomen dingy yellow; wing and tail feathers dark brown with + greenish-yellow edges; upper mandible horn colored, lower mandible + lighter yellow; legs and feet dark olive-gray; iris light umber. + Adult female may be lighter on underparts. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but underparts paler yellow and upper + mandible light yellowish-brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _Z. c. conspicillata_ are listed + in table 50. Males and females have measurements which are nearly + equal. + + +TABLE 50. MEASUREMENTS OF THE SUBSPECIES OF _Zosterops conspicillata_ + + ======================+=====+=========+=========+=============+========= + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | Full culmen | Tarsus + ----------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + _Z. c. conspicillata_ | 43 | 56 | 41 | 13.5 | 19 + | | (52-59) | (37-43) | (13.0-14.5) | (18-20) + | | | | | + _Z. c. saypani_ | 29 | 52 | 38 | 12.5 | 18 + | | (50-55) | (35-40) | (12.0-13.5) | (17-19) + | | | | | + _Z. c. rotensis_ | 3 | 53 | 42 | 13.0 | 18 + | | (51-55) | (42-43) | (13.0-13.5) | (18-19) + | | | | | + _Z. c. semperi_ | 28 | 55 | 38 | 12.5 | 18 + | | (54-57) | (36-41) | (12.0-13.5) | (17-19) + | | | | | + _Z. c. owstoni_ | 22 | 55 | 36 | 12.5 | 19 + | | (52-57) | (34-38) | (12.0-13.0) | (18-20) + | | | | | + _Z. c. takatsukasai_ | 16 | 54 | 36 | 13.0 | 19 + | | (53-55) | (34-39) | (13.0-14.0) | (19-20) + ----------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + _Weights._--The author (1948:73) records the weights of 11 adult + males as 9.5-14.0 (10.5), of 3 adult females as 8.0-10.0 (9.3). + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 61 (33 males, 17 females, 11 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 27 (May 24, 29, + 30, June 2, 3, 25, 28, July 12, 18, 19, 20, 23, 26, Sept., Oct. 8); + AMNH--Guam, 34 (Jan., March, July, Aug., Sept., Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Seale (1901:58) reports the taking of one nestling and + three nests with eggs of the bridled white-eye at Guam in the + period from May to July. The NAMRU2 party obtained little evidence + of nesting in late May to July. Three males taken in the period of + June and July had enlarged gonads. Hartert (1898:57) records + several nests taken in February and March at Guam. He writes, "The + nest is a fairly deep cup, placed in the fork of a branch, woven + together of fine grasses and roots, and on the outside ornamented + with cobwebs, wool and cottonwood, varying in width from 8 to 5 cm. + The clutches consist of 2 or 3 eggs. The eggs are pale blue, like + all _Zosterops_ eggs. They measure 18:13, 17:13.2, 17:12.2, + 15.5:12:5, 17:13.5, and between these measurements." Coultas + obtained specimens with enlarged gonads in August. According to + Oustalet (1895:207), Marche found nests and young in May or June. + +_Remarks._--Kittlitz obtained the Bridled White-eye at Guam, when he +visited the island, in March, 1828. He found the birds common and they +reminded him of titmice. Marche obtained a series of 21 skins at Guam in +August and September, 1887, and in February and March, 1888. Seale +(1901:58) observed the birds in flocks of 10 to 20 in roadside bushes +and in waste areas. He mentions that their principal foods are insects. +The NAMRU2 party found the birds to be restricted to certain areas on +Guam, where they were found in small flocks moving about in low trees. +They were taken at only five localities, two of these being at the +northern end of the island in vegetation along the high, coastal cliffs. +The other localities were in the central part of the island in low trees +in the uplands. Strophlet (1946:540) found them in grasslands on the +foothills. Arvey (field notes) saw a flock of 12 white-eyes at Mount +Tenjo in July, 1946. + +The white-eye is a very active bird, always moving rapidly through the +vegetation or flying across open areas to disappear into scrub foliage. +As they move about they make a twittering sound, which is considered to +be a flocking call. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata saypani= Dubois + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops conspicillata Saypani_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. + 711. (Type locality, Saypan.) + + _Zosterops conspicillata_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 205 (Saypan); Hartert (part), Novit. + Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 (Saipan); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no. + 15, 1901, p. 37 (Saipan); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., + 1901, pp. 112, 113 (Saipan); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, + 1913, p. 101 (Saipan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, + 1915, p. 64 (Marianne = Saipan). + + _Zosterops conspicillata_ var. _saypani_ Snouckaert, Alauda, (2), + 3, 1931, p. 22 (Saypan). + + _Zosterops conspicillatus_ Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922; p. 76 (Saipan). + + _Zosterops saipani_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 706 (Saipan). + + _Zosterops conspicillata saipani_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. + Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 173 (Saipan, Tinian); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 192 (Saipan, Tinian); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, + 1944, p. 7 (Tinian, Saipan); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, + 1945, p. 299 (Saipan, Tinian); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., + 49, 1946, p. 104 (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 527 (Saipan); + Baker, Smithson, Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 73 + (Saipan, Tinian). + + _Zosterops conspicillatus saipani_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. + 398 (Tinian). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian, Saipan. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles _Z. c. conspicillata_, but + slightly smaller with fronto-loral band more greenish yellow; + auriculars olivaceous; orbital ring narrower; upper parts brighter + olive; underparts pale yellowish-white; bill darker. Birds from + Saipan resemble closely birds from Tinian, but upper parts may be + slightly brighter and underparts slightly more yellowish; iris + chestnut. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. Twenty-three + birds from Tinian measure: wing, 51 (50-53); tail, 38 (35-41); + full culmen, 12.0 (12.0-13.0); tarsus, 18 (17-18); six birds from + Saipan measure: wing, 54 (52-55); tail, 37 (35-39); full culmen, + 13.0 (13.0-15.0); tarsus, 18 (17-19). Birds from Saipan are + slightly larger than birds from Tinian. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 33 (18 males, 13 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--7 (Oct. 7, 8, 9, 10, + 23); AMNH--26 (July, Aug., Sept.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:398) records the taking of three nests + of the Bridled White-eye at Tinian on January 8, 1932. The nests + contained one, two, and three eggs, respectively. The color of the + eggs is uniformly pale blue; the nests were situated two to four + meters from the ground. Oustalet (1895:207) writes that Marche + obtained records of nesting at Saipan in the period from May to + July. Of 18 birds taken by Coultas at Tinian in September, 1931, + one-half of them had enlarged gonads. + + _Molt._--Specimens examined that were taken in July, August, + September, and October have molting plumage. + +_Remarks._--Marche obtained the first skins of this white-eye at Saipan; +he got 23 specimens in May, June, and July, 1887. The population at +Saipan was initially considered similar to that at Guam; it was later +given subspecific separation by Dubois. The birds at Tinian exhibit some +differences from the birds at Saipan, and it is possible that these two +populations should be regarded as subspecifically distinct from one +another. + +In 1931, Coultas (field notes) found this white-eye common at Saipan and +Tinian. He writes "The little fellow has adjusted himself to the gardens +and shrubs in the villages. He is a seed eater and makes himself at home +now around human habitation. I have seen him climbing over potted plants +on the window ledges of dwellings. His cheerful little sibilation +uttered continuously while at work or while on the wing makes him +friends wherever he goes. He is no longer a bird of the forest as he has +none here to go to." Several observers in the late war have published +notes on this white-eye. Stott (1947:527) writes that he was reminded of +the bush-tit (_Psaltriparus_) when he observed the behavior of this +white-eye; Moran (1946:262) writes that it is "Similar in size and +behavior to our vireos." Gleise (1945:220) estimated the population of +white-eyes at Tinian at 500 plus in 1945. Downs (1946:104-105) found the +birds to be abundant at Tinian; he found them in small flocks in low +brush or trees and at edges of open fields as well as elsewhere. He saw +a white-eye eating "a large green fuzzy caterpillar." + + +=Zosterops conspicillata rotensis= Takatsukasa and Yamashina + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops semperi rotensis_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 486. (Type locality, Rota.) + + _Zosterops semperi_ Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. + Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 207 (Rota); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., + 5, 1898, p. 57 (Rota); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, + p. 30 (Rota); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 58 (Rota); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710 + (Rota); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 + (Marianne = Rota). + + _Zosterops semperi semperi_ Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 23 (Rota); Kuroda, (part) in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 75 (Rota). + + _Zosterops semperi rotensis_ Snouckaert, Alauda. (2), 4, 1932, p. + 459 (Rota); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 399 (Rota); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 (Rota). + + _Zosterops conspicillata rotensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 193 (Rota); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, + p. 7 (Rota); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Rota); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 73 + (Rota). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota. + + _Characters._--Adult: Upper parts and sides of neck between + "warbler green" and "pyrite yellow" becoming lighter on the rump; + auriculars light yellowish-green; orbital ring white; fronto-loral + band narrowly tinged with yellow; underparts dingy yellow; wing + and tail feathers dark with light greenish-yellow edges; upper + mandible light brown; lower mandible light yellowish-brown; feet + light brown. + + Resembles _Z. c. conspicillata_, but brighter greenish-yellow + above; chin and throat yellow like rest of underparts; + fronto-loral band tinged with bright yellow; auriculars resemble + closely the upper parts in color; narrow orbital ring. