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Title: The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3
Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution
Author: Rollin H. Baker
Release Date: April 14, 2013 [EBook #42537]
Language: English
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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. It is
concluded that genetic change altering the phenotypic expression of
avian characteristics is no more apt to occur in insular populations
than in continental populations, but such changes have a greater chance
of being perpetuated in insular populations.
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_Transmitted July 28, 1949._
[Illustration: union stamp]
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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
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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.
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9. Additions to the list of the birds of Louisiana. By George
H. Lowery, Jr. Pp. 177-192. November 7, 1947.
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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
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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.
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21. Two new meadow mice from Michoacán Mexico. By E. Raymond
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1949.
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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.
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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.
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