r "^ ^' Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924094812041 CP ,fv\ell l~(^l^ ^ P % o ^0 \. t CO NT Honoring Adelson Library At Sapsucker Woods ~^ CORNELL LAB o/ ORNITHOLOGY Illustration of Snowy Owl by Louu Agassiz Fucrtcs SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION ' UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM ^^(J^^ / V? ^ Bulletin 121 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS AND THEIR ALLIES ORDER TU^INARES AND ORDER STEGANOPODES BY ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT 0/ Taantan, Mastachusetts WASfilNGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1922 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. I Laysan Island, Black-footed Albatross. For description see page 329. A. M. Bailey. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM Bulletin 121 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS AND THEIR ALLIES ORDER TUBINARES AND ORDER STEGANOPODES BY ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT of Taunton, Massachusetts fMF WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRIMTING OFFICE 1922 ADVERTISEMENT. The scientific publications of the United States National Museum consist of two series, the Proceedings and the Bulletins. The ProceedinffS, the first volume of which was issued in 1878, are intended primarily as a medium for the publication of original, and usually brief, papers based on the collections of the National Museum, presenting newly-acquired facts in zoology, geology, and anthro- pology, including descriptions of new forms of animals, and revisions of limited groups. One or two volumes are issued annually and dis- tributed to libraries and scientific organizations. A limited number of copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, is distributed to specialists and others interested in the different subjects as soon as printed. The date of publication is recorded in the tables of contents of the volumes. The Bulletins, the first of which was issued in 1875, consist of a series of separate publications comprising chiefly monographs of large zoological groups and other general systepiatic treatises (oc- casionally in several volumes), faunal works, reports of expeditions, and catalogues of type-specimens, special collections, etc. The ma- jority of the volumes are octavos, but a quarto size has been adopted in a few instances in which large plates were regarded as indis- pensable. Since 1902 a series of octavo volumes containing papers relating to the botanical collections of the Museum, and known as the Oontribtt- tioTis from the National Herharmm, has been published as bulletins. The present work forms No. 121 of the Bulletin series. WiLI/IAM DeC. EaVENEI/, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary, In Charge of the United States National Museum. Washington, D. C. HI INTRODUCTIOiN. This Bulletin contains a continuation of the work on the life his- tories of North American birds, begun in Bulletin lOY and continued in Bulletin 113. The same general plan has been followed and the same sources of information have been utilized. Nearly all of those who contributed material for, or helped in preparing, the former volumes have rendered similar service in this case. In addition to those whose contributions have been previously acknowledged, my thanlcs are due to the following contributors : Photographs have been contributed, or their use authorized, by A. W. Anthony, D. A. Bannerman, H. H. Bailey, Edwin Beaupre, Biological Survey, W. K. Fisher, Joseph Grinnell, A. O. Gross, J. H. Gurney, Maud D. Haviland, Lynds Jones, F. H. Kennard, R. C. Murphy, E. W. Nelson, and P. B. Philipp. Notes and data have been contributed by D. E. Brown, T. D. Burleigh, A. J. Campbell, H. F. Lpwis, J. T. Nichols, C. W. Rich- mond, and J. R. Whitaker. The distributional part of this Bulletin has been done by the author. Messrs. Robert Cushman Murphy and John Treadwell Nichols have examined and revised the distribution of the Tubinares and Mr. James H. Fleming has done the same for the Steganopodes. In the two previous Bulletins the author adopted, without any changes, the nomenclature of the 1910 edition of the check list of the American Ornithologists' Union. But, now that a new check list is in preparation, it seems best to adopt the names that will probably appear in the new check list, so far as they are now understood by The Author. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Paga. Order Tubinares 1 Family Diomedeidae 1 Phoebastria nlgripes 1 Black-footed albatross 1 Habits 1 Distribution 5 Phoebastria albatrus 6 Short-tailed albatross 6 Habits 6 Distribution 9 Phoebastria immutabilis 9 Laysan albatross 9 Habits 9 Distribution 16 Thalassogeron chrysostomus culminatus 16 Yellow-nosed albatross ^_ 16 Habits 16 Distribution 19 Thalassogeron chlororhynchus 19 Pink-footed albatross ._ 19 Habits 19 Distribution 21 Phoebetria palpebrata auduboni 22 Audubon sooty albatross 22 Habits 22 Distribution 25 Family Hydrobatidae 26 Macronecteg giganteus 26 Giant fulmar 26 Habits 26 Distribution 31 Fulmarus glacialis glacialis 31 Fulmar 31 Habits 31 Distribution 37 Fulmarus glacialis gluplscha 38 Pacific fulmar 38 Habits 38 Distribution 42 Fulmarus rodgersi 43 Rodgers fulmar 1 43 Habits 43 Distribution 46 Prlocella antarctica , 46 VII VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS. Order Tublnares — Continued. Family Hydrobatidae — Continued. '^"*« Slender-billed fulmar ™ Habits ^^ Distribution '^^ 4Q Daptlon capense Pintado petrel—,-^ ^-.^r- --,- ^^ Habits __- 1— — ^^ Distribution ■-.:-:; ^ ■ Calonectris kuhlil borealis ^4 Cory shearwater . "^ Habits 54 Distribution 59 Ardenna carneipes 60 Pale-footed shearwater 60 Habits 60 Distribution 62 Ardenna creatopus 62 Plnlii-footed shearwater 62 Habits 62 Distribution 65 Ardenna gravis 65 Greater shearwater 65 Habits 65 Distribution 71 Puffinus puffinus puffinus 71 Manx shearwater 71 Habits 71 Distribution 73 Puffinus Iherminieri Ihermlnieri 74 Audubon shearwater 74 Habits 74 Distribution 76 Puffinus assimilis godmani__ 77 Atlantic allied shearwater 77 Habits 77 Distribution 79 Puffinus opisthomelas-i 79 Black-vented shearwater 79 Habits 79 Distribution . 83 Puffinus auricularis__' g^ Townsend shearwater _ g^ Habits oA Distribution o- Puffinus griseus ok Sooty shearwater „- Habits Qp. Distribution ^^ Puffinus tenuirostris j.^. Slender-billed shearwater q,. Habits :::::::::::::::::::::::::'"- 90 Distribution Thyellodroma pacifica— 97 TABLE OP CONTENTS. tX Order Tubinares — Continued. Family Hydrobatldae — Continued. Page. Wedge-tailed shearwater 97 Habits 97 Distribution 101 Thyellodroma bulleri 101 New Zealand shearwater 101 Habits 101 Distribution 103 Prloflnus clnereus 103 Black-tailed shearwater 103 Habits 103 Distribution 106 Pterodroma hasitata 106 Black-capped petrel 106 Habits 106 Distribution 112 Pterodroma cahow 112 Cahow 112 Habits 112 Pterodroma inexpectata 117 Peale petrel 117 Habits 117 Distribution 120 Bulweria bulweri 120 Bulwer petrel 120 Habits 120 Distribution 123 Halocyptena microsoma 123 Least petrel 123 Habits 123 Distribution 125 Hydrobates pelaglcus 125 Stormy petrel ; 125 Habits 125 Distribution 129 Oceanodroma hornbyi 129 Hornby petrel 129 Habits — 129 Distribution 132 Oceanodroma furcata 132 Forked-tail petrel 132 Habits 132 Distribution 137 Oceanodroma leucorhoa leucorhoa 137 Leach petrel 137 Habits 137 Distribution 145 Oceanodroma leucorhoa kaedingi 146 Kaeding petrel 146 Habits 146 Distribution 147 Oceanodroma leucorhoa beali 147 X TABLE OF CONTENTS. Order Tubinares — Continued. Family Hydrobatidae — Continued. Page. Beal petrel 147 Habits 147 Distribution 151 Oceanodroma macrodactyla 151 Guadalupe petrel 151 Habits 151 Distribution 153 Oceanodroma castro 153 Hawaiian petrel 153 Habits 153 Distribution 155 Oceanodroma melania 156 Black petrel 156 Habits 156 Distribution 158 Oceanodroma homochroa 159 Ashy petrel 159 Habits 159 Distribution 162 Oceanodroma monorhis socorroensis 162 Socorro petrel 162 Habits 162 Distribution 165 Oceanites oceanicus 165 Wilson petrel 165 Habits 165 Distribution 172 Fregetta leucogastrls 173 White-bellied petrel I73 Habits J73 Distribution 175 Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca 176 North Atlantic white-faced petrel 176 Habits jrrg Distribution ; jgj^ Order Steganopodes -j,^ Family Phaethontldae ~"~ ^oj Leptophaethon lepturus catesbyi -.g-. Yellow-billed troplc-blrd ^q. Habits --i--rr---rmm"~ isi Distribution Phaethon aethereus Red-billed troplc-blrd '_'_ -l.llll 107 Habits ~~~~ " ^°^ Distribution ~_ '__'_ ]"" ^'^ Scaeophaethon rubricaudus " ~ ^^ Red-tailed troplc-blrd I _~ " Habits ~_" ~ " ^^ ^^ Distribution " ^^ 193 TASLe Ot CONMaifTS. XI Order Steganopodes — Continued. Paee. Family Sulidae 193 Sula dactylatra 193 Blue-faced booby 193 Habits 193 Distribution 196 Sula nebouxii 197 Blue-footed booby 197 Habits 197 Distribution 200 Sula leucogastris , 200 Booby 200 Habits 200 Distribution 207 Sula brewsteri 208 Brewster booby 208 Habits 208 Distribution ' 211 Sula piseatoi- 211 Red-footed booby 211 Habits 211 Distribution 215 Morus bassanus j._ 216 Gannet 216 Habits 216 Distribution 228 Family Anhingidae 229 Anhinga anhinga , 229 Water-turkey 229 Habits 229 Distribution 235 Family Phalacrocoracidae 236 Phalacrocorax carbo 236 Cormorant 236 Habits 236 Distribution 242 Phalacrocorax auritus auritus 243 Double-crested cormorant 243 Habits 243 Distribution 250 Phalacrocorax auritus floridanus 251 Florida cormorant 251 Habits 251 Distribution 254 Phalacrocorax auritus cincinatus 255 White-crested cormorant 255 Habits 255 Distribution 257 Phalacrocorax auritus alboelliatus 257 Farallon cormorant 257 Habits 257 Distribution 260 Phalacrocorax vigua mexicanus 261 tli TABLE OF CONTENfg. Order Steg^hopodes — Continued. Family Phalacrocoracidae — Continued. Page. Mexican cormorant 261 Habits 261 Distribution 265 Phalacrocorax penicillatus 265 Brandt cormorant 265 Habits 265 Distribution 270 Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus 271 Pelagic cormorant 271 Habits 271 Distribution 275 Phalacrocorax pelagicus resplendens 276 Baird cormorant 276 Habits 276 Distribution 278 Phalacrocorax urile 279 Red-faced cormorant 279 Habits 279 Distribution 282 Family Pelecanidae 282 Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 282 American white pelican 282 Habits 282 Distribution 292 Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis 294 Brown pelican 294 Habits 294 Distribution 300 Pelecanus occidentalis callfornicus 301 Calilornia brown pelican 301 Habits 301 Distribution 306 Family Fregatidae 306 Fregata magnificens rothschildi 306 Man-o'-war-bird 306 Habits 306 Distribution 3^4 References to bibliography ^yj Explanation of plates 329 Index 037 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS, PELICANS, AND THEIR ALLIES, ORDER TUBI- NARES AND ORDER STEGANOPODES. By Arthur Ci^veland Bent, of Taunton^ Massachusetis. Order TUBINARES, Tube-nosed Swimmers. Family DIOMEDEIDAE, Albatrosses. PHOEBASTHIA NIGRIPES (Andnbon). BLACK-FOOIEII ALBATROSS. HARITS. As we steamed out through Dixoii .Entrance we soon realized that we were actually going to sea, as the good ship Tahoma rose and fell on the long ocean swell. The numerous gulls which had been following the ship became fewer and fewer, as the land f aided from view, and they were gradually replaced by the pretty little fork-tailed petrels, so common on the north Pacific, and the graceful fulmars which were circling a,bout us. An occasional tufted puffin was seen, a pelagic species during most of the year, but most of the gulls and other migrating waterfowl had been left behind before we began to see the long saber-like wings of the black-footed alba- trosses or " goonies," as they are called, skimming low over the heaving billows of the ocean, pelagic wanderers from warmer climes, gleaning a scanty living from the watery wastes. Duriiig our four days' trip over the Pacific Ocean to Unimak Pass they were our constant companions. In stormy weather, of which we had plenty, they were more numerous and active, sometimes as miny as six being seen about the ship at one time. They will always be asso- ciated in my memory with the ocean storms, with the plunging 0/ the ship over mountainous seas and with the whirr of racing pro pellers over the crests of mighty waves. Amid all the grandeurj excitement, and danger of a storm at sea the albatross glides calmly on, rising easily over the crests of the highest waves and gracefully 1 2 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL. MUSEUM. sailing down into the valleys between them, frequently lost to sight but never troubled or confused, thoroughly at home in its native element. What mariner would not respect, the bird that shows such mastery of the sea in all its wildest moods ? . ; Although the black-footed albatross is a bird of the northern hemisphere, living its life on the Pacific' Ocean north of thb equator, it shares with the antarctic Tvhinares the habit of breeding during our winter months, resorting to the islands in the