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 5 (3 males, 1 female, 1 + unsexed), from Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota (Oct. 18, 20, 22). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:399) records the taking of one nest + containing two eggs at Rota on March 7, 1931. + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in October were in molt. + +_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:207) reported on two specimens of white-eye +taken at Rota by Marche. He considered them as being similar to the +birds at Palau. The birds at Rota were named as a separate subspecies by +Takatsukasa and Yamashina in 1931. The NAMRU2 party found the birds to +be numerous at Rota in October, 1945. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata semperi= Hartlaub + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops semperi_ Hartlaub, in Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1868, p. 117. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Zosterops semperi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 95 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 16, pl. 4, fig. 1 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, + p. 777 (Pelew); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 396 (Palau); + Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 286 (Palau); _idem_ + (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 111 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause (part), + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Finsch + (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 (Palau); Gadow + (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183 (Pelew); + Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 212 (Pelew); Wiglesworth (part), + Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. + 37 (Pelew); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, + (3), 7, 1895, p. 208 (Palaos); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, + 1898, p. 57 (Pelew); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, + 113 (Palau); Finsch (part), Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 30 + (Palau); Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, + 1901, p. 58 (Pelew); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710 + (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 + (Pelew). + + _Zosterops semperi semperi_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2 + (Pelew); Momiyama (part), Birds Micronesia, 1922, pp. 22, 23 + (Pelew); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75 + (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705 + (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. + 486 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174 (Palau). + + _Zosterops conspicillata semperi_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. + Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d + ed., 1942, p. 193 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu); Mayr, Amer. Mus. + Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1945, p. 73 (Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. rotensis_, but + fronto-loral band lighter yellow, and coloring is usually not + continuous above; auriculars paler; breast and abdomen paler + yellow; maxilla and feet darker; mandible whitish. Resembles adult + of _Z. c. conspicillata_, but brighter greenish-yellow above; + coloring of chin and throat like that of rest of underparts; + auriculars colored like back; fronto-loral band narrowly tinged + with bright yellow and not completely connected above; orbital + ring narrow; iris grayish-white. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 30 (15 males, 14 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 2 (Nov. + 27)--Koror, 4 (Nov. 14, 19)--Garakayo, 4 (Sept. 18, 19); + AMNH--exact locality not given, 20 (Oct., Nov., Dec.). + + _Molt._--All birds examined (taken in September, October, and + November) are in molting plumage. + + _Food habits._--At Garakayo, birds were observed in small flocks + feeding in low trees. Two stomachs examined, which were from + individuals of these flocks, contained very small seeds. + +_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:207) first pointed out the relationship +between the Bridled White-eye at Palau and the one at Rota. Hartert +(1898:57) thought that the occurrence of the same kind of bird at Palau +and at Rota was "very peculiar." It was not until 1931 that Takatsukasa +and Yamashina separated the two populations by name. + +Coultas (field notes) found the Bridled White-eye to be uncommon in the +Palaus in 1931. He observed them in the tops of trees, noting that they +were wary and easily frightened away by the shooting of a gun. Coultas +writes that he found the birds to be numerous at Peleliu; in 1945, the +NAMRU2 party did not find the birds at that island. The only locality +where they were found to occur was on the small island of Garakayo where +the writer shot four Bridled White-eyes on September 18 and 19. He found +two or three small flocks in low trees near the summit of a hill on the +island. Approximately 25 birds were in this area. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata owstoni= Hartert + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops semperi owstoni_ Hartert, Novit., Zool., 7, 1900, p. 2. + (Type locality, Ruk.) + + _Zosterops semperi semperi_ Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., + 1880, p. 287 (Ruck); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, + p. 575 (Ruk); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 110 (Ruk); Schmeltz + and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 + (Ruk); Gadow (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183 + (Central Carolines=Truk); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Ruk); Oustalet + (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 208 + (Ruk); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 57 (Ruk); + Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers, 1899, p. 80 (Ruk). + + _Zosterops semperi owstoni_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710 + (Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., + 63, 1919, p. 223 (Truk); Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 24 + (Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 75 (Ruk); + Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705 (Ruk); + Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 496 (Ruk); + Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 400 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 174 (Truk). + + _Zosterops owstoni_ Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 31 + (Ruk); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 + (Ruck); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 470 (Karolinen = Truk); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 (Ruk). + + _Zosterops conspicillata owstoni_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. + Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 277 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 193 (Truk); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 + (Truk); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 (Truk); + Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, pp. 73, 74 + (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. semperi_, but + upper parts darker olive and less yellowish-green; fronto-loral + band deeper yellow; auriculars slightly darker; black line on + lores and under eye more distinct; underparts deeper yellow; + abdomen with greenish tinges. Resembles adult of _Z. c. rotensis_, + but upper parts duller, more green and less yellow; fronto-loral + band lighter and less distinct, coloring near that of _Z. c. + semperi_; auriculars darker green; underparts slightly darker, + more olive-green and less yellow. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (12 males, 10 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 3 (Feb. 16); + AMNH--Truk, 20 (Feb., March, May, Nov.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400) records the taking of a nest with + one egg at Truk in May. Hartert (1900:2) records nests containing + single eggs taken at Truk from May to July. Nests were found in + bushes and trees four to eight feet above the ground. The eggs are + pale blue. He gives measurements of seven eggs. + +_Remarks._--Kubary obtained the first specimens of the Bridled White-eye +at Truk. Hartert described the population as a new subspecies using +material taken by Owston's collectors. The bird was named in honor of +Alan Owston. McElroy of the NAMRU2 party visited Truk in December, 1945. +He found this white-eye in the mountainous areas at Moen and Udot +islands. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata takatsukasai= Momiyama + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops semperi takatsukasai_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, + p. 22. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Zosterops semperi_ (part), Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. + 286 (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 + (Ponapé); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and + Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 + (Ponapé); Finsch (part), Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 + (Ponapé); Gadow (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 183 + (Central Carolines, Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Ponapé); + Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, + p. 208 (Ponapé); Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 30 + (Ponapé); Dubois (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 710 (Ponapé); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops owstoni_ Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 112, 113 (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops semperi takatsukasai_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 76 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 705 (Ponapé); Snouchaert, Alauda, + (2), 3, 1931, p. 22 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1932, p. 400 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 174 + (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops conspicillata takatsukasai_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. + Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 193 (Ponapé); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, + 1944, p. 7 (Ponapé); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 + (Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. + 73 (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops conspicillata_ Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, + 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. semperi_, but + slightly smaller with fronto-loral area more sulfur-yellow; + underparts brighter, especially the coloring of the abdomen and + under tail-coverts; iris light chestnut. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 50. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 20 (10 males, 9 females, 1 + unsexed) from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1932a:400) records nests and eggs of _Z. c. + takatsukasai_. The nests, each containing a single egg, were taken + on July 10 and 20, 1931. Coultas (field notes) writes that the nest + consists of a small, cup-shaped structure of grasses and hair. The + natives told him that two eggs were laid. In birds taken by Coultas + in November the gonads were beginning to enlarge; specimens taken + in December had swollen gonads. From the evidence at hand, it would + appear that the Bridled White-eye at Ponapé breeds at two periods + of the year, the winter and the summer. + + _Molt._--Specimens examined, which were taken by Coultas in + November and December, are in fresh plumage. + +_Remarks._--In 1931, Coultas (field notes) found this white-eye to be +rare at Ponapé. He obtained almost every one that he saw to get his +series of 20 specimens. He found the birds usually in pairs around +yellow-flowering bushy trees. A specimen taken by Richards had "small +insects" in its stomach. + + +=Zosterops conspicillata hypolais= Hartlaub and Finsch + +Bridled White-eye + + _Zosterops hypolais_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, p. 95. (Type locality, Uap.) + + _Zosterops hypolais_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 122 (Yap); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 776 (Carolinae=Yap); + Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 391 + (Yap); Gadow. Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 186 (Uap); + Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, + 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Uap); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. + Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 208 (Uap); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. + Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 60 (Yap); Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, + 1901, p. 24 (Yap); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 + (Yap); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 708 (Uap); Reichenow, Die + Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 469 (Karolinen=Yap); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, + Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Mackenzie=Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 76 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 700 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + 3d ed., 1942, p. 192 (Yap). + + _Zosterops conspicillata hypolais_ Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. + Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 227 (Yap); Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, + 1944, p. 7 (Yap); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 299 + (Yap). + + _Zosterops hypolais_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 + (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--According to Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:95), "Upper + parts of a pale greyish green, throat and under tail-coverts a + pure but very pale whitish-yellow; breast and abdomen of a mixed + pale grey and pale yellow; wing- and tail-feathers pale blackish, + margined with greenish colour of the back; under wing-coverts and + inner margins of remiges white; eye-ring indistinct; beak fuscous, + the under mandible paler, except at the tip; feet plumbeous." + +_Remarks._--No specimen has been examined by me. I am following +Stresemann (1931:227) in placing the Bridled White-eye at Yap as a +subspecies of _Z. conspicillata_. This is one arrangement; the committee +who prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (1942:192) treat this bird +as a separate species. The Japanese probably have more specimens of this +bird than anyone else and may be in a better position to judge its +taxonomic status. Specimens of this white-eye were taken by Fisher in +1946 at Yap. His report (soon to be published) may throw additional +light on the degree of distinctness of _Z. c. hypolais_. On the basis of +published descriptions it is evident that _Z. c. hypolais_ has a few +characters in common with other members of the species. + +_Evolutionary history of Zosterops conspicillata._--The small +olive-green and yellow white-eyes of Micronesia have been considered as +belonging to several species by authors in the past. As late as 1930, +Mathews (1930; 700, 706) placed them in four species. Stresemann (1931a: +227) put them all in the species _Z. conspicillata_, an arrangement +which is being followed in this report. It is evident, however, that +these subspecies of _Z. conspicillata_ can be associated into three +groups. The author (1948:73) states that _Z. c. conspicillata_ and _Z. +c. saypani_ have pale chins and throats, light fronto-loral bands, +blackish coloring at the bend of the wings and broad, white orbital +rings. Another group, _Z. c. rotensis_, _Z. c. semperi_, _Z. c. +owstoni_, and _Z. c. takatsukasai_, have bright yellow chins and +throats, matching the rest of the underparts, obscure fronto-loral +bands, which are narrowly tinged with yellow, yellowish coloring at the +bend of the wings, and narrow, white orbital rings. _Z. c. hypolais_ +apparently falls into a third group by itself, as indicated by the +published descriptions. There is apparently some variation in the color +of the eyes of these subspecies; they may be either whitish or chestnut +in color. The data are insufficient to determine the significance of +this color character. + +_Z. conspicillata_ is restricted to Micronesia and appears to have +little close relationship to other species of the genus. _Z. +conspicillata_ shows little affinity to white-eyes to the north and +northwest of Micronesia belonging to the species _Z. japonica_, of which +representatives are found in the Bonin and Volcano islands. _Z. +conspicillata_ shows greater affinity to species found to the west and +to the south of Micronesia. + +It may have colonized Micronesia from the south or southeast +(Polynesia), even though the species is absent at Kusaie; however, _Z. +conspicillata_ shows more relationships to species now living to the +westward and the southwestward, and it probably invaded Micronesia from +some place in that direction. _Z. conspicillata_ differs from species +found in Melanesia and Malaysia chiefly in color of the forehead, lores, +fronto-loral band, crown, nape, breast, abdomen, orbital ring, and bill. +Also there are differences in the breadth of the orbital ring. + +_Z. conspicillata_ shows evidence of relationships with _Z. nigrorum_ of +the Philippines and _Z. montanus_ of the Philippines and other parts of +Malaysia. _Z. nigrorum_ resembles _Z. c. semperi_ of Palau in size, but +is brighter yellow-green above with a darker and less curved bill and +brighter underparts. The fronto-loral band and the lores are colored the +same in _Z. nigrorum_ and _Z. c. semperi_. _Z. montanus_ resembles _Z. +conspicillata_ especially in size and in shape of the bill. _Z. lutea +intermedia_ of the Makassar area shows some affinity to _Z. +conspicillata_, although the bill is heavier. The Micronesia species +also bears a close resemblance to _Z. griseotincta_ of the Papuan +region. This is especially true of _Z. c. takatsukasai_ at Ponapé; +however, _Z. griseotincta_ has a heavier and larger bill. _Z. lateralis_ +from southern Melanesia and Australia is not very different from _Z. +conspicillata_ aside from its grayish and brownish coloring. + +_Z. conspicillata_ probably was derived from an ancestral stock which +came to Micronesia from the Philippine or Moluccan area, rather than +directly from Melanesia. _Z. conspicillata_ seemingly shows the closest +resemblance to _Z. nigrorum_ or to some of its relatives in the +Australo-Moluccan area. The subspecies at Palau, _Z. c. semperi_, +appears to be the connecting link. Whether the form at Yap represents an +independent colonization is not known; such might also be true in the +case of the subspecies at Guam and at Saipan and Tinian. If these are +considered as separate colonizations, then the populations can be +regarded as separate species. Mayr, (in conversation) has pointed out +the affinity of the white-eye at Samoa, _Z. samoensis_, with _Z. +conspicillata_ and suggests that _Z. samoensis_ is derived from the +Micronesian species. + + +=Zosterops cinerea cinerea= (Kittlitz) + +Micronesian Dusky White-eye + + _Drepanis cinerea_ Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch. Vögel, 1, 1832, + p. 6, pl. 8, fig. 2. (Type locality, Ualan = Kusaie.) + + _Drepanis cinerea_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci., St. + Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 4, pl. 5 (Ualan); _idem_, Obser. Zool., + in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan); + Reichenbach, Syn. Avium, 1853, p. 242 (Ualan); Kittlitz, Denkw. + Reise, russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 367 (Ualan). + + _Zosterops cinerea_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. + 131 (Ualan); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 16 + (Oualan); _idem_, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 163 (Caroline = + Kusaie); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 96 + (Ualan); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 27 (Ualan); + _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 108 (Kuschai); Gadow, Cat. Birds + British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 198 (Kushai); Tristram, Cat. Birds, + 1889, p. 210 (Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 36 (Ualan); Hartert, Kat. + Vogelsamml., Senckenb., 1891, p. 31 (Ualan); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. + Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 208 (Oualan); Finsch, Das + Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 45 (Kusaie); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, + 1902, p. 713 (Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. + 55, 64 (Kusaie); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. + Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 224 (Kusaie); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. + Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 230 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, + rev., 1932, p. 173 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 192 (Kusaie). + + _Dicaeum cinereum_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Kusaie). + + _Zosterops cinereus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 17 + (Ualan); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 286, 297, 300 + (Kuschai); _idem_, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 48 + (Kuschai). + + _Zosterops Kittlitzi_ Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 300 + (Type locality, Kusaie); Reichenow and Schalow, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1881, p. 94 (Kusaie?). + + _Tephras cinereus_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, + 112, 113 (Ualan). + + _Tephras cinerea_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 77 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. + 712 (Oualan). + + _Zosterops cinerea cinerea_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, + 1944, p. 7 (Kusaie?); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 300 (Kusaie). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small, dusky white-eye with upper parts + smoky olivaceous-gray; lores dingy white; auriculars brownish; no + white orbital ring; wing and tail feathers dark brownish-gray with + paler greenish-gray outer edges; underparts pale ashy-gray, chin + lighter, flanks darker; bill black; feet light brown; iris brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _Z. cinerea_ are listed in table + 51. Males and females have approximately equal measurements. + + +TABLE 51. MEASUREMENTS OF _Zosterops cinerea_ + + ====================+=====+=========+=========+=============+========= + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + --------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + _Z. c. cinerea_ | 47 | 63 | 37 | 15.0 | 20 + | | (60-65) | (35-39) | (14.0-16.5) | (19-20) + | | | | | + _Z. c. ponapensis_ | 38 | 59 | 38 | 13.5 | 20 + | | (57-61) | (36-40) | (13.0-14.5) | (18-21) + | | | | | + _Z. c. finschii_ | 30 | 65 | 43 | 17.5 | 21 + | | (63-67) | (40-46) | (16.0-18.5) | (20-23) + --------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 50 (33 males, 17 females), as + follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 9); AMNH--Kusaie, + 49 (Jan., Feb., March). + + _Nesting._--Coultas found that approximately one-half of the males + which he obtained in March, 1931, had swollen gonads. + + _Molt._--Many of the birds obtained in January and February were + molting, and many of those obtained in March were in fresh + plumage. + +_Remarks._--Coultas obtained a large series of these birds at Kusaie in +1931, where he found them to be common. + + +=Zosterops cinerea ponapensis= Finsch + +Micronesian Dusky White-eye + + _Zosterops ponapensis_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1875 + (1876), p. 643. (Type locality, Ponapé.) + + _Zosterops ponapensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, + pp. 17, 27, pl. 2, fig. 1 (Ponapé); _idem_., Proc. Zool. Soc. + London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1879, p. 396 (Ponapé?); Finsch, Journ. f. Ornith., + 1880, pp. 286, 300 (Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis. 1881, pp. 110, 111, 115 + (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. + 48 (Ponapé); Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 198 + (Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. + 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 36 (Ponapé); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. + Mus. Hamburg. 1898, p. 60 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, + p. 80 (Ponapé); Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 46 + (Ponapé); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 713 (Ponapé); Reichenow, + Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 470 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, + 1, 1915, pp. 55, 65 (Ponapé); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, + 17, 1931, p. 230 (Ponapè); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 397 + (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 (Ponapé); + Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 192 (Ponapé). + + _Tephras ponapensis_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 111, + 112, 113 (Ponapé); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. + 77 (Ponapé); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. + 712 (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops ponapenensis_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. + Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 224 (Ponapé). + + _Zosterops cinerea ponapensis_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, + 1944, p. 7 (Ponapé?); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 300 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. cinerea_, but + smaller with upper parts umber-brown, forehead pale gray; + underparts mostly pale gray, sides of breast and abdomen + brownish-buff; under tail-coverts pale buffy-gray. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 51. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 47 (28 males, 17 females, 2 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ponapé, 1 (Feb. 11); + AMNH--Ponapé, 46 (Nov., Dec.). + + _Nesting._--Yamashina (1931a:397-398) describes two nests of _Z. c. + ponapensis_, each containing one egg. These were taken at Ponapé on + August 4 and 11, 1931. The nests were located 2.5 meters from the + ground. The eggs are light blue and pale greenish-blue in color; + one measures 18.5 by 13.5. He writes, "The nest consists of two + layers, the inner and the outer. The outer layer is made of fine + roots, fibers, leaves and petals, interwoven with a large quantity + of cotton-wool, and the inner layer is made of fibers of fine roots + only." Coultas found that a large number of birds taken in November + had enlarged gonads, especially the males; in December, fewer birds + with swollen gonads were obtained. + +_Remarks._--Coultas found this white-eye to be common at Ponapé, when he +visited that island in November and December, 1930. He observed the +birds in flocks and found them noisy and quarrelsome. They feed in +bushes and small trees on seeds and insects. Richards obtained "small +large-seeded blackish berries" from the stomach of a female from Ponapé. +He found the birds to frequent low altitudes in and about native +gardens. + + +=Zosterops cinerea finschii= (Hartlaub) + +Micronesian Dusky White-eye + + _Tephras finschii_ Hartlaub, in Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. + Soc. London, 1868, p. 6, pl. 3. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.) + + _Tephras finschii_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew Islands). + + _Zosterops finschii_ Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 164 + (Pelew); Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 197 (Pelew); + Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 60 (Palau). + + _Zosterops finschi_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, pp. 89, 96 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, + pp. 4, 17 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 27 + (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 775 (Pelew); Finsch, + Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 300 (Pelew?); Schmeltz and Krause, + Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Tristram, + Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 211 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 36 (Pelew); + Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 45 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. + Avium, 1, 1902, p. 713 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 470 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 + (Pelew); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 230 + (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 (Palau); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 192 (Babelthuap, + Koror). + + _Tephras finschi_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113 + (Palau); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 77 + (Pelew); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 712 + (Pelew). + + _Zosterops cinerea finschi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, + p. 300 (Palau). + + _Zosterops cinerea finschii_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. + 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 74 (Peleliu, Garakayo). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, + Garakayo, Peleliu, Ngabad. + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _Z. c. cinerea_, but + upper parts mostly browner; wing and tail feathers browner; head + blacker; rump lighter than back; auriculars grayish-brown; lores + dark; sides of head and neck brownish; underparts mostly dark; + chin and throat smoky gray; breast and abdomen more brown less + gray; sides, flanks and under tail-coverts brown. Resembles adult + of _Z. c. ponapensis_, but larger with underparts more buffy; + upper parts darker. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 51. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 37 (15 males, 19 females, 3 + unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Babelthuap, 1 (Nov. + 27)--Koror, 3 (Nov. 4, 5)--Garakayo, 6 (Sept. 18)--Peleliu, 5 (Aug. + 27, Sept. 10); AMNH--exact locality not given, 22 (Oct., Nov., + Dec.). + + _Molt._--Many of the specimens of _Z. c. finschii_ taken in the + period from August to December show evidences of molt. Some of the + birds taken in November and in December appear to be in fresh + plumage. All three subspecies of _Z. cinerea_ evidently undergo a + period of molt in the late summer and fall. + +_Remarks._--The Micronesian Dusky White-eye of Palau was found on +several of the islands of the southern Palaus by the NAMRU2 party in +1945. The bird was observed in flocks of five or more individuals moving +rapidly through the foliage of trees and shrubs. It was not found in the +dense, undisturbed jungle areas, but rather in second growth vegetation +and along the margins of woodlands. At Peleliu, birds were noted in +trees and shrubs along the roadways; at Garakayo, birds were seen in low +trees near the summits of hills. At Garakayo, _Z. cinerea_ and _Z. +conspicillata_ were found in the same areas near the tops of the hills. +Both species appeared to be feeding on seeds of the same trees +(unidentified but resembling the hibiscus). _Z. cinerea_ was more +numerous than _Z. conspicillata_ and appeared (from observations made on +September 18, 1945) to be the dominant species and was seen to chase the +smaller _Z. conspicillata_ away. Coultas (field notes) found _Z. +cinerea_ "fairly common" in 1931 at Palau. + +_Evolutionary history of Zosterops cinerea._--The dusky white-eyes of +Micronesia were considered as separate species until 1944, when Mayr +(1944b:7) treated them as conspecific, stating that the bird at Ponapé +has characters intermediate between those at Kusaie and Palau. Earlier, +Hartert (1900:3) suggested a close association between _Z. cinerea_ and +the species at Truk (now _Rukia ruki_). Mayr concludes that _Z. cinerea_ +and _R. ruki_ are not closely related, and points out that the absence +of a white orbital ring in _Z. cinerea_ does not necessarily mean that +the bird should be considered as belonging to a genus other than +_Zosterops_. + +The pathway of colonization and the ancestral stock of _Z. cinerea_ are +not certainly known. Among the white-eyes of the Polynesian, Melanesian +and Malayan areas, there are few kinds which _Z. cinerea_ resembles +closely. Mayr (1941b:204) writes that the _Z. cinerea_ at Ponapé was +derived from either Polynesia or Papua. I find little in common between +_Z. cinerea_ and the species in these areas, and in my opinion _Z. +cinerea_ is closest to _Z. atriceps_ of the Moluccas. _Z. atriceps_ has +plumage which is part grayish and part brownish. Its underparts resemble +those of _Z. c. cinerea_ but are paler gray; crown, neck, and shoulder +much like that of _Z. c. ponapensis_ and _Z. c. finschii_; and bill +resembling that of _Z. c. cinerea_. _Z. atriceps_ differs by having +olive-green coloring on back and wings and yellowish coloring on under +side of tail. Thus, it is possible that _Z. cinerea_ invaded Micronesia +from the Moluccan region, reaching either Palau or Ponapé initially. + + +=Rukia palauensis= (Reichenow) + +Palau Greater White-eye + + _Cleptornis palauensis_ Reichenow, Journ. f. Ornith., 1915, p. 125. + (Type locality, Babeldzuap = Babelthuap, Palauinseln.) + + _Megazosterops palauensis_ Stresemann, Ornith. Monatsber., 38, + 1930, p. 159 (Baobeltaob); Snouckaert, Alauda (2), 3, 1931, p. 26 + (Palau); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 235 + (Baobel Taob = Babelthuap); Mathews, Ibis, 1931, p. 48 (Palau); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 172 (Palau); Yamashina, + Tori, 10, 1940, p. 674 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., + 1942, p. 191 (Babelthuap, Peleliu). + + _Rukia palauensis_ Mayr, Amer. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 + (Palau); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, pp. 294, 300 + (Peliliu); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, + pp. 67, 74 (Peleliu). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands-Babelthuap, Peleliu. + + _Characters._--Adult: A large white-eye with upper parts near + "Saccardo's olive" (some individuals darker brown), head and neck + more olivacious, rump browner; auriculars blackish with pale + yellow streaks; narrow supra-orbital stripe pale olive; orbital + ring indistinct; underparts near "olive lake," chin lighter, under + tail-coverts light yellowish-brown; wing and tail feathers dark + brown, except for tawny outer edges and whitish inner edges; + maxilla horn-color; mandible yellowish to tawny; feet tawny; iris + grayish-brown. + + _Measurements._--Measurements of _Rukia_ are listed in table 52. + Measurements of males and females are comparable within the same + species. + + +TABLE 52. MEASUREMENTS OF _Rukia_ + + =================+======+=========+=========+=============+========= + SPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + -----------------+------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + _R. palauensis_ | 19 | 80 | 54 | 21.5 | 25 + | | (76-84) | (51-57) | (20.0-22.5) | (24-26) + | | | | | + _R. ruki_ | 8 | 81 | 52 | 21.5 | 23 + | | (76-85) | (51-52) | (20.0-23.0) | (22-24) + | | | | | + _R. sanfordi_ | 18 | 70 | 44 | 23.0 | 21 + | | (67-71) | (41-47) | (22.0-24.0) | (20-22) + -----------------+------+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 21 (12 males, 9 females), as + follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 11 (Aug. 27, 29, 30, Sept. + 4, 5, 6, 7, Dec. 4, 5); AMNH--Peleliu?, 10 (Dec.). + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in August and September are in worn + plumage, a few individuals show evidence of molt. Specimens taken + in December are in fresh plumage, although two or three individuals + are in the final stages of molt. This places the period of molt as + September, October, and November. Nesting evidently occurs in the + summer; one male taken on August 27, 1945, had enlarged gonads. + +_Remarks._--The Palau Greater White-eye was described under the generic +name _Cleptornis_ by Reichenow. This generic allocation was not followed +by subsequent authors; Stresemann proposed the generic name +_Megazosterops_ in 1930, and Mayr (1944b:7) placed this white-eye in the +genus _Rukia_ along with other large white-eyes from Micronesia. In +employing this name, Mayr writes, "The generic names _Rukia_ (for +_ruki_) and _Kubaryum_ (for _oleaginea_) were published simultaneously +in the same publication. As first reviser I select the name _Rukia_, +which not only is shorter but is also based on a species which I have +been able to examine." + +_R. palauensis_ is recorded from Babelthuap and Peleliu of the Palau +Islands. In 1931, Coultas found the birds only at the island of Peleliu, +where he obtained nine specimens from a flock. In 1940, Yamashina +(1940:674) writes that it is a very rare species at Palau. Marshall +(1949:219) found the bird at Peleliu but at no other islands visited. In +1945, the NAMRU2 party obtained eight specimens at Peleliu from two +localities on the eastern side of the island in jungle areas relatively +undisturbed by war activities. The birds were fairly common in the brush +and vines of the jungle undergrowth at these two areas. There were no +flocks seen; usually singles or pairs were noted. The bird bears a +striking resemblance to _Psamathia annae_, which lives in the same +environment and has a somewhat similar coloration, shape and posture. +These two birds probably have undergone a parallel development. +Competition between the two was not noted. _Psamathia_ is evidently less +restricted in its distribution. + +_R. palauensis_ has a restricted distribution in the Palau Islands, as +indicated by the observations of Coultas, the Japanese and the NAMRU2 +party. The disturbance resulting from the war activities has undoubtedly +influenced the population and restricted further the preferred habitat +of this white-eye, especially at Peleliu. + + +=Rukia oleaginea= (Hartlaub and Finsch) + +Yap Greater White-eye + + _Zosterops oleaginea_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1872, p. 95. (Type locality, Uap.) + + _Zosterops oleaginea_ Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. + 122 (Yap); Gadow, Cat. Birds British Mus., 9, 1884, p. 187 (Yap); + Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 24 (Yap); Dubois, Syn. + Avium, 1, 1902, p. 708 (Uap); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. + 469 (Karolinen=Yap); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 + (Mackenzie); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 230 + (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 173 (Yap); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 192 (Yap). + + _Zosterops oleaginea_ Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 3, 1877, p. 777 + (Mackenzie); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, + 1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. + Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 37 (Uap); Oustalet, Nouv. + Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 208 (Uap); Bolau, + Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 60 (Yap). + + _Tephras oleaginea_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, + 113 (Yap). + + _Kubaryum oleaginus_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 1 (Yap); + Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 77 (Yap). + + _Kubaryum oleagineum_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 712 (Yap). + + _Rukia oleaginea_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 + (Yap); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 300 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--According to Hartlaub and Finsch (1872:95), + "General colour a deep oil-green, with a decided fulvous hue; + underparts a little paler, and a little more yellowish; eye-ring + satin-white; ears blackish; upper and under tail coverts with a + slight rufous tinge; wing- and tail-feathers blackish, with + oil-green margins; under wing-coverts whitish-grey; beak fulvous, + under mandible, except at the tip, yellowish; feet pale, probably + yellow; iris reddish white." + +_Remarks._--No specimens of _R. oleaginea_ have been examined by me, and +I am following Mayr (1944b:7) in including it with the other large +white-eyes of Micronesia in the genus _Rukia_. + + +=Rukia ruki= (Hartert) + +Truk Greater White-eye + + _Tephras ruki_ Hartert, Bull. British Ornith. Club, 7, 1897, p. 5. + (Type locality, Ruk.) + + _Tephras ruki_ Hartert, Ibis, 1898, p. 144 (Ruk); _idem_, Novit. + Zool., 7, 1900, p. 3 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. + 111, 112, 113 (Ruck); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, + 1930, p. 712 (Ruk). + + _Zosterops ruki_ Finsch, Das Tierreich, no. 15, 1901, p. 46 (Ruk); + Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 713 (Ruk); Reichenow, Die Vögel, + 2, 1914, p. 470 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. + 64 (Ruk); Stresemann, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17, 1931, p. 230 + (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, pp. 172 (Truk); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 191 (Truk). + + _Rukia ruki_ Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 2 (Ruk); Kuroda, + in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 78 (Ruk); Mayr, Amer. Mus. + Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 (Truk); _idem_, Birds Southwest + Pacific, 1945, p. 301 (Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk. + + _Characters._--According to Hartert (1897:5), "Entirely + sepia-brown, the inner webs of the remiges and under wing-coverts + lighter, inclining to whitish; the primaries darker, the outer + webs bordered with the same colour as the back. Bill black; iris + red; tarsi and feet orange-rufous; claws mouse-brown." _R. ruki_ + may be distinguished from other species of _Rukia_ by its dark + olive-brown coloring. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 52. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 2 females, 1 + unsexed), from Caroline Islands, AMNH--Truk (Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--This white-eye was first obtained by Owston's collectors in +1895 at Truk. Hartert (1900:3) writes, "It is most peculiar that the +late J. Kubary, who was an excellent collector, and who spent more than +fourteen months on Ruk, did not obtain this bird. It is probably not +numerous, and occurs only on a certain secluded spot not visited by +Kubary." In like manner, _R. palauensis_ was not described from Palau +until 1915, although several collectors had visited the island at +previous times. Hartert included the Truk Greater White-eye in the genus +_Tephras_ of Hartlaub. Later, Momiyama (1922:2) made this bird the type +for his new genus _Rukia_, in which Mayr has placed all of the large +white-eyes of Micronesia. + + +=Rukia sanfordi= (Mayr) + +Ponapé Greater White-eye + + _Rhamphozosterops sanfordi_ Mayr, Ornith. Monatsber., 39, 1931 + [mailing date, Nov. 4, 1931, _ex_ Mayr, 1944b:8], p. 182. (Type + locality, Ponapé.) + + _Cinnyrorhyncha longirostra_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. + Zasshi, 43, 1931 [printed date, Oct. 15, 1931, but mailing date + for extra-Japanese recipients, Nov. 23, 1931, _ex_ Mayr, 1944b:8], + p. 599. (Type locality, Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., + 1932, p. 172 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 191 (Ponapé). + + _Cinnyrorhyncha longirostris_ Mathews, Ibis, 1933, p. 94 (Ponapé). + + _Rhamphozosterops sanfordi_ Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., + 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Rukia sanfordi_ Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1269, 1944, p. 7 + (Ponapé); _idem_, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 301 (Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé. + + _Characters._--Adult: upper parts buffy-olive, head greenish, rump + and upper tail-coverts buffy-brown; wing and tail feathers dark + brown, outer edges yellowish-olive; underparts grayish-buff, chin + and throat faintly washed with greenish-yellow; under tail-coverts + darker; bill long, curved and brownish-black, base of mandible + paler; feet yellowish; iris chestnut. _R. sanfordi_ is + distinguished from other species of _Rukia_ by its smaller size, + its paler coloration and its longer and more curved bill. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 52. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 18 (12 males, 6 females), from + Caroline Islands, AMNH--Ponapé (Nov., Dec.). + +_Remarks._--Coultas obtained this white-eye at Ponapé in 1931; he writes +(field notes) that it is "a very rare bird on Ponapé. I found them at +one tree, a sort of a gum-tree, at about 2,000 feet, where they were +collecting from the flowers of the tree. I was attracted by their +deep-throated sibilation that is uttered while feeding. They were not in +the least disturbed by the noise of the gun and remained long enough for +me to collect a substantial series. One old man, who lives not far from +the tree, was the only one I could find who knew the bird." Six males +and one female taken in December had swollen gonads. Richards found this +bird to be rare at Ponapé in 1947-1948. He writes (field notes) that the +bird was seen twice (he obtained one male), once in deep forest at about +700 feet and once at the summit of Jokaj at 900 feet. He observed a +group of three birds "wildly and loudly chasing one another from tree to +tree." The male obtained had yellowish sap adhering to its bill. + +The Ponapé Greater White-eye has an appearance very much like that of +some of the honey-eaters. Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1931c:599) write, +"General appearance very much like either _Cinnyris_ or _Myzomela_, but +it differs from them by its very small first primary, which is far +shorter than the primary coverts, and also the smooth cutting edge of +the bill, though the bill is similarly shaped as to that of _Cinnyris_. +These characteristics show that this bird belongs to _Zosteropidae_ but +not _Nectarinidae_ or _Meliphagidae_." + +Mayr and the Japanese workers, Takatsukasa and Yamashina, published +descriptions of this white-eye at Ponapé almost simultaneously. Mayr +(1944b:8) contends that his name, _Rhamphozosterops sanfordi_, is valid +because the mailing date of the journal (Ornithologische Monatsberichte) +in which _R. sanfordi_ was proposed was November 4, 1931, while his +investigations show that the earliest mailing date to European and +American ornithologists and libraries of the issue of Dobutsugaku Zasshi +in which the name _Cinnyrorhyncha longirostra_, proposed by Takatsukasa +and Yamashina, appeared was November 23, 1931. Mayr (1944b:8) points out +that Japanese friends of the authors of the name _C. longirostra_ assert +that they saw copies of the description [inferentially printed copies] +prior to November 23, 1931. These Japanese, as far as is known, have not +claimed that they saw copies before November 4, 1931, and Mayr's +conclusion that his name, _R. sanfordi_, has priority is here accepted. +If the name _C. longirostra_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina appeared in +printed form and if copies, in requisite number, were distributed to +specialists or libraries in Japan, or anywhere else, on or before +November 3, 1931, the name _C. longirostris_ has priority over _R. +sanfordi_. + +_Evolutionary history of Rukia in Micronesia._--There is little known +concerning the status of the large white-eyes of Micronesia. Most of +them were not found by the earlier collectors and are at present +reported to be rare or restricted in their distribution. Little is known +concerning the food preferences and nesting activities of the birds and +also whether they are actually in danger of extermination or whether +their populations are normally as low as have been reported. Originally +described under four different generic names, they are now considered as +belonging in a single genus, _Rukia_. + +I have compared specimens of _Rukia_ with those of other members of the +family Zosteropidae found in the Pacific area. _Rukia_ is apparently not +closely related to _Z. conspicillata_ and _Z. cinerea_ of Micronesia but +has been derived from a different source or sources. The author has +compared _Rukia_ with the genera _Zosterops_, _Woodfordia_, +_Hypocryptadius_, _Apoia_, _Chlorocharis_, _Pseudozosterops_, and +_Tephrozosterops_. Results of these comparisons indicate that large and +well-differentiated white-eyes are found on a number of the islands of +Oceania. These white-eyes include _Woodfordia_, _Rukia_, _Zosterops +inornata_, _Z. albogularis_, _Z. tenuirostris_, and _Z. strenua_. These +birds are all large, have large bills (either longer or stouter or +both), large and long tarsi, and often short and rounded wings. _Rukia_ +apparently has undergone a differentiation which parallels that which +has taken place in these other white-eyes, but there is no evidence of a +close relationship between these birds and _Rukia_. There are some +resemblances between _Rukia_ and _Woodfordia superciliosa_ of Rennell +Island; _W. superciliosa_ is the same size and has a bill somewhat +similar to that of _R. ruki_ and a coloration not very different from +that of _R. sanfordi_. _R. ruki_ and _R. sanfordi_ may have been derived +originally from a common ancestral stock in Melanesia, with subsequent +isolation on small islands for considerable time where differentiation +took place. _Rukia_ also shows some resemblance to the genus _Apoia_, +especially to _A. pinaiae_ of Ceram. There is also a possibility that +the large white-eyes of Micronesia are merely highly modified species of +the genus _Zosterops_; this has been suggested by Mayr (1944b:7). It is +my opinion that _Rukia_ is a valid genus and is as much different from +the genus _Zosterops_ (or more so) than other recognized genera of large +white-eyes (_Woodfordia_ and _Apoia_). There is also the strong +possibility that the large white-eyes of Micronesia have been derived +from more than one source (and are falsely united in one genus); +however, it is my feeling that they represent a single colonization, +which successfully established itself at four islands and evolved into +four divergent species. Possibly _R. oleaginea_ is the least specialized +and is closest to the ancestral stock; however, this supposition is +based on study of the original description and on a colored plate of the +bird in a paper by Kuroda (1922b:pl. 7, fig. 4). + +In summary, it seems that the large Micronesian white-eyes of the genus +_Rukia_ came originally from Melanesia. Possibly they came from +Malaysia. Probably the birds have been derived from a single ancestral +stock, that became established at four islands of Micronesia and became +differentiated along diverse lines, so much so that some ornithologists +have considered them as belonging to separate endemic genera. + + +=Erythrura trichroa trichroa= (Kittlitz) + +Blue-faced Parrot-finch + + _Fringilla trichroa_ Kittlitz, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. + Pétersbourg, 2, 1835, p. 8, pl. 10. (Type locality, Ualan = + Kusaie.) + + _Fringilla trichroa_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le + Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285 (Ualan); _idem_, Denk. Reise russ. + Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 38 (Ualan). + + _Estrelda trichroa_ Gray, Genera Birds, 2, 1849, p. 369 (Kusaie?); + Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 27 (Oualan). + + _Erythrura trichroa_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 457 + (Ualan); Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 133 + (Carolinen = Kusaie); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 + (Carolinen = Kusaie); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 58 + (Ualan); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 118 (Carolinen = + Ualan); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 36 (Ualan); + _idem_ (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 290, 297, 302 + (Kusaie); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 104, 108 (Kuschai); + Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 2, 1881, p. 442 (Carolinis = + Kusaie?); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (Kusaie); Sclater (part), Ibis, 1881, p. + 545 (Ualan); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. + 385 (Carolines = Kusaie); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. + Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 42 (Ualan); + Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan); Dubois + (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, pp. 583 (Carolines = Kusaie); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Kusaie). + + _Erythrura kittlitzi_ Bonaparte, Consp. Avium, 1, 1850, p. 457 + (_ex_ Bonaparte MSS.) (Type locality, Ualan); Gray, Hand-list + Birds, 2, 1870, p. 58 (Caroline Islands = Kusaie). + + _Erythrura trichros trichros_ Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 7, + 1900, p. 6 (Kusaie); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, pp. 27, 29, 78 (Kusaie); Mayr (part), Amer. Mus. Novit., no. + 489, 1931, p. 4 (Kusaie); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1931, p. 110 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. + 170 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 189 + (Kusaie); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Kusaie). + + _Chloromunia trichroa trichroa_ Mathews (part), Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 840 (Ualan). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Kusaie. + + _Characters._--Adult: A small finch with thick, stout bill; head, + neck, back, and scapulars between "parrot green" and "grass + green"; forehead, orbital area, auriculars, and malar area bluish; + sides of neck green tinged with yellowish; edge of forehead and + lores blackish; wing-coverts and outer margins of wings + yellowish-green; underparts like back but paler green; rump, upper + tail-coverts and outer edges of tail feathers near "Pompeian red"; + wing and tail feathers mostly brownish; bend of wing greenish; + under wing-coverts brownish; axillaries buffy tinged with + greenish; bill black; feet light yellowish-brown; iris brown. + Adult female duller than male. + + Immature: Resembles adult, but lacks bluish coloring on sides of + head and on forehead; underparts washed with buffy brown; rump and + tail duller carmine. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 53. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 14 (12 males, 2 females), from + Caroline Islands, AMNH--Kusaie (Feb., March, April). + + _Molt._--Specimens taken in February and March have mostly new + feathers, molt having been almost completed when obtained. + +_Remarks._--Kittlitz was the first person to describe the Blue-faced +Parrot-finch; he found it at Kusaie when he visited the island in the +winter of 1827-28. Later, it was found to have an extensive range in +Micronesia, Melanesia, northern Australia, Celebes, and the Moluccas. +This small finch may be kept as a pet in a cage by native peoples, but +as far as I know there is no evidence that the bird has been introduced +to island areas as a result of this practice. + + +TABLE 53. MEASUREMENTS OF _Erythrura trichroa_ IN MICRONESIA + + =====================+=====+=========+=========+=============+========= + SUBSPECIES | No. | Wing | Tail | Culmen | Tarsus + ---------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + _E. t. trichroa_ | 6 | 58 | 46 | 13.0 | 17 + | | (57-59) | (43-48) | (12.5-13.5) | (16-17) + | | | | | + _E.t. clara_ | 29 | 59 | 45 | 13.5 | 17 + | | (57-62) | (41-50) | (13.0-14.5) | (17-18) + | | | | | + _E. t. pelewensis_* | 1 | 61.5 | 51 | 13.5 | 18 + ---------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------------+--------- + + * Kuroda (1922:28). + + +Coultas observed the finch at Kusaie in 1931; he wrote (field notes) +that it is a common bird but difficult to obtain. He found it in most +parts of the island and at all elevations; the bird appeared to prefer +dense underbrush of the jungle or marginal vegetation. He found no +evidence of breeding activity in February, March or April. + + +=Erythrura trichroa clara= Takatsukasa and Yamashina + +Blue-faced Parrot-finch + + _Erythrura trichroa clara_ Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Tori, 7, + 1931, p. 110. (Type locality, Ruk Island.) + + _Erythrura trichroa_ Finsch (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. + 290 (Ponapé, Hügeln = Truk); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, + 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); _idem_ (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 104, 110, 112, + 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. + Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, + 2, 1881, p. 442 (Ponapé); Sclater (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 545 + (Ponapé, Ruk); Sharpe (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, + p. 385 (Carolines = Truk, Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. + und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 42 + (Ponapé, Ruk); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers, 1899, p. 122 (Ruk); Matschie + (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ruk, Ponapé); Dubois + (part), Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 583 (Carolines = Ponapé); + Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 55, 64 (Ponapé); + Mayr, Proc. 6th Pacific Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé). + + _Erythrura trichroa trichroa_ Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 7, + 1900, p. 6 (Ruk, Ponapé); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, pp. 27, 28, 29, 78 (Ponapé, Ruk); Mayr (part), + Amer. Mus., Novit., no. 489, 1931, p. 4 (Ponapé, Ruk). + + _Chloromunia trichroa_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 12, 1925, p. 208 + (Ruk). + + _Chloromunia trichroa trichroa_ Mathews (part), Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 840 (Carolines = Truk, Ponapé). + + _Erythrura trichroa clara_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 170 (Truk, Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 189 (Truk, Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 + (Truk, Ponapé); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, + 1948, p. 74 (Truk). + + _Lobospingus trichroa clara_ Mathews, Ibis, 1933, p. 96 (Ruk, + Ponapé). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé, + Lukunor? + + _Characters._--Adult: Resembles adult of _E. t. trichroa_, but + slightly larger with underparts more yellowish and less greenish; + blue on head slightly paler; sides of neck tinged more strongly + with yellowish. Birds from Ponapé are slightly paler than those + from Truk. + + _Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 53. Birds from + Ponapé and Truk differ but little in measurements. + + _Specimens examined._--Total number, 39 (22 males, 16 females, 1 + unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Truk, 2 (May 5, + Dec.); AMNH--Truk, 15 (March, June, Nov.)--Ponapé, 22 (Dec.). + + _Molt._--Birds taken in March and June are not in molt. Some of the + specimens obtained in November and December are in molt. + +_Remarks._--The differences between _E. t. trichroa_ at Kusaie and _E. +t. clara_ at Ponapé and Truk are slight. Takatsukasa and Yamashina +(1931d:110) separate _E. t. clara_ from _E. t. trichroa_ of Kusaie on +the basis of a paler blue coloring on head, body more yellowish green +and sides of neck more distinctly golden-yellow. + +Coultas obtained specimens at Ponapé in 1930 and reports (field notes) +that the bird occurs in the extensive grassland areas of the island but +that the numbers are small. He estimates the population to be less than +100 individuals. He learned that the Japanese had trapped them for +shipment to Japan as caged birds. Coultas writes that the finch at +Ponapé "is very shy and flies readily when he is disturbed. As soon as a +call of alarm is uttered the whole flock flies up from the ground and +heads for the true forest where they will hide. They will also work +along in the grass, and make a getaway. The bird has a little hissing +sybilation that it utters when on the wing." He found the bird in flocks +of 3 to 20; immatures were frequently found alone. + +McElroy of the NAMRU2 party obtained a female at Moen Island in the Truk +Atoll in December, 1945. He found small flocks of these birds in dense +vegetation along streams. + + +=Erythrura trichroa pelewensis= Kuroda + +Blue-faced Parrot-finch + + _Erythrura trichroa pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds + Micronesia, 1922, p. 27. (Type locality, Pelew Islands). + + _Erythrura trichroa pelewensis_ Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 692 + (Pelew); Mayr. Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 489, 1931, p. 4 (Pelew); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 171 (Palau); Hand-list + Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 189 (Babelthuap); Mayr, Birds + Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 301 (Palau). + + _Chloromunia trichroa pelewensis_ Mathews, Syst. Avium + Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 840 (Pelew). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap. + + _Characters._--Kuroda (1922a:27) describes the bird as follows, + "Resembles _E. trichroa_ (Kittlitz) from Carolines (the type from + Kusaie), but distinguishable from it by the bill being much + thicker and stouter, by the chin being tinged with blue, by the + under-parts being paler throughout and somewhat tinged with + bluish, by the rump and upper tail-coverts being bright crimson + instead of dull crimson, by the central tail-feathers brownish red + instead of dull crimson, by the distinct shafts of central + tail-feathers and by longer wing and tail." + + _Measurements._--The measurements by Kuroda of a single specimen + are listed in table 53. + +_Remarks._--Only one specimen of this subspecies is known. The NAMRU2 +party did not obtain any record of it in the southern Palaus in 1945. If +still present in the islands, it may be confined to the higher forested +areas of Babelthuap. + +_Evolutionary history of Erythrura trichroa in Micronesia._--The +Blue-faced Parrot-finch has been recorded from Kusaie, Ponapé, Truk and +Palau, which are all "high" islands of southern Micronesia. This bird +belongs to a species which occurs in Melanesia, northern Australia, +Celebes, and the Moluccas. Stresemann (1940:40) points out the +interesting observation that this species ranges only east of Wallace's +Line. Mayr (1931c:1-10) has reviewed the parrot-finches of the genus +_Erythrura_ and places _E. trichroa_ in the subgenus _Erythrura_, noting +that _E. t. cyaneifrons_ from Banks and the New Hebrides is similar to +the subspecies found in Micronesia. As a group the subspecies of _E. +trichroa_ are very similar, but the populations in Micronesia appear +closest to subspecies from the Solomons, Admiralty Islands and possibly +to _E. t. modesta_ from the Moluccas, which appears to indicate that +Micronesia was invaded from the south or from the southwest via the +Moluccas. Whether the little known subspecies at Palau represents an +independent invader from the Moluccas is uncertain. + + +=Lonchura nigerrima minor= (Yamashina) + +Black-breasted Weaver-finch + + _Munia (Donacola) hunsteini minor_ Yamashina, in Takatsukasa and + Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 600. (Type locality, + Ponapé.) + + _Lonchura hunsteini minor_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, + p. 171 (Ponapé, Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. + 190 (Ponapé, Truk). + + _Donacola hunsteini minor_ Mathews, Ibis, 1933, p. 95 (Ponapé). + + _Lonchura nigerrima minor_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. + 301 (Ponapé, ?Truk). + + _Geographic range._--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé, Truk? + + _Characters._--Yamashina in Takatsukasa and Yamashina (1931c:600) + characterizes this subspecies as similar to _M. hunsteini_ from + New Ireland, but smaller; the wing of the adult of the bird from + Ponapé is from 46 to 49 mm, instead of 50-51 mm. as in the New + Ireland bird. Moreover the crown and nape are white instead of + pearl gray. + +_Remarks._--Little is known concerning this subspecies named by +Yamashina at Ponapé. No specimens have been seen by me. Richards +obtained one male at Ponapé in 1947-1948. He found the birds in large +flocks. + + +=Lonchura punctulata cabanisi= (Sharpe) + +Philippine Nutmeg Mannikin + + _Munia cabanisi_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 13, 1890, p. 353. + (Type locality, Luzon.) + + _Munia punctulata cabanisi_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, + 1922, p. 78 (Yap). + + _Lonchura punctulata cabanisi_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 395 + (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 171 (Yap); + Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 189 (Yap). + + _Geographic range._--Philippine Islands and Micronesia. In + Micronesia: Palau Islands; Caroline Islands--Yap. + + _Characters._--A small finch with upper parts light grayish-brown, + feathers with white shafts producing a streaked appearance; lores, + anterior part of auriculars, malar region, and feathers of chin + and throat chocolate-brown with faint white shafts; breast and + sides mottled white and dark brown, middle of abdomen and under + tail-coverts pale buffy-white, wings brown with lighter edges, + under wing dark with lighter coverts; upper tail-coverts and + middle tail feathers dark olive, outer tail feathers colored like + wings; bill heavy and black; feet dark brown. + +_Remarks._--The Philippine Nutmeg Mannikin is a resident on the island +of Yap. Yamashina (1932a:395) records a nest containing one egg taken +there on May 15, 1932. Marshall (1949:221) records this bird at Palau on +November 6 and December 2, 1945. Whether this bird was introduced to Yap +and Palau by man or whether it reached there by independent invasion is +unknown. + + + + +SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION + + +The avifauna of Micronesia consists of 206 kinds of birds belonging to +37 families and 91 genera. Of these, 30 kinds are sea birds, 29 kinds +are migratory shore birds, and 146 kinds are land and freshwater birds. +Of the 30 sea birds, 18 kinds are resident; of the 147 land and +fresh-water birds, 104 kinds are resident and 6 kinds have been +introduced by man. There are no resident shore birds in Micronesia. The +following conclusions can be drawn from this study: + +1. The islands of Micronesia are oceanic islands and were seemingly +formed independently of any present day continental land mass. +Terrestrial organisms have reached these islands by "over-water +dispersal." The avifauna of Micronesia has been received from the +following sources: Polynesia, Melanesia, the Moluccas, Celebes, +Phillipines, and Palearctica (see figure 8). + +2. Oceanic birds are among the oldest forms of bird life inhabiting +Micronesia. The presence of elevated islands containing phosphate, +resulting from the deposition of guano by oceanic birds, is some +indication of the length of time during which these birds have been +present. In number of individuals, the oceanic birds inhabiting the +inshore zone are more numerous than those inhabiting the offshore and +pelagic zones, although twelve of the eighteen resident kinds of oceanic +birds prefer the offshore and pelagic zones. Most of the species of +oceanic birds resident in Micronesia are circumtropical in distribution; +no residents are known in Micronesia which have been derived from +Palearctica or the North Pacific. Micronesia has no endemic oceanic +birds. + +3. On the migratory flights, shore birds reach Micronesia along three +distinct flyways, which in this report are named the Asiatic-Palauan +Flyway, the Japanese-Marianan Flyway, and the Nearctic-Hawaiian Flyway +(see figure 7). The shore birds began to utilize the Pacific islands as +wintering grounds by gradually spreading from the Eastern Hemisphere +rather than from the Western Hemisphere. + +4. More than half (52 percent) of the land birds and fresh-water birds +in Micronesia were derived directly from ancestral stocks in Melanesia. +The areas of the Moluccas and of Celebes (Malaysia) supplied 21 percent +of the birds; the Philippines, 10 percent; Polynesia, 9 percent; and +Palearctica, 8 percent. Results of this study show that there may have +been only 46 actual colonizations of Micronesia by birds from other +areas, and that many of the large number of endemics present have been +the result of secondary colonizations within the islands of Micronesia. +It is concluded that Micronesia, except for the Marshall Islands, has a +much closer affinity to Melanesia than to any other area as regards +avifauna. The Marshall Islands may be regarded as a part of the +Polynesian Subregion from the viewpoint of avian zoogeography. + +5. Endemism in the land birds and fresh-water birds of Micronesia is +extreme. Of 104 native, resident birds, 97 (93.5 percent) have become +differentiated and can be separated taxonomically from related forms. In +Micronesia, there are 5 endemic genera, 31 endemic species, and 76 +endemic subspecies. The families containing the greatest number of +endemic forms are Muscicapidae (14), Zosteropidae (14), Columbidae (13), +and Sturnidae (9). + +6. It is concluded that some of the more important factors controlling +the dispersal of the bird life to Micronesia are the direction and the +intensity of the winds, the small size of the islands, the isolation of +the islands (especially those "high" islands), and the insular +climates, which appear to favor colonists from tropical homes rather +than those from Palearctic homes. + +7. The factors most important in the process of differentiation of birds +in the islands of Micronesia are isolation, paucity in numbers of +individuals, freedom from predation, absence (and presence) of +interspecific and intraspecific strife, and nutrition. The importance of +the "dilution" factor is discussed, and the possibility of +cross-breeding between different kinds of birds is considered. 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Ibis, + 6th ser., 3:566-584. + + 1893. Remarks on the birds of the Gilbert Islands. Ibis, 6th ser., + 5:210-215. + + WILSON, H. + + 1788. An account of the Pelew Islands, situated in the western part + of the Pacific Ocean, composed from the journals and communications + of Captain Henry Wilson and some of his officers, who, in August, + 1783, were there shipwrecked, in the Antelope, a packet belonging + to the honourable East India Company, compiled by George Keate. 2d + ed., London:xxvii + 378 pp., illus. + + WRIGHT, S. + + 1931. Evolution in Mendelian populations. Genetics, 16:97-159, 21 + figs. + + WYNNE-EDWARDS, V. C. + + 1935. On the habits and distribution of birds on the North + Atlantic. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 40:233-346, pls. 3-5. + + YAMADA, Y. + + 1926. The phyto-geographical relation between the Chlorophyceas of + the Mariannes, Carolines and Marshall Islands and those of the + Malay Archipelago, Australia and Japan. Proc. 3d Pan-Pacific + Congr., Tokyo, 1:964-966. + + YAMASHINA, Y. + + 1932a. On a collection of birds' eggs from Micronesia. Tori, + 7:393-413. + + 1932b. On the distribution of the birds in Micronesia. Bull. + Biogeogr. Soc. Japan, 3:139-148, pls. 8-12. + + 1938. A new genus of the owl. Tori, 10:1-2. + + 1940. Some additions to the "List of the birds of Micronesia." + Tori, 10:673-679. + + 1942. A new subspecies of _Conopoderas luscinia_ from the Mariana + Islands. Bull. Biogeogr. Soc. Japan, 12:81-83, 1 fig. + + 1948. Notes on the Marianas Mallard. Pacific Science, 2:121-124. + + + _Transmitted July 28, 1949._ + + +[Illustration: union stamp] + +22-8131 + + + + +UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS + + +The University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History, are +offered in exchange for the publications of learned societies and +institutions, universities and libraries. For exchanges and information, +address the EXCHANGE DESK, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LIBRARY, LAWRENCE, +KANSAS, U. S. A. + +MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.--E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Editorial Committee. + + This series contains contributions from the Museum of Natural History. + Cited as Univ. Kans. Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist. + + Vol. 1. 1. The pocket gophers (genus Thomomys) of Utah. By Stephen D. + Durrant. Pp. 1-82, 1 figure in text. August 15, 1946. + + 2. The systematic status of Eumeces pluvialis Cope, and + noteworthy records of other amphibians and reptiles from + Kansas and Oklahoma. By Hobart M. Smith. Pp. 85-89. August + 15, 1946. + + 3. The tadpoles of Bufo cognatus Say. By Hobart M. Smith. Pp. + 93-96, 1 figure in text. August 15, 1946. + + 4. Hybridization between two species of garter snakes. By Hobart + M. Smith. Pp. 97-100. August 15, 1946. + + 5. Selected records of reptiles and amphibians from Kansas. By + John Breukelman and Hobart M. Smith. Pp. 101-112. August 15, + 1946. + + 6. Kyphosis and other variations in soft-shelled turtles. By + Hobart M. Smith. Pp. 117-124. July 7, 1947. + + 7. Natural history of the prairie vole (Mammalian genus + Microtus). By E. W. Jameson, Jr. Pp. 125-151, 4 figures in + text. October 6, 1947. + + 8. The postnatal development of two broods of great horned owls + (Bubo virginianus). By Donald F. Hoffmeister and Henry W. + Setzer. Pp. 157-173, 5 figures in text. October 6, 1947. + + 9. Additions to the list of the birds of Louisiana. By George + H. Lowery, Jr. Pp. 177-192. November 7, 1947. + + 10. A check-list of the birds of Idaho. By M. Dale Arvey. Pp. + 193-216. November 29, 1947. + + 11. Subspeciation in pocket gophers of Kansas. By Bernardo + Villa-R. and E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 217-236, 2 figures in text. + November 29, 1947. + + 12. A new bat (Genus Myotis) from Mexico. By Walter W. Dalquest + and E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 237-244, 6 figures in text. December + 10, 1947. + + 13. Tadarida femorosacca (Merriam) in Tamaulipas, Mexico. By + Walter W. Dalquest and E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 245-248, 1 figure + in text. December 10, 1947. + + 14. A new pocket gopher (Thomomys) and a new spiny pocket mouse + (Liomys) from Michoacán, Mexico. By E. Raymond Hall and + Bernardo Villa-R. Pp. 249-256, 6 figures in text. July 26, + 1948. + + 15. A new hylid frog from eastern Mexico. By Edward H. Taylor. + Pp. 257-264, 1 figure in text. August 16, 1948. + + (Continued on inside of back cover.) + + + + + (Continued from inside of front cover.) + + 16. A new extinct emydid turtle from the Lower Pliocene of + Oklahoma. By Edwin C. Galbreath. Pp. 265-280, 1 plate. + August 16, 1948. + + 17. Pliocene and Pleistocene records of fossil turtles from + western Kansas and Oklahoma. By Edwin C. Galbreath. Pp. + 281-284, 1 figure in text. August 16, 1948. + + 18. A new species of heteromyid rodent from the Middle Oligocene + of northeastern Colorado with remarks on the skull. By Edwin + C. Galbreath. Pp. 285-300, 2 plates. August 16, 1948. + + 19. Speciation in the Brazilian spiny rats (Genus Proechimys, + Family Echimyidae). By João Moojen. Pp. 301-406, 140 figures + in text. December 10, 1948. + + 20. Three new beavers from Utah. By Stephen D. Durrant and Harold + S. Crane. Pp. 407-417, 7 figures in text. December 24, 1948. + + 21. Two new meadow mice from Michoacán Mexico. By E. Raymond + Hall. Pp. 423-427, 6 figures in text. December 24, 1948. + + 22. An annotated check list of the mammals of Michoacán, Mexico. + By E. Raymond Hall and Bernardo Villa-R. Pp. 431-472, 5 + figures in text. December 27, 1949. + + 23. Subspeciation in the kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ordii. By Henry + W. Setzer. Pp. 473-573, 27 figures in text. December 27, + 1949. + + 24. Geographic range of the hooded skunk, Mephitis macroura, + with description of a new subspecies from Mexico. By E. + Raymond Hall and Walter W. Dalquest, Pp. 575-580, 1 figure + in text. January 20, 1950. + + 25. Pipistrellus cinnamomeus Miller 1902 referred to the genus + Myotis. By E. Raymond Hall and Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. + 581-590, 5 figures in text. January 20, 1950. + + 26. A synopsis of the American bats of the genus Pipistrellus. + By E. Raymond Hall and Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 591-602, 1 + figure in text. January 20, 1950. + + Index, Pp. 605-638. + + Vol. 2. (Complete) Mammals of Washington. By Walter W. Dalquest. + Pp. 1-444, 140 figures in text. April 9, 1948. + + Vol. 3. 1. The avifauna of Micronesia, its origin, evolution, and + distribution. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 1-359, 16 figures in + text. June 12, 1951. + + + + +Transcriber's Note(s): + +- moved first part of 'UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS' to end of e-book. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3, by +Rollin H. Baker + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42537 *** |