Hawaiian group for this purpose early in November. Dr. T. W. Richards (1909) says of its arrival on the Midway Islands, situated in latitude 28° 13" North and longitude 177° 21' West: In 1906 niffripes arrived the first week in November, immutabilis following a few days later, and by the 20th of the month both species had jdeposited eggs. Dr. Campbell believes that the birds pair after arrival, but it would seem that some, at least, may have mated previously. Oourtskip. — The courtship dance of the Laysan albatross has been fully described by Dr. Walter K. Fisher (1904), and the same curious performance is indulged in by the black-footed species with some variations. Doctor Fisher noted the following differences in the ceremony: I saw the black-footed albatrosses (D. nigripes) rather seldom engaged in the dance, and indeed they Impress one as more matter-of-fact creatures. The only difference which was observed in the ceremony as carried out by the two species is that tUgripes spreads its wings slightly (the metacarpus or " hand " being folded closed) when it lifts its head to utter the nasal song. Prof. Homer E. Dill (1912) says that it is similar, but much more elaborate, and they go through the figures slowly and grace- fully. Instead of lifting one wing they raise both. They are very neighborly with the Other species. We often saw them visiting, and on one to two occa- sions they were trying to perform with them, but the rapid pace set by the white bird was rather too much for his more deliberate cousin, and the affair ended disastrously. According to Doctor Fisher (1904a), Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, while cruising about a hundred miles off San Diego, California, on the steamer Albatross, saw six black-footed albatrosses pair off and indulge in this peculiar dance. This was during the latter part of March, when the adult birds should have been on their breeding grounds, but these were apparently immature birds. Nesting.— Doctor Fisher (1906) says of the breeding habits of this species on Laysan Island : The black-footed albatross is very much less abundant on Laysan than the white species. It colonizes the sandy beaches on the north, east, and south sides but IS not fpund, except rarely, on the west side. It is likewise common on the sedge-covered slope pear the beach, in the same habitat with Suia cmnope. On one or two occasions I noted them in the Interior with D. invr^Sl Oti/l8, U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 12! PL. 2 03 O IN I- ui < S o i 2 i UFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 3 The nest is a mere hollow scratched in the bare sand, without even a rim of sand raised around it. ^ffffs- — Doctor Kichards (1909) describes the eggs as follows: Each pair of birds— and this applies to both species — rarely lays more than one egg in a season, if undisturbed; and if a second egg should be deposited the first is thrown out, leaving but one to incubate. If, as was formerly the case, the nests are systematically robbed, four eggs are usually supplied by each. In nearly all published descriptions of eggs of the Diomedeidae they are re- ferred to in terms somewhat as follows: "White, sometimes speckled or sprinkled on larger end with reddish brown " (Ridgway), giving the impression that they resemble, on a large scale, eggs of the stormy petrel, for example. While this may be true of some species, it would be inappropriate for a great many specimens of D. nigripea, though some are faintly speckled or even im- maculate. In many instances, however, these eggs are boldly and handsomely splashed with dark brownish red, in some forming a cap or wreath about one end, usually the larger; in others, extending over nearly one-half the shell; in fact there is as much color, relatively, as on an average egg of any of our larger Buteos, though it is apt to be more constantly confined to one end. Compared with e^s of immutabilis they average more color, but extremes easily overlap and identity can not be determined from the eggs alone. The measurements of 45 eggs, in various collections, average 108.8 by 70.3 miUimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 120.7 by 69.8, 109.5 by 86, 98.1 by 68.4, and 109.3 by 56 millimeters. Towiff. — Doctor Eichards (1909) says further: Incubation lasts about six weeks, both birds taking turns on the nest so that the egg is constantly covered. The young are fed, in the well-known manner, by regurgitation from the throat of the parent, remaining about the islands until the following .Tune or July, so that the entire reproductive period occupies about one-half the year. The young are probably nearly six months old before they are able to fly. Plumages. — Immature birds, during the first year at least or per- haps longer, are in uniformly dark sooty plumage, a faint suggestion of the white face at the base of the bill and a few white feathers on the upper tail-coverts probably indicate approaching maturity. The dull white face and the pure white rump and under tail-coverts are characteristic of the fully adult plumage which is certainly not ac- quired until the second year and probably not complete until much later. Food. — ^The food of this albatross consists of whatever edible refuse it can pick up from the surface of the sea. It follows vessels persist- ently for the purpose of picking up bits of garbage thrown overboard, over which it often quarrels with its neighbor. From a slow-moving sailing vessel it can easily be caught with a hook and line, baited with, almost any kind of animal food; but we were unable to hook any from our fast-moving revenue cutter, although the birds made re- 4 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. peated attempts to seize the bait. It is said by Baird, Brewer, and Eidgway (1884) to feed largely on " a pelagic cr»b." Behaviar.— Doctor Fisher (1906) has described the flight of this species so well that I can not do better than quote his remarks as follows : As is well known, albatrosses are past masters at soaring or sailing. If the wind is favorable tbey are able to skim over the water for a long time without once flapping their Wings. D. nigripes is certainly no exception to the general rule, and we had ample opportunity to witness their powers. The long slender wings, with long humeral bones, are eminently fitted for this sort of existence, and their construction renders flapping laborious, for in proportion to Its size the albatross is not a very muscular creature and could not fly a great distance if obliged to do so by wing beats. When a stiff l>reeze is blowing albatrosses can sail only against the wind or with it, and are able to quarter a breeze, or go directly across it only for a short distance and when under great momentum. When we were stean;iing directly against the vrtnd the albatrosses had no trouble in following us, and they would fly all around the ship without flapping their wings except when the breeze was strong, and then they were obliged to give a few Vigorous beats when turning up into the wind. When, however, our course lay at an angle to the wind, they followed us by sailing in a series of ellipses. They would, in this case, sail directly against the wind, approaching us on the starboard quarter, go over the stern a short distance to port, then wheel and scud before the breeze perhaps 100 yards off the starboard quarter, when th^y turned and approached us as before. Their speed was so superior to ours that they were able to keep up without any trouble, and their frequent triiw astern and rapid overhauling again made our cumbersome gait all the more apparent. Of course as they neared the turning point each time they had to quarter the breeze a little and for a moment sail- directly across it. The position in which the wings are held When sailing against or with the wind is quite characteristic in either case. When coming against the breeze the carpal segment and primaries are bent downward, as if to catch the wind, but when the bird turns and goes with the breeze the ends of the wings are bent up. When sailing against the wind they often gradually rise, but they are likewise perfectly capable of descending, .and wh^n. going swiftly with the wind they not infrequently, in fact usually, make a long swoop down- ward and ^im over the water, rising a little as they turn to come to wind- ward. The position of the wings in the two cases seems to be constant. In the first ease they catch more wind, and the fact that the birds generally rise a little shpws that the wings act on the same principle as a kite, On the other hand, when sailing with the breeze, the position is such as gives less resistance to the wind. It was a constant source of delight to watch the graceful evolu- tions of this albatross, as it followed our ship day after day, rising and falling at will and sailing straight with the wind on rigid wings. The large, webbed feet were stretched out beyond, the tail, and, with webs extended, served as a rudder in, turning. When alight- ing on the water the feet were spj-ead wi4e apart, the tail was spread and depressed and the wingg were held upwards as it dropped gently dowp; onto the crest of a wave; it deliberately, folded its long wings without wetting them. After alighting, it often drifted far LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 5 astern before rising again. This it could easily do in rough weather by slowly unfolding its wings and launching into the air off the crest of a wave, but in calm weather it was necessary for it to run along the surface to gain a little headway. If the wind was blow- ing strongly it could easily catch up with the ship without flapping its wings. It sits very high on the water and swims slowly. Professor Dill (1912) says that the notes uttered during the nuptial dance are softer than those of the Laysan albatross and end "with a sound like the stroke of a bell under water or deep within the bird's stomach." They often give a whirring groan while quarreling over their food, and a similar note is sometimes heard on the wing, though they are usually silent. The black-footed albatross is usually sociable and gentle with its neighbors on its breeding grounds, where it is more or less intimately associated with other albatrosses, boobies, shearwaters, and terns. It is on particularly intimate terms with the Laysan albatross in- dulging in the dance with it, but it has a bad habit of abusing its neighbors' young, and Doctor Fisher (1906) says that "the process sometimes finishes the victim, for young which appear to have been misused are frequently seen lying around dead." Winter. — After the prolonged duties of reproduction are over the birds scatter about for a few months of vacation. Breeding birds may be found on Laysan Island from November to August, but undoubtedly some individuals are earlier breeders than others, and I doubt if the breeding season for each pair of birds is extended over any such long period as ten months; probably it is not much over six months. Certainly, adults are seen at sea, hundreds of miles from their breeding grounds, during at least six months of the year, from May to October. DISTEIBUTION. Breeding range. — Central and western Pacific Ocean, north of the Equator (Laysan, Gaspar Kico, Midway, Marshall, Volcano, and Bonin Islands). Formerly on Marcus Island. Breeding grounds protected in Hawaiian Islands reservation. Range. — North Pacific Ocean, mainly north of the Tropic of Cancer. East to the coast of North America, from the Alaska Pen- insula southward to Lower California (San Quentin Bay). South nearly or quite to the Equator. West to Formosa Channel, Japan ( Yezzo) , and the Kurile Islands. North to the Aleutian Islands and southern Bering Sea (Bristol Bay, Alaska) in summer. Egg dates. — Bonin Islands: Eight records, September 28 to De- cember 1. Midway Island : Ten records, November 18 to 21. Lay- san Island: Six records, November 18 to December 29. t— 22 2 6 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. PHOEBASTRIA ALBATRUS (Fallu). SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS. HABITS. This was one of the species that we expected to find in the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands, but, although we spent the month of June, 1911, in cruising the whole length of the chain as far west as Attu Island and were exploring in the neighborhood of the various islands in Bering Sea all through July, we did not see, well enough to identify it, a single individual, in spite of the fact that we kept a sharp lookout for it and that other observers had found it common there. Possibly some of the dark-colored albatrosses, which we saw on both sides of the Aleutian Islands, and which we supposed were black- footed albatrosses, may have been young birds of this species. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says that he found them very common between the islands east of Unalaska. The birds were very conspicuous from their white plumage and great size. During calm days they were most numerous, and ten or fifteen were frequently seen at a time. Unlike the black-footed albatross, these birds do not appear to follow vessels, and, in fact, are so shy that as a rule they give a wide berth to any species of sailing craft. Yet he says again:. "The natives of Alexandroosk sometimes spear them from their kyacks." Mr. H. W. Elliott (1875), in writing of the birds of the fur seal islands, about 1875, says-: Twenty or thirty years ago, when whaling vessels were reaping their rich harvests in Bering and the Arctic Seas, the albatross was often seen about the islands, feeding upon the whale carrion which might drift on shore. But with the decrease of the whale fishery the birds have almost disappeared. Only a single individual was noted during my two years' residence. This was taken by Dr. Meany on the north shore of Saint George's. The decline of the whale-fishing industry since that time has prob- ably still further reduced the abundance of this species in those waters. Mr. Lucien M. Turner (1886) says: Among the Aleutian Islands they are quite common, but generally far out at sea. They approach the land during dense fogs, and may then be found sitting on a small rock Jutting from the water. This species passes the winter In this locality and may be found, during very severe weather, about the west- em end of Attu Island. Dr. L. Stejneger (1885) found this species "by no means a rare visitor to the Commander Islands." He differs from Mr. Turner however, in. saying: ' They do not remain near the islands during the winter— at least I saw none— but the first ones were observed as early as the middle of March. These were old birds in the white plumage, and on April 14th not less than eight were seen UFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 7 at one time near the village. During the summer, however, the black young birds of the foregoing year are more numerous than the adults, of which a few remain all summer, though without breeding, of course. In the middle of the Immense flocks of Lunda, Fratercula, and Fulmarus, which In quiet weather rest on the surface of the sea, covering many acres, can always be seen one or two of these comparatively gigantic dark birds, which, however, are the first ones to take the wing at the approach of a boat or a bajdarka. This species is remarkably shyer than D. tUgripes. Nesting. — ^According to Cassin (1858), Mr. Titian K. Peale found the short-tailed albatross breeding on Wake Island in the Central Pacific Ocean, about half-way between the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines. He says: On the 20th of December, we found this bird breeding at Wake's Island. The single egg of each pair was laid on the ground, in a slight concavity, with- out any lining material ; both sexes take turns In the labor of Incubation, and neither the male nor the female abandoned the nest on our approach, but walked around us in a very dignified manner, and made but few demonstrations of defense with their bills when taken up in our arms. The egg is white, of an oblong figure, with the ends nearly alike, and measures four and two-tenths Inches long, and two and six-tenths inches in diameter. Eggs. — Seebohm (1890) refers to five eggs, in the Pryer collection, taken by Mr. Hoist in the Bonin Islands which vary in length from 4.7 to 4.3, in breadth from 3.0 to 2.9. Twelve eggs, from the same source, in the British Museum are described by Godman (1907) as " dull white, and marked on the larger end with a profusion of red spots and blotches, many of which are confluent arid form a distinct cap. Isolated spots and markings of various sizes are scattered over the shell." Mr. A. J. Campbell (1901) describes the eggs as follows : Lengthened oval or elliptically inclined in shape ; texture of shell coarse and strong ; surface rough, with just a perceptible trace of gloss ; colour, dirty or yellowish-white, more or less ingrained or stained with earth, and with a rusty-colored or rufous-brown cap of freckled or blotchy markings on the larger end. In addition, some examples have, here and there over the rest of the shell, dull purplish-brown spots. The measurements of 43 eggs, in various collections, average 116.1 by 74.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 125 by 77, 120 by 79, and 92 by 64 millimeters. Plumages. — ^I can not find any descriptions of the downy young and doubt if they have ever been collected. The sequence of plum- ages to maturity seems to require at least three and possibly four years. Cassin (1858) quotes Peale as giving the following account of these changes : The changes are regularly progressive. Until the second year the plumage remains a dark- sooty-brown color; the bird has black feet and a dirty flesh- colored bill (which becomes black when the skin is dried). In this state they pair and raise young. After this stage cloudy white spots appear about the 8 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. base of the bill and over and under the eyes; their rumps begin to show a conspicuous spot of white ; the bill turns yellow, with a tinge of carmine, the tip bluish; the legs are then flesh color; and finally the back, wings, and tail become cinereous-brown; rump, head, and all the under parts pure white; a white margin shows along the back edge of the wing as the bird flies, and a cloudy black spot generally remains in front of the eye. Thus, in some years, the plumage of the body is changed from nearly black to a pure snow-like white. In his Monograph of the Petrels Godman describes in detail the vai-ious plumages of a series of specimens in the British Museum which seem to agree with the above statement by Peale. Food. — ^In its feeding habits it does not differ materially from other albatrosses. It occasionally follows vessels for the purpose of. picking up what scraps are thrown overboard, though it is shyer than some species and not so constant in its following. It has t)een! caught on a hook and line baited with pork. It evidently feeds largely on squid, and is often attracted by whaling vessels to pick up scraps of blubber and flesh. Where food is so scarce and widely scattered as it is on the ocean, the hungry sea birds can not be too particular about what they eat ; but all the albatrosses seem to prefer animal food. ,. Behavior. — The short-tailed albatross bears a superficial resem- blance tp the wandering albatross, but it is decidedly , smaller and certain details of its color pattern are different. It is §aid to be less active than some of the other species. In the. dark immature plumage it is likely to be confounded with the black-footed albatross,, but it is larger and darker, lacks the white face and has a pink bill. Capt. F. W. Hutton's (190S) interesting theory regarding the flight of albatrosses might as well be applied to this species as to any other : It was pointed out in 1889 by Mr. A. O. Baines that the birds usually rise in a slanting direction against the wind, turn round in a rather large circle, and make a rapid descent down the wind. They subsequently take a longer or shorter flight in various directions, almost touching the water. After that comes another ascent in the same manner, followed by another series of move- ments. Now, as the velocity of the wind near the surface of the sea is dimin- ished by the friction of the waves, when the bird ascends into the more rapidly moving upper current its i?t« inertiae makes the wind blow past it, and so Its stock of energy is Increased. When it descends it will be moving faster than the lower stratum of wind and will again develop new energy if Its inertia Is sufficient to prevent its attaining , the new velocity of the wind at once. So that the bird must fly against the wind when ascending and with it when descending. Thus the energy constantly lost by the friction of the air la partially renewed by these maneuvers. Thid explains why the birds can sail longer in a high wind than in a calm. It is because in a high wind and with a high sea there is much greater difference between the velocities of the wind near the surface and a short distance above it; and tills again is an explana- tion of why an albatross keeps so close to the surface of the" sea, only just topping the waves and occasionally rising high ijj. the aic. U. S. NATrONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 3 ^-=p^ r- r A liaysan Island. W. K. Fisher. Laysan Island. Laysan Albatross. For description see page 329 W. K. Fishet. UFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 9 Cassin (1858) quotin'g Peale, said of its vocal powers: "Usually birds of this species are silent, but sometimes they quarrel over offal thrown from the ship, then they bray in much the same tone as an ass." Winter. — At the close of the breeding season in the summer, old and yOung birds start oil their fall wanderings which cover nearly the whole of the Pacific Ocean lying north of the Tropic of Cancer, from Asia to North America. At certain seasons this is evidently a cpm- mon species on the coast of California, for Mrs. Bailey (1902) says: "At Monterey in stormy winter weather Mr. Loomis has seen some of the birds in the bay. The largest number he recorded from the region were seen off Point Pinos, a dozen being counted in an hour." DISTRIBUTION. Breading ranffe.^-WesieTH Pacific Ocean, north of the Equator (Wake and IJonin Islands) and perhaps farther north. Range. — North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. -hiast to the coast of North America from Northern Alaska (Norton Sound) southward to southern Lower California (Magdalena Bay). Southern limits not determined; records confused with other species. "West to For- mosa, China, ai)d Japan seas, Kurile, and Commander Islands and Okhotsk Sea. North throughout Bering Sea to Bering Straits, in summer. Egg dates. — Bonin Islands: Eighteen records, August 17 to De- cember 3 ; nine records, October 20 to Movember 12. FHOEBASTRIA IMMUTABILIS (Rathschild). XAYSAN ALBATBOSS. HABITS. As an introduction to the life history of this species it seems fitting to give a brief description of the wonders of Laysan Island, in our mid-ocean bird reservation, where the specimens were obtained from which the Hon. Walter Eothsehild (now Lord Rothschild) first de- scribed the Laysan albatross. As I have never visited Laysan Island or seen this albatross in life, I can not dp better than to quote from the published account of it by Dr. Walter K. Fisher (1903) to whom we are indebted for ihost of our knowledge of the breeding habits of this species. Reaching out toward Japan from the main Hawaiian group Is a long chain of volcanic rocks, atolls, sand bars, and sunken reefs, all insignificant in size and ■widely separated. The last islet is fully two thousand miles from Honolulu and about halfway, to Yokohama. Beginning at the east. the more important mem- bers of this chain are: Bird Island and Necker (tall volcanic rocks), French 10 BULLEO'IN l2l, tJNITED STAGES NAHONAL MtTgEtJM. Frigate Shoals, Gardner Rock, Laysan, Lisiansky, Midway, Cure, and Morell. Laysan is eight hundred miles northwest-by-west from Honolulu, and is per- haps best known as being the home of countless albatrosses. We sighted the Island early one morning in May, lying low on the horizon, with a great cloud of sea birds hovering over it. On all sides the air was lively with terns, al- batrosses, and boobies, and we began to gain some notion of what a pande- monium the distant swarm was raising. We landed on the west side, where there is a narrow passage through the breakers, which curl with beautiful hues on the coral reef, and then sweep shoreward with flying foam. Laysan is a slightly elevated atoll, rudely quadrilateral in contour, and suggests a shallow basin or platter. It is three miles long by one and one-half broad. In the center is a wholly enclosed lagoon, covering perhaps one hundred acres. This is surrounded by a broad, level plain, that part nearest the very saline waters of the lagoon being destitute of any vegetable life. From this plain the land rises as a gentle sandy slope to a low divide or rim (about twenty-five feet above the water) near the sea beach. Not a tree breaks the monotonous expanse, but instead are low bushes (Chenopodium sandrmcheum, Santalum freycinetianum, Scaevola koenigi) and broad areas of high, tussocky grass. On the narrow seaward slope the turf is short and wiry, and. a broad band between the bare shores of the lagoon and the beginning of the bush grass is covered mostly with matted beds of succulent Portulaca lutea, and reddish- flowered Sesumum portulacastrum. Beautiful morning glories, yellow Tribulus (reminding one of Potentilla), showy Capparis, and numerous other flowers add a bit of color to the landscape. Laysan is a bird paradise. Albatrosses (Diomedea immutabills and P. nigripes) by the thousands rear their young here each year, free from fear of molestation or injury. More numerous even are the sooty terns {Sterna fuliginosa), while the gray-back tern (S. lunata), white tern (Gygis alba hitt- litzi), noio {Micranous hawaUensis) , and noddy (Anous atoUdus) are all abundant. Attractive and interesting birds are the boobies, of which two species, Sula cyanopg and Sula piscator, are on the island in large numbers. The droll frigate bird (Fregata aquila) is here in all the glory of his bright red gular " balloon," and the splendid red-tailed tropic bird {Phaethon rubricau- dus) in satiny plumage of the palest rose pink, is a familiar member of the community ; as he nervously flits by in the tropical sunshine his feathers glisten with the lustre of burnished metal. Among the Procellariidae, the bonin petrels (Aestrelata hypoleuca) may be mentioned as exceeding even the laysan alba- tross in numbers, but as they live in deep burrows one would hardly think it. Next come the wedge-tailed and Christmas Island shearwaters (Pufflnua cuneatu» and P. nativitatig), which are abundant, and the rare sooty petrel (OceoMOdroma fuliginosa) nests in some numbers during the winter months. At that time, in 1902, the glories of Laysan Island were in their prime and the number of breeding sea birds was at its maximum. Doctor Fisher agreed with Prof. C. C. Nutting that there were, at least, a million albarosses breeding on the island, in addition to all the hosts of other species. The nests were so close together that the birds were almost touching each other and it was difficult to walk without treading on eggs. But a great change took place during the next ten years, for a party of Japanese feather hunters visited the island and materially reduced its wonderful bird population. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 4 Laysan Island. W. K. Fisher. Laysan Island. Laysan Albatross. W. K. Fisher. For description see page 323 MFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 11 In comparing the conditions, noted by him in 1903 and in 1911, Mr. William Alanson Bryan (1912) says: The slaughter wrought by the plume hunters is everywhere apparent. One of the work buildings formerly used by the guano company and later as a storehouse by the poachers is still standing. With a side torn out and left open to the weather by the men of the Thetis, it is still filled with thousands of pairs of albatross wings. Though weatherbeaten and useless, they show how they were cut from the birds whose half-bleached skeletons lie in thousands of heaps scattered all over the island. This wholesale killing has had an appalling effect on the colony. No one can estimate the thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of birds that have been wilfully sacrificed on Laysan to the whim of fashion and the lust of gain. It is conservative to say that fully one-half the number of birds of both species of albatross that were so abundant everywhere in 1903 have been killed. The colonies that remain are in a sadly decimated condition. Often a colony of a dozen or more birds will not have a single young. Over a large part of the island. In some sections a hundred acres in a place, that 10 years ago was thickly Inhabited by albatrosses, not a single bird remains, while heaps of the slain lie as mute testimony of the awful slaughter of these beautiful, ha.rmless, and without doubt beneficial inhkbitants of the high seas. Fortunately, serious as were the depredations of the poachers, their op- erations were interrupted before any of the species had been completely ex- terminated. So far as the birds that secure their food from the sea are con- cerned. It is reasonable to suppose they will increase in number, and that nature will in time restore the island to its former populous condition if no further slaughter is permitted. Owing to the indiscriminate method of the killing, usually only one or the other of mated pairs was sacrificed. The unmated birds that survive are slow in selecting another mate. As but a single egg Is laid by the majority of these birds, it will possibly take 10 years for the sea birds of the colony to regain their former numerical strength. In his report of the same expedition Prof. Homer E. Dill (1912) estimates the number of Laysan albatrosses on the island in 1911 as 180,000 and the total bird population as over a million, which gives some encouragement that the principal species nesting on the island are in no danger of extermination. A similar tale of destruction is told by Mr. Bryan (1903) in his account of the Marcus Island colony of Laysan albatrosses which were killed and boiled down^ to make fertilizer, which was shipped to Japan ; the long wing quills were saved and sold, as eagle feathers, to the millinery trade. Sprinff. — ^The Laysan albatrosses begin to arrive on their breeding grounds during the last week in October and in November the nesting season is well under way. Doctor Fisher (1904) says: The albatrosses live on Laysan nearly ten months of the year. During the last days of October, before the winter storms set In, the first vanguard of the mighty army appears, and for days they continue to flock in from all points of the compass. Dr. H. Schauinsland, who witnessed their advent, says that in exposed places the island becomes literally white with the count- less throng, as if great snowflakes had suddenly descended upon the scene. 12 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. So vast is the number of birds that many are obliged to be content with rather unsuitable nesting spots, while late comers must leave the overcrowded area. Loving couples defend their rights against the tardy ones, tind it is several days before all have settled their respective claims. Courtship. — On their arrival and all through their breeding sea- son these birds indulge in a very peculiar and interesting dance, which the sailors refer to as a " cake walk." Doctor Fisher (1904) has fully described the performance, as follows : This game or whatever one may wish to call It, very likely originated in past time during the courting season, but it certainly has long since lost any such significance. At first two birds approach one another, bowing pro- foundly and stepping heavily. They swagger about each other, nodding and courtesying solemnly, then suddenly begin to fence a little, crossing bills and whetting them together, sometimes with a whistling sound, meanwhile pecking and dropping stiff little bows. All at once one lifts its closed wing and nibbles at the feathers beneath, or rarely, if in a hurry, quickly turns its head. The partner during this short performance, assumes a statuesque pose, and either looks mechanically from side to side, or snaps its bill loudly a few times. Then the first bird bows once, and pointing its head and beak straight upward, rises on its toes, puffs out its breast, and utters a prolonged, nasal, Ah-h-h-h, with a rapidly rising inflection, and with a distinctly " anserine " and " bovine " -quality, quite difllcult to describe. While this "song" is being uttered the companion loudly and rapidly snaps its bill. Often both birds raise their heads in air and either one or both favor the appreciative audience with that ridiculous, and indescribable bovine groan. When they have finished they begin bowing to each other again, rapidly and alternately, and presently repeat the performance, the birds reversing their r51e In the game or not. In the most successful dances the movements are executed In perfect unison, and this fact much enhances the extraordinary effect. Nesting. — Doctor Fisher (1906) says of the nesting colonies on Laysan Island: The Laysan albatross or gony is distributed all over the island, with the single exception of the beaches, which on all sides except the west are colon- ized by the black-footed albatross. The flat plain surrounding the lagoon is their, favorite habitat, and we found the young here in far the greatest num- ()ers. This great colony extended all the way around the lagoon, but certain portions were more congested than others. The largest single colony of young 'is on the south side of the lagoon, where the ground has been leveled off in past years by phosphate-rock diggers. Here from a little eminence one can look off and see many thousands of birds at a glance, but it would be hazardous to guess how many there are on the whole island. Dr. T. W. Richards (1909) describes the nest as follows: Regarding the nesting habits. Dr. Campbell noted an Interesting point of difference in the two species; both lay in slight hollows scratched in the bare sand, but imrmitabilis usually heaps up this material in a ridge around the " nest." He says " the bird, sitting on the nest and reaching out as far as possible, picks up sand in its bill and deposits same around the edge until it \s built up four or five inches. I noticed the difference in contour of nests of the two species, and as a white pair (Laysan) made a nest just beyond my door I was enabled to discover how it was done. The building up of the U. S. NATrONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 5 Laysan Island. W. K. Fisher. Laysan Island, Laysan Albatross. For description see page 329 W. K. Fisher. UFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 13 sides results In making the nest higher and also provides a shallow ditch all around it, which certainly makes it drier when there is rain. Eggs. — The Laysan albatross lays but onp egg which is laid about the middle of November. Mr. Walter Kothschild (1893) has de- scribed his series of eggs as follows : , I have received a series of eight eggs of D. immittaSiMs, which, vary very much both in shape and coloration. The two extremes are as follows : 1. Very elongate; length, 111.5 mm.; width, 62.5 mm.; ground color, dirty white, marked with numerous large and small blotches of a brownish-maroon color, which are principally massed at the two epds, though there are a few in the central zone. 2. Very thick and short ; length, 100 mm. ; width, 70 mm. ; color, uniform brownish bufC without any markings whatever. The majority of specimens before me are dirty white with irregular patches and spots of brownish-maroon at the larger end. The measurements of 39 eggs, in various collections, average 109.2 by 69.4 millimeters ;' the eggs showing the four extremes measure 116 by 72, 109.6 by 75, and 99 by 62 millimeters. Young. — Doctor Richards (1909) says: Incubation lasts about six weeks, both birds taking turns on the nest so that the egg is constantly covered. The young are fed, in the well-known manner, by regurgitation from the throat of the parent, remaining about the islands until the following June or July, so that the entire reproductive jjeriod occupies about one-half of the year. Doctor Fisher (1906) devotes considerable space to the behavior of the young and I quote from his remarks, as follows : trhe shallow, basin-shaped hollow in which the egg is deposited, is the young albatross's home and it usually does not stray far. But as the nest- lings grow stronger so that they can walk a little, albeit very awkwardly, they wander sometimes a rod from the home spot and engage in mild squabbles with youthful neighbors. The same feeling of growing strength leads them about this time to slowly fan their wings back and forth from time to time. During a light shower I saw a considerable colony of young birds do this together, after the manner of cormorants drying their Wings. When the breeze is rather brisk they usually all face it. Their spare time is taken up with idly dozing in the hot sun, preening their feathers or examining their surroundings. Several times I observed young birds collect dried grass and similar material, which happened to be within reach, and carefully cover the hollow in which they were sitting. Sometimes their spirit of inquiry leads them into trouble. We found a young bird, still lively, buried to its neck in a collapsed petrel burrow. It objected strenuously to being disinterred, but appeared little the worse for its adventure. These amusing creatures sit on their heels with the whole length of the tarsus on the ground or tilted slightly in the air, as shown in the illustration. Their spare time is spent in gazing stupidly around, but if their reverie is at all disturbed by one passing too near they fly into an apparent rage, lean forward, and snap their beaks viciously, or sway their uncouth bodies from side to side in a frantic attempt to maintain a balance. Sometimes they make a rush, waddling along and darting their heads back and forth to the 14 BTTLLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. music of clicking mandibles. But they only occasionally come to the point of biting, and are always amenable to tact and persuasion. Usually, after the first paroxysm of snapping is over, one can stroke them with little danger of scratched hands. They maintain a small fire of ob- jection, with impotent nips, or try to slide off. But sometimes a youngster is more determined than the rest. It often happens that in an eager rush to scare an intruder the young bird stumbles in a petrel's hole and falls for- ward with considerable force on its chin. In some way nature never meant an albatross's head to be lower than its stomach, or the concussion affects it unpleasantly for usually it disgorges its breakfast very promptly and ener- getically, but curiously I never saw them do this without first falling over. After such a performance the young one looks dejected, for it is usually left hungry, and hunger Is its chief trouble. After sunrise the albatrosses begin to feed the young. The old bird, coming in from the sea, alights near her offspring, which immediately takes the initia- tive by waddling up and pecking or biting gently at her beak. This petitioning always takes place and perhaps acts as some sort of stimulus for in a few mo- ments the mother stands up, and with head lowered and wings held loosely at the side disgorges a mass of squids and oil. Just as she opens her beak the young inserts its own crosswise and skillfully catches every morsel, which it bolts with evident relish. This operation I saw repeated, with short intermissiMis, ten times. The last two or three ejections of this oily pabulum cost the albatross considerable muscular effort and the last time nothing came up but a little oil, and stomach Juices presumably. The young bird is not at all modest in its de- mands, but keeps asking for more. The old bird now pecks back in an annoyed manner, and if the other still urges, she arises and walks off, usually to some neighboring young one, which she viciously mauls about the neck. This exhibi- tion usually takes place just before she feeds her young and likewise between courses, as it were. Why she does this I am at a loss to suggest, unless it be mere ill will. The old bird does not always confine this ill treatment to one strange young bird, but takes in a circle of those whose parents are absent. The young thus rudely treated sometimes bite back, but usually do not offer resist- ance, uttering instead a plaintive little squeak. A small mortality is the result of this practice. Dr. Gilbert observed that Diomedea nigripes is more savage than the white species. He saw a black-footed albatross thus take in a circle of about twenty young immutaMUs and " wool " them soundly. Finally, how- ever, the ruffian arrived at a youngster whose parent, being unexpectedly near by, set upon the persecutor, and in the scrimmage nigripes was put to rout Phimages. — Continuing he says of the development of plumage in the young : The young are hatched in February, according to Mr. Schlemmer. They then are covered with a grayish-white down which is soon superseded by a plumage of dark-brown down, assumed by a continued growth of the original covering and a wearing off of the gray tips. As the young grow older the white feathers come in on the breast and abdomen first, and the brown down is in direct com- munication with the terminal barbs of these juvenal feathers, as is of course well known. The feathers of the back also come in about the same time and those of the wings, save the quills. At the time of our visit the young 'were about two-thirds grown, the white feathers of the breast and abdomen having in most cases the appearance of the adult, but the rest of the body was covered with long brown down, except on the head, where it was short. The beaks of the young are dark dirty gray or brownish gray, while those of the adult are light greenish. U. S. NXTIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 6 -#'' -' . ^>- ■V,^ _^;5»»c?a4Sl2 Laysan Island. W. K. Fisher. Laysan Island. Laysan Albatross. W. K. Fisher. For description see page 329 tJI"E StSTOSlES OP NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 15 The young of most albatrosses are dark colored in their first plu- mages, but in this species the young assume a first plumage closely resembling that of the adult, hence the specific name, immutabilis. Food. — Doctor Fisher (1906) says of their food: Near the forms or nests one not infrequently finds solid pellets — disgorged by the young In" all probability, and by old birds too — consisting entirely of squid beaks and opaque lenses of the eyes. These lenses become very brittle and amber-like under the action of stomach juices and show a concentric structure. Candle nuts, the large seed of Aleurites mollitccuna, were found by Mr. Snyder in the interior of the island and were almost undoubtedly ejected by albatrosses. As Is well known, albatrosses pick up all sorts of floating material, and candle nuts are frequently seen on the ocean, having been swept seaward by mountain streams. Elsewhere (1904) he says : In their hours of toil they hie themselves off to sea and scour the waves for the elusive squid, which is a staple article of diet for the larger members of the vast bird population, the gannets, perhaps, excepted. About sunrise the main body of the white company begins to return, and for several hours they straggle in, tired but full, and seek their sleepy children, who are soon very much awake. Although the Laysan albatrosses undoubtedly do a small part of their fishing during the day, I can not help but feel, from the nocturnal or crepuscular habits of their food — certain cephalopods — and the prevalent feed- ing hours, that the major portion is done in the very early morning, perhaps from just preceding dawn till light. I noted particularly during the one day I was on the steamer, while she was dredging in the vicinity of Laysan, that very few Laysan gonies were seen at sea after about 9 a. m. That same day we sighted the island about 5 a. m., and when I arrived on deck about 5.30 I distinctly remember seeing many of the white species (immutabilis) circling about the vessel. Later In the morning immutahilis almost entirely disappeared, but some nigripes remained with us all day. On the following morning we landed and I had no further opportunity to observe. As Prof. C. C. Nutting, one of the naturalists of the expedition, has said, " the most conservative estimate of the necessary food supply yields almost liltredible results. Cutting Mr. Schlemmer's estimate (of the total number of albatrosses on the island) in two, there would be 1,000,000 birds, and allowing only half a pound a day for each, surely a minimum for these larger, rapidly growing birds, they would consume no less than 250 tons daily." From rather extended observations on the feeding habits, I would place the quantity fed each young bird every morning at nearer one or one and a half pounds of squid (Ommastrephes oualaniensis Less., O. gloanei Gray, and Onychoteuthii banksi F6r.). I believe Professor Nutting's estimate of a million birds Is not too great. Thus, In one day the albatrosses alone would consume nearer 600 tons of squid. Behavior. — The flight of the Laysan albatross is said to be inferior to that of the black-footed albatross, but, as I have not seen it, I can not say in what way it differs from it. Its vocal powers have been already referred to in connection with the nuptial dance. Doctor Fisher (1906) also refers to the notes of the young as follows: It is worthy of record that the young often " sing " in a thin, high squeak, which is kept up continuously for periods, and may be of service In guiding the 16 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. parent, though I could not distinguish th^ slightest Individuality in tone. I do not know whether they do this when the old birds are present, but remember that very many were engaged in the cricket-like song when we visited a popu- lous colony late one moonlight night. On their breeding gounds the albatrosses live quietly and har- moniously with their neighbors, attending strictly to their own affairs and paying no attention to the populous bird colonies about them, and not minding even the presence of man among them. Doctor Fisher (1906) says: The old birds do not seem to mind the presence of man. One can walk among them without disturbing their various occupations and amusements in the least. Only when suddenly startled do they exhibit any tendency to snap their bills, and then they are easily calmed. They back away from any proffered familiarity with great rapidity, unless suddenly hindered by a tuft of grass, which event surprises them immoderately. They wUl not allow themselves to be handled, and make off at a great rate if one offers them this Indignity. They have a half-doubting inquisitiveness which leads them sometimes to walk up to the visitor and examine anything conspicuous about his person. One bird became greatly interested in the bright aluminum cap to my tripod and strolled VP and. examined it with both eye and beak, appearing somewhat astonished when the cap tinkled. Winter. — During July and August the young albatrosses learn to fly and to follow their parents out to sea in search of food, after which both young and old birds begin to desert the breeding islands and to wander over the Pacific Ocean for two or three months before the beginning of another breeding season, hardly more than a short vacation. DISTRIBUTION. Breeding range. — Islands northwest of Hawaiian group, in mid- Pacific Ocean. (Laysan, Midway, French Frigate, Necker, Bird, and Lisiansky Islands.) I^'ormerly in Marcus Island. Breeding grounds protected in Hawaiian Islands reservation. Range.— QG.ntv3l Pacific Ocean. East to the coast of Lower Cali- fornia (between Guadaliipe Island and coast of Lower California). North to about 40° north. West to the Bonin Islands. Southern limits not well defined. Egg dates.— La.js2.n and Midway Islands: Twenty records, No- vember 15 to December 29 ; ten records, November 19 to December 26. THALASSOGERON CHRYSOSTOMUS CULMINATUS (Goald). YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS. HABITS. This species has but slight claims to a place on the list of North American birds, and it can not be regarded as anything but a rare straggler off our coasts. Considerable confusion seems to exist among LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 17 writers as to the status of the two species, Thalassogeron culminatus and T. chJororhynchus, which are evidently closely related, and the identity of American specimens does not seem to be well established. Godman (1907) says of 7'. culminatus: "The species is widely dis- tributed in southern waters, especially in the Australasian seas, whence it ranges throughout the Pacific to South America, extend- ing north to the coast of Oregon ; it is also found in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans ; " and that " T. cMororhyncIms is an inhabitant of the South Atlantic, the South Indian, and the Australian Oceans." Both species have been called yellow-nosed albatross, and many ob- servers have probably not detected the slight differences on which the species have been separated, so that it becomes a difficult, if not impossible, task to properly separate the references between the two species, and I shall not attempt to do so. Audubon (1840) referred to a specimen of yellow-nosed albatrOss, said to have been taken by Doctor Townsend off the mouth of the Columbia Kiver ; Audubon called this bird Diomedea chlororfiynchos, but Professor Baird afterwards identified it as Thalassogeron guL- minatus. Doctor Cooper saw a skull, which " was taken by Dr. W. O. Ayres from a dead specitiaen found on the outer beach near the Golden Gate," according to Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884), and which he identified as belonging to this species. In Nuttall's Manual, by Chamberlain (1891), the followin|g statement occurs: The claim of this species to recognition here is based upon the capture of an immature bird near the mouth of river St. Lawrence In 3885. I examined the skin, which is preserved in the Museum of Laval University, at Quebec, and was told by the curator, Mr. C. E. DlOnne, that he purchased it from the fisherman who shot the bird. The claim is slight, but there is no reason why it should be Ignored. Nesting. — Very little is known about the breeding habits of the yellow-nosed albatross. Mr. Eobert Hall (1900), in his notes on the birds of Kerguelen Island, says: Of the yellow-nosed albatross I saw no nests, but birds were observed near the entrance to the harbor of our last anchorage (Fuller's). Suitable lofty Islets were near this coast, and the birds in adult plumage would probably be breeding there or on the clifEs to the southward of Christmas Harbor. This species makes an addition to the list of Kerguelen birds. Mr. W. Otto Emerson (1886) has published the following notes on an egg of this species which he obtained : It was collected January 12, 1880, by Captain Thos. Lynch, at Diegos, Kavnen's Rocks, S. by E., fifty-two miles from Cape Horn. The nest was composed on the outside of tussocks of grass and mud, inside of fine grass and feathers. The diameter outside at the top was twelve inches, and at the base eighteen. Inside it was ten inches, and the depth inside was five inches. It was situated on the top of the rocks, on a loaniy plain. The incubation was fresh. The following notes by J. W. Detmiller, M. D., were 18 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. on the back of the data : " The nests are very nicely and solidly built, lasting two or three seasons, even In that fearful climate. They are built very closely together, and are probably often mistaken by one and another of the birds, after the fashion of many sea birds. The nests are high, to enable the long- winged creatures to rise easily to wing, which they can not do on a level. The birds are very tame, allowing themselves to be handled while sitting." Effgs. — The egg now before me measures 4 6-8 by 2 6-8 Inches [120.6 by 69.8 mm.], is of an oblong form, smaller at one end than at the other. Both ends are quite blunt. The surface of the shell Is in character like a common hen's egg. The color inclines to a light creamy white, with a ring of seemingly fine spattered burnt sienna specks or spots, like those made by drawing a brush of color across a stick, as a painter does to get the efEect of granite. They form a ring around the larger end, being about two Inches across from one side of the ring to the other. The center of the ring runs together in the fine markings, making the color almost solid, and fades away from the outer edge of the egg, almost to needles points. There are nmnerous eggs in various collections labeled yellow- nosed albatross; but, as I have been unable to definitely determine which are cukminatus and which are cMororhyn^hits, I shall not attempt to describe or give the measurements of either species. Plumages. — ^I can not find any description of the downy young or immature plumages, but Gould (1865) says that young birds "may be easily distinguished from the adults, especially while flying, by the darker coloring of their wings, back, and tail, and by the culmen of the bill being less distinctly marked with yellow." Behavior. — Mr. John Treadwell Nichols has contributed the fol- lowing notes on the behavior of this species : The yellow-nosed albatross is a common south temperate species coming about ships at sea for the scraps from the galley. It can be easily caught with fish- hook and salt pork. The tip of the hook catches under its upper mandible, and if the line be held taut the bird may be hauled on deck along the surface of the water, or through the air like a kita Except rarely when It catches in the soft parts of the mouth, the hook does not penetrate anything and if the line be slackened drops out by Itself; but as a rule the^ird foolishly braces back, stick- ing Its feet out In front of it, or setting its wings, and Is readily drawn Inboard. On deck it is stupid, helpless, unable to rise, and after a few minutes seems to become dizzy from the vessel's motion. Its legs fall it so that it will often squat instead of trying to stand, and with every appearance of seasickness It regurgitates oily matter. Though generally silent, when being hauled aboard I have heard it give a goose-like honking or grunting note. It rises from the water with much awkward flapping, kicking, and splashing, especially in light breezes, and when fairly launched sails on stiff, motionless wings, occasionally giving them a few flaps, less frequently as the wind Increases in force. In moderate breezes the wings are held quite widely extended ; in high winds they are somewhat folded, exposing less surface. It sails straight away, swinging into the air and then down close to the water, leaning to one side or the other as It curves its course. Its flight is never high above the water, but about the ship it rises somewhat higher than the smaUer birds. Attracted by food in the wake. It alights to seize it, but the wings are at such times often held half raised over the back. Though adults are readily distinguishable, young of this species and of the spectacled albatross, the other common small UFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 19 albatross of the south, can be differentiated with diflScuIty in life. The offshore habits of the two seem identical. Winter. — Between breeding seasons this species, like others of its tribe, is given to wandering though it rarely crosses the tropics into the northern hemisphere. In addition to our North American rec- ords there is another North Atlantic record mentioned in Godman's Monograph (1907) as follows: Dr. Knud Andersen, of Darlmenats, says a specimen was obtained on the ice in the North Atlantic in April, 1834, at Fiskumvand, Elter, Norway, about 59° 50' N. Lat., and was sent by Professor W. Boeck to the Ohrlstiania Museum, and determined by Professor Collett. It had previously been wrongly identi- fied with T. chlororhynchus. DISTRIBUTION. Breeding range. — ^The records of T. cidminatus and T. chlororhyn- ckus are hopelessly confused, but apparently the former breeds in the South Atlantic Ocean (probably South Georgia), in the South Pacific Ocean (Campbell Island) , in the South Indian Ocean (Ker- guelen and the Crozet Islands) and on islands near Cape Horn (Diego Rameres). Ra/nge. — Southern portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, mainly between 30° and 60° South. Casual records. — Has wandered northward in the Atlantic Ocean to Quebec (mouth of Moisie Eiver, August 20, 1885) and Norway (Fiskumvand, Eker, April, 1834) ; and in the Pacific Ocean to Panama, California, and Oregon. • Egg dates.— ^C&T^e Horn: Four records, January 8 to February 8? South Georgia Island, January 22. Campbell Island, October 10. THALASSOGERON CHLORORHYNCHUS (Gmelin). FINK-FOOTED ALBATROSS. HABITS. Dr. Leonard C. Sanford has recently added to his magnificent col- lection of Tubi/nan-es a specimen of this species taken on August 1, 1913, off Machias Seal Island, Maine, near the entrance to the Bay of Fundy. This record adds a new species to the North American list. As stated in the life history of the preceding species, the two yel- low-nosed albatrosses, TJuilassogeron culmmaius and T. chlororhyn- ehvs^ are so much alike that their status and distribution are hope- lessly confused. It is almost impossible to separate the references to these two species; therefore, my attempt to write a separate life history and give a separate distribution for each has not been very satisfactory and I have no confidence in the correctness of either; 20 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. however, they will have to stand until further investigation throws more light on the subject. Mr. G, E. Verrill (1895) has described the yellow-nosed albatross which breeds on Gough Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean, as a new species under the name Thalassogeron exvmms, which he says most closely resembles T. chlororhynchus. Other authorities differ as to whether this bird is nearer to cMororhynchus or to culminatm: Apparently it is very close to both and perhaps all three may eventu- ally prove to be identical, as the slightly differentiated characters may prove to be age, seasonal, or individual variations. There are also several other species of Thalassogeron, which seem to have a more or less doubtful status and which may eventually be lumped together, when this group is better understood. Nesting,— Kssuramg that the Gough Island bird may be this species, I quote what Mr. Verrill (1895) has to say about it: Ooncerning the "molly mokes " Mr. Comer has the following notes : " There is but one kind, which are known as blueheads, on Gough Island. Back and heads light blue, top of wings dark, white breasts, top of beak yellow, while the lower part is black, feet white. On this Island they lay separately, keeping well apart and scattered about the island, among tussocks and brakes, more like the albatross (D. exulans) but at South Georgia and most of the islands they build close to each other in rookeries. At Gough Island they commence laying the 20th of September. They lay but one egg. If robbed they do not lay again, but leave the nest and do not return until another season. Nests are built the same as the albatross (D. exulans), only smaller." In his journal at Gough Island, on September 7, Mr. Comer notes that " the molly mokes have commenced to make their nests." Again, on September 27, that he " got a few nioUy moke eggs," and from then on he frequently speaks of taking their eggs. . Eggs. — Of the eggs he says : The shape of the 75 eggs is comparatively pretty uniform, as a rule more elongate and nearer elliptical than the following species, most of them approach- ing an elliptical ovoid. Several are nearly perfect ellipsoids. The texture and surface of the shell is much like that of D. exulans, but finer and smoother in proportion to their smaller size. The ground color is white, generally with a very slight grayish or dusky and sometimes reddish tinge, and the whole egg is Covered with minute specks of a reddish brown, darker "than in D. exulans;' in some they are even dark brown. These specks vary in number and are, for the most part, in the small pits and depressions on the surface of the shell. About one-third of the eggs are otherwise unmarked, so that at a little dis- tance they simply have a dusky appearance. In the other two-thirds the specks become larger and thicker toward the larger end, often forming a more or l^s perfect zone about it, in other cases they run together and form a blotch which is, in some, quite heavy and conspicuous. As in D. exulans, the color Is very superficial and many have larger spots or small blotches, unevenly, distributed, that scale ofe when very dry, and like the eggs of the large albatross, most of them, when held to the light, shovir spots and blotches of color In the shell. Three are quite different from the rest in markings, two being heavily streaked over the whole egg with reddish brown, thickest at the large end. The other is streaked, not quite so heavily, with pale lilac, which is not so superficial. LJFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 21 Until more satisfactorily indentified eggs are available, I shall not attempt to give any measurements. Behavior. — Godman (1907) publishes the following scanty in- formation about this species: T. chlororhynchus is an inhabitant of the South Atlantic, the South Indian and the Australian Oceans. Gould relates that the species came under his ob- servation for the first time on the i4th of July, 1838, in lat. 30° 38' S., long 20° 43' W., from which period till the ship reached New South Wales scarcely a day passed without its being seen. Upon some occasions it appeared in con- siderable numbers, many of the birds being apparently one or two years old, and these were easily distinguished from the adults, especially when flying, by their dark-colored wings, back, and tail, and by the culmen of the bill being less distinctly marked with yellow. Dr. E. A. Wilson, the naturalist on board the Discovery, says that the speciesr was first' encountered in the South Indian Ocean on September 22, 1901, in lat. 35° S., long. 14° W., and remained with the ship till the 30th of that month ; ' it reappeared quite close to shore ofE False Bay on the coast of South Africa, as well as in the neighborhood of the Agulhas Sandbank, but eastward of this in the southern ocean its place was taken by T. culTrUnatus, which had not previously been observed. T. chlororhynchus appears to frequent different lo calities varying with the season of the year. Mr. Robert Hall mentions T. chlororhynchus as frequenting the entranct of Christmas Harbor in Kerguelen Island, but he did not find it breeding. Dr. Filhol says that the species breeds on Campbell Island, but there is some doubt whether he identified the bird accurately (Ibis, 1903, p. 266). , Mr Nicol, however, believed, that at the time of the " Valhalla's " visit to Tristan da Cunha, the " Yellow-nosed albatross " was nesting on the top of the crater, but the weather was too unfavorable to allow of his reaching its haunts. Gould (1865) says of it: The yeUow-nosed albatross is plentiful off the Cape of Good Hope, and in all the intermediate seas between that point and Tasmania; I also observed it off Capes Howe and Northumberland on the southern coast of Australia, and Gilbert states that he saw it flying about Rottnest Island on the western coast. In its flight and general economy it greatly resembles the next specl«a (Diomedea melanophrys) with which it is often in company. DISTRIBUTION. Breeding range.— 'Sot well defined, and confused with that of T. euhninaPus. Said to breed on Falkland Islands and probably on other islands in the South Atlantic (Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands) and in the Indian Ocean. Ranges-South. Atlantic and South Indian Oceans and Australian seas, ranging farther north thaji cuhninatu^. Casual record. — One taken near the Bay of Fundy, New Bruns- wick (off Machias Seal Island, August 1, 1913) and one near Kongs- berg, Norway (April, 1837). Egg dates. — Falkland Islands : Six; records, Octobcf 8 to 23. Gough Island: Two records, September 1 to 3. 83969—22 3 22 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. FHOEBETRIA PALPEBKATA AUDUBONI Nicholi and Murphy. AVDTJBON SOOTY ALBATROSS. HABITS, This is another species of ocean wanderer which has but a slight claim to a place on our list. It is a oommon species of wide distri- bution in southern and antarctic oceans ; but its wanderings seldom bring it to our coasts, where it is very rare and of doubtful occur- rence at the present day. Audubon (1840) first introduced it to our fauna and described it under the name of Diomedea fusca, from a specimen procured by Doctor Townsend off the coast of Oregon ; so far as I know, no other specimen has ever been taken in American waters. NesHng.— Sir Walter BuUer (1888) says: This species is more wary in its breeding Iiabits than any other species of albatross. It breeds both in the Auckland and Campbell Islands. But it usually selects, as a nesting place, a ledge of rock high up on the face of the cliflE, and quite inaccessible either from above or below. Not far from Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, lies a beautiful and picturesque island, on the rocky cliffs of which the sooty abatross finds a congenial breeding place. Mr. W. Eagle Clarke (1905) has given us the following description of this ocean Gough Island rises on every side abruptly from the ocean in sheer precipices several hundred feet high. The general aspect of the island, as seen from ship- board, is very beautiful, with its green slopes and moss and lichen-covered clifCs, over which numbers of rushing waterfalls shoot out into the sea with a drop of several hundred feet. The only apparent landing place is on the eastern side, where the party from the Scotia landed. Here a ravine runs down from the interior to the coast and along it flows a small stream. Near the sea- ward end of this ravine are a few acres of level ground covered with grass or, in the moister parts with ferns and rankly growing celery and docks. Here, too, .Is a narrow beach, perhaps a hundred yards long, strewn with many large boulders and numerous fern rhizomes of considerable size. At the southwest end of the island there appears to be a plateau of about half a square mile in extent at an elevation of some 300 feet, but everywhere else the island rises into steep ridges separated by narrow valleys, which must render its explora- tion a matter of extreme difficulty. On the lower ground and up to a height of over 1,000 feet the island is thickly covered with tussock grass {Spartina arundinacea) and bucking trees {Phylica nitida) ; the former spread pro- fusely over the steeper slopes, and the latter gnarled and stunted, yet growing vigorously even on the most exposed ridges. These trees appear hardly to rise beyond twenty feet in height and generally bear a thick growth of lichens on their stems. Under the waterfalls and along the sheltered banks of the streams ferns and mosses grow in luxuriance. More than the general aspect of the vegetation on the higher ground could not be determined but the very summit of the island seemed by its green appearance to be clothed with mosses and lichens. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 7 HEfe» "^^L* f^ h||^^^vWj|H •■*• m jJt. im^gmm^^z^ ^^^K 1 in ■■;-:^tl'' " '^t^ r « 1 aSHKjSivtiTBt;, '^Ht'^ .au^^^^l g>^ *',.'■• ^^^b ("Qk^^^^^^I^ ^ "^■■I aBj^WWWfcii^ ^^ South Georgia. R. C, Murphy. Brooklyn Museum. Sooty Albatross. For description see paqe 329. R. C. Murphy. UFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 23 He also says of the albatross that breeds there : Mr. Comer describes the species breeding at Gough Island as having the beak darls with " a yellow stripe on each side." It is common, but does not breed in "rookeries;" it places its nests separately on cliffs or projecting rocks, where it is most difficult to get at them. The bird commences to lay by the middle of September, and while sitting, keeps up a continual cry similar to that of a young goat. Mr. Robert Hall (1900) found the sooty albatross breeding on Kerguelen Island, in the South Indian Ocean, and gives the follow- ing account of its nesting habits : A trumpet-like screech and cat-like noise seem to be the vocabulary of this bird, as it wends its curving flight along the face of the cliffs, in the lower parts of which it places its nests. January 5th saw me investigating three nests on Murray Island in Royal Sound. Two were within three feet of each other, while the third was several hundred yards away, but all were placed under the ledges of rocks some 300 feet high and facing the sea. The first nest con- tained an egg which was undoubtedly addled, as I became aware when blowing it, and so were the other persons In the cabin ; yet upon this egg the bird still sat. Two nests placed together contained, respectively, a young bird a few days old, and an egg with an almost matured embryo. Th's egg I took, and five days later I annexed the young of the other nest. All this time the egg- nest was still being sat upon by the sooty albatross. The young one, when left by its parent, stood up to assert its rights, and snapped its bill in the man- ner of the adult, but feebly. A cormorant's fresh egg, partly bfoken, was near, so the little gaUant lived well in the start of its career, and disgorged enough food in a mass to give a meal to half a dozen ordinary birds. The general hue of the nestling was slate-color; the bill slate-black; legs bluish; iris faint hazel, and pupil blue. The ring of white had begun to show round the eye. The nests were neat, saucer-like, and of fine fibrous loam, caked. The dimen- sions were: Breadth 17 inches, diameter of cavity 12 inches, depth of cavity 3 inches, depth of structure about 4 inches. Dr. J. H. Kidder (1875) spent four months, September to Janu- ary, on this island, and I quote the following from his report : October 24 two of the dusky albatrosses had made a nest upon a shelf formed by a considerable tuft of cabbage and azorella, at the entrance of a small cavity in the perpendicular face of a lofty rock, near the top of a hill some two miles away. Here the birds could be both seen and heard. Their scream is very loud, and not unlike one of the calls of a cat. At a distance, it has often besen mistaken for the hail of a man. The name "pee-arr" has been given as descriptive of this call, which is, I believe, peculiar to the breeding season. Another pair was seen same day circling around the same hill top. No eggs. November 2, secured one egg and both birds. The nest is a conical mound, seven or eight inches high, hollowed into a cup at the top, and lined rudely with grass. The male was sitting when captured; the female standing on another old nest, not far away, but higher up the face of the rock. There was no evidence of an intention to rebuild the old nest. Both birds, but particularly the male, showed fight when approached, clattering their large bills with an odd noise, and biting viciously when they got a chance. The male is per- ceptibly the larger bird of the two. The oviduct of the female was distended, and no other egg seemed to be on its way from the ovary, making it probably that she had Just laid the single large egg found ; but, of course, the evidence 24 BXTLLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. is not absolute that these two birds had paired, although found so near to- getjier. He also says of the egg : Egg is single, broadly ovoidal, generally white, marked by a collection of specks about the larger end, somewhat like the adventitious stains on the figgs of D. exulam, but, as well as we can judge, less superficial. The shell is. compact in structure, rather thin for its size, and superficially smooth to the touch. Under the lens, it is seen to be marked by minute pits and linear de- pressions, being thus decidedly different, both to the eye and to the touch, from those of D. exulans. '■ Eggs. — An egg of the sooty albatross, obtained by Captain Ar- muson in the Crozette Islands, has been described by Baird, Brewer, and Eidgway (1884) as follows: It measured 4.20 inches by 2.60 [106.68 mm. by 66.04 mm.] and resembled generally the egg of D. exulans, being chalky white, coarse to the touch, and of squareiy truncated form. It was also minutely pitted with reddish dots In an indistinct band at the obtuse end." , Sir Walter Buller (1888) describes the egg as follows: An egg of this species examined by me is of a narrow elliptical form, measur- ing 4.2 Inches [106.68 mm.] in length by 2.7 [68.59 mm.] in breadth; of a dingy brownish white, splashed, dotted, and marked all over its larger pole with dull blackish brown. Another of the same length, but somewhat narrower, is of a clear, greyish, white, minutely and indistinctly spotted, and presenting a pretty regular zone of sepia-brown near its larger end. Young.— Sir Walter Buller (1888) has also described the downy young as follows: Covered with very long and thick down of a pale sooty color; on the forepart and sides' of the head feather-like and several shades darker in tint. A band of feather-like down encircles the eyes, and extends forward to the base of the bill ; having very much the appearance of a pair of spectacles. Bill black, legs brownish-grey, claws lighter. '■ Behavior.— Mr. John Treadwell Nichols writes to me : The wedge-tailed sooty albatross comes frequently about vessels and does not differ markedly in habits from the yellow-nosed species, its fiight is similar but more graceful. Its wings not held go stiffly, are occasionally moved .^tightly, a tremor which it would be difficult to call either a flap or an adjust- ment to the wind. It sometimes sails for long periods and circuitous distances on set wings, even when the wind is but moderate. I have sometimes seen it >Sy higher than the other southern tubinares commonly do, higher than the masts, passing directly over the ship. In my experieriee it is rather wary of a baited hook. I have never seen it caught. Gould (1865) says of the flight of the sooty albatross: The cuneated form of the tail, which is peculiar to this species together With its Slight and small legs and more delicate structure, clearly indSte haUt is the most aerial species of the genus; and accordingly we find that in it, actions and mode of flight it differs very considerably fTo„f all Ihl other species of albatross, its aerial evolutions being far more easv its fliehf much higher and its stoops more rapid; it is moreover the only speSes tha passes directly over the ship, which it frequently does in blowinHeather often poising Itself over the masthead, as if inquisitively viewing the see Life histories oi? north AMfiRicAN petrels and pelicans. 25 below'; at this moment it offers so inviting a mark for the gunner, that it often forfeits its life. The sooty albatt-oss is known by the sailors as the " cape hen " or *' blue bitd " ; it is also called " peearr " or "peeu " from its note. It seem to be universally recognized as distinct from other dark colored albatrosses and all writers agree that it is in a class by itself in appearance and flight. Dr. Edward A. Wilson (1907) has thus characterized it: The sooty albatross is perhaps the most striking bird of all in the Southern Oceans, as it is the most sinister in expression and the best adapted by its dusky plumage, and its Interested manner, to form the basis of sailors' legends and superstitions. There is no bird in the south with which it is possible to confuse these birds. The only other abundant large dark bird is Ossifraga, which, with Its un- gainly body and its enormous and pale yellow bill, in no way resembles the dark-billed, close-feathered Phoebetria. The latter, moreover, haS an easy sailing flight, which is .perhaps more perfect than that of any other albatross, and many of us considered it the most fascinating to watch of all the ocean birds on this account. Since the above was written Messrs. Nichols and Murphy (1914) have published a review of the genus Phoebetria, in which they have shown that the American specimen of the sooty albatross belongs to a new subspecies which they have named Phoebetria palpebrata auchtboni. As the earlier writers, from whom most of the above quotations were taken, did not distinguish the two subspecies of P. fusda and the three subspecies of P. paipebrata, it is practically impossible to separate the references; it therefore seems best to let the life history stand as first written. DISTRIBUTION. Breeding range. — For the subspecies which belongs on the North American List, Phoebetria palpebrata avduboni, the breeding range seems to be unknown. Other subspecies of palpebrata breed on various islands in the South Atlantic (South Georgia), South Pacific (near New Zealand), and South Indian Oceans (Kerguelen Island). Range. — Southern portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, Weddell Sea, Australian and New Zealand seas. Eanges of the subspecies of palpebrata and of fusca are much confused, but the former ranges farther south. The latter is probably the breed- ing bird about Australia and on Tristan da Cunha. Comal record. — One taken off the coast of Oregon (Audubon's record). Egg dates. — South Georgia Island: Six records, October 8 and 10, December and January. Kerguelen Island : Three records, Octo- ber 1 and December. Cape Horn: Three records^ November. 26 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. Family HYDROBATIDAE, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels. HACRONECTES GIGANTEUS (Gmelin). GIAKI FULUAS. HABITS. This great fulmar or overgrown petrel, as large as the smaller albatrosses, is one of the best known birds of southern oceans and antarctic seas, for which the sailors have a variety of names, such as "Nellie," "cape hen," "Mother Carey's goose," " bonebreaker," or "stinker." Almost every writer on antarctic birds has added something to our knowledge of this " vulture of the seas "and almost every southern navigator is more or less familiar with it. Nesting.— Mx. W. Eagle Clarke (1906) gives an interesting ac- count of his experiences with this bird on its breeding grounds on the South Orkney Islands ; he says : The giant petrel was present at the station all the year around, but was very much less numerous during the winter months. There was a decided falling off in May, but the lowest ebb was reached in June and continued until September, when the summer birds of this species commenced to arrive. During the nesting season it was estimated that about 5,000 were, on Laurie I. alone, and when one remembers the savage nature and almost insatiable appetite of these giants, it is easy to realize what a terrible scourge they must have been to the penguins, upon which and their eggs and young it was their one aim to gorge themselves to repletion. They were to be seen everywhere in the summer time, but their rookeries were confined to the north and east coasts. Three of these rookeries were visited, two of which, namely, those on the Watson Peninsula, contained two hundred nests each, while the third at Cape Geddes comprised only about one hundred. One of the larger colonies was situated on bare rocky ground from 300 to 400 feet above sea level, and the other on a moraine at an eleva- tion of from 250 to 300 feet. The nests consisted of great piles of small an- gular stones, and were about two feet in diameter. The third and smaller rookery was on a low strip of ground between a cliff and the shore, and was dose to the sea; the nests were similar to the others. Although these con- tained no eggs on November 3d, yet the birds allowed a close approach, one of the parents sitting on the nest, the other usually standing close alongside. The first eggs were laid on November 4th, but four only were found on th«t date. On the 19th, however, eighty were obtained, all single specimens, ex- cept in two Instances where two were found, probably laid by as many females. The birds had to be pushed off the nest ere the eggs could be taken, for very few flew away of their own accord. They showed no fight when evicted, and usually sat down a yard or two away ; nor did they shoot oil from tbelr nostrils, but they vomited contents of their stomachs, not as a mode of de- fense, but to get rid of baUast in order to take wing. They resorted to the same lightening process when chased. Unfortunately, the weather conditions and those of the ice did not permit of these rookeries being again visited, so that the period of incubation could not be ascertained nor the capture of young be effected. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 8 ^''ul*' ^ V ' '■' T#'- ^^^B ■'■■J M m i: '.'S !^' ilv:.:.tl :*yi"' M V^ 4 ' W V ^'.'i. ^l"^-^*!' -/^^(^ ';:: *. ' ^H^' a: < S _l D LL I- Z < a ' i ^ \ '< ;>' LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 27 Mr. G. E. Verrill (1895) says that, on Gough Island: They lay separately, in open land or knolls. The nests are low, and built of grass and moss. Commence laying the middle of September. They lay one egg, ■which is usually quite rough ; but, if robbed, will lay a second and a third time. These birds leave their nests when you approach them, while the other birds do not. Eggs. — The eggs of the giant fulmar have been described by various writers as ovoid-conical, ovoid, or elliptical in shape. The shell is exceedingly coarse and granulated, rough and glossless, fre- quently with limy nodules. The color is dull dirty white and often much nest stained, owing to the filthy habits of the birds. Clarke (1906) gives the average length of 80 e|ggs as 103.8 and the average breadth as 65.7 millimeters. The measurements of 35 eggs in various collections average 103 by 66.4 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 115 by 65, 108.5 by 70, 93.6 by 65, and 102 by 61.4 miUimeters. Young.— Cdi.^i. F. W. Hutton (1865) says that: The young are at first covered with a beautiful long, light-gray down ; when fledged they are dark brown, mottled with white. When a person approaches the nest the old bird keeps a short distance away, while the young ones squirt a horridly smelling oil out of their mouths to a distance of six or eight feet. Mr. Eobert Hall (1900) gives us a good description of a colony on Kerguelen Island containing young ; he writes : Having ascended the short eastern summit, I noticed near the bottom of a wind-sheltered slope a fine colony. To commence with, I surprised two just below the crest, and they started running with wings outstretched but not flapping, and continued, with short stoppages, several hundred yards to the beach, keeping just ahead of me. Of the colony, some birds were sitting and others standing, a few with expanded wings, and others essaying jumps on to Azorella clumps 2 feet in height. Several pairs, with stretched necks, ap- peared to be engaged in controversy, and occasionally a low squeaking noise was uttered. On the first sight of me they moved toward the edge of the clift ; but when I sat down within 100 yards of them they became more confiding, and many gradually approached me, not flying, and without noise. Both young and old seemed to be inquisitive, but a gunshot half a mile away would cause them to look shy for a minute. After a rest, which they often took by sitting down, they would fly over with a prolonged guttural croak. There were from 50 to 70 of them, and by appearances many young birds were already abroad at this date (January 7th). As I drove them to the beach I stumbled upon quite a strange sight; it was their rookery, and some twenty-one grey fledglings, as large as full-grown geese, were nestling among the scattered tussocks of Azorella. The nests were made by tearing away the soft stems of this plant and then sitting upon them. On approaching a bird, which was always a few yards apart from its fellows, it would utter a low grunt, bite, and stand upon the defensive, ejecting a quan- tity of oily matter that would rain almost any suit of clothes. The adults pre- ferred to run along the cllfC top rather than fly, and I drove them like any other fowK They have no confldence In taking wing from the land, but do so at 88 BtrLLETiK 121, tTliritfit) STATES NAttONAl. MTJSEtJM. once on reaching the water. This rooliery faces the entrance to Koyal Sound and is about 200 feet above sea level. The birds possibly lay in September. The nests, some 3 feet in diameter, are merely hollows among the broken stems of Azorella and in the sand, and. in the former th^ young are partially hidden and sheltered. The rookery extended for some 200 yards. I found several' young birds which had just lost their grey down and _ had assumed a shining black plumage, a phase on which I know of no observations. I do not see why this coat should "be exchanged later on for what is a very poor one in comparison. I also saw this black phase 800 miles east ot Kerguelen, on .the return to home (February 22d). Near Accessible Bay, on February 8th, I observed many young birds nearly ready to fly, In their stomachs I found the tongues of prions and penguins. Plumages.— The plumage changes of the giant petrel, are not very well understood, but evidently the first plumage assumed by young birds is the shining black plumage referred to above. Mr. Clarke (^^06) noted that: The color of the birds ranged from very dark brown through all shades df chocolate, and from gray through light gray and mottled white to white. Some of these facts indicate interbreeding between the two forms and, perhaps, be- tween their offspring and typically colored birds of others. Dr. Pirie thinks that they interbreed, because he has no recollection of seeing two white birds together on the nesting grounds. He also stated that: "The proportion of birds in pure white plu- mage in the rookeries was not more, perhaps less, than 2 per cent." Some writers seem to think that the dark colored birds are the young birds and that, as they gi'ow older, they becomfe lighter gray, then mottled with white, and finally pure white. Others Suggest that there may be two polp;r phases and tli9,t the mottled birds are the results of interbreeding. There is not much positive evidence in support of either of these theories, and very little is known about any definite sequence of molts to produce the various plumages. Food. — The giant fulmar has been well named the " vulture of the sea," as the following accounts of its gluttonous habits will show. Dr. E. A,. Wilson (1907), the antarctic explorer, writes: Ossifraga feeds mainly upon carrion, though its character is not above sus- picion in the matter of attacking living animals. In one case, at any rate, the evidence of Its having attacked man In the water is hardly open to doubt; I quote Mr. Howard Saunders, who writes : " Mr. Arthur G. Guillemard states that a sailor who was picked up had his arms badly lacerated in defending his head from the attacks of an ' albatross,' which may well have been this giant petrel." We constantly saw It feeding upon seals' blubber, dead penguins, and any other animal refuse that happened to lie in its way, but we ourselves never saw any living animal attacked; and although Mr. Eagle Clarke (1906) mentions " abundant remains of recently killed young penguins " in their rookeries in the South Orkneys, he says nothing In .this case to prevent one from believing that the birds merely picked up the remains of what the skuas had killed, or of birds that had succumbed to climatic causes. U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 121 PL. 9 South Georgia. R. C. Murphy. - ■ ~ ..^ ip'v •< -5X r n ■ ''^^^^y^ ) A ^ mmM,^ 1 *« i ■ ^. vMi ^^^^^^^^ll •«. •,, ,. >•'■'' ■ '•■ • . .r.: ' r Falkland Islands. Giant Fulmar. For description see paqe 330. R. H. Beck. LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 29 The habit that this bird has, in common with most of the petrels, of d's- gorglng semidigested food when disturbed ot annoyed is very commonly seen In putting it to flight after feeding. It is interesting to notice how small an amount of such ballast removed by vomiting seems to turn the scale, for it is quite in- significant when compared with what the stomach actually contains; yet the bird seems so utterly unable to run or to rise from the ice until relieved, that, no matter how closely it is pressed. It will come to a dead stop in order to dis- encumber itself by a number of voluntary efforts before making a serious effort to rise. The giant petrel lives on any carrion that it is able to discover, and it can never be at a loss during the Antarctic summer for a plentiful supply of dead seals and penguins. I know not whether in the Macqnarie and Auckland Islands and elsewhere it is also mainly a carrion feeder, but I can answer for this in the Antarctic. One has but to kill a seal on the shore in summer and visit the blubber refuse day by day to realize how quickly such food attracts the birds who are looking for it. None but the carrion feeders come to it; one sees no albatross, no snow, antarctic, or Wilson's petrel, though all must often scent it ; but the giant petrel and the skuas come in constantly increasing numbers. Df. J. H. Kidder (1875) draws a realistic, though not an attractive, picture of these gluttonous birds in the following words : I found the adult birds in considerable numbers feeding on the carcass of the sea elephant, December 14. With their huge whitish beaks, lighter-colored heads (then covered with clotted blooS), and disordered dun plumage, they re- minded me strongly of vultures. Like vultures, also, they had so crammed themselves that they were unable to rise from the ground, although it was sufficiently rocky and irregular for them to do so with ease under ordinary circumstances. They waddled and stumbled to the sea, swam away, and did not rise into the air until half an hour or more of digestion, and perhaps of vomiting, had made it possible. I shot two on this occasion ; but one succeeded in getting into the water with a broken wing. The individual secured vomited copiously, as soon as wounded, an immense mass of undigested blood, fat, and intestines. BuUer (1888) says of a captive bird: Its capacity for swallowing was surprising, and it gorged its crop with fresh meat until it could hold no more ; then it stretched its neck on the ground and worked it violently in its efforts to accommodate another piece. Curiously enough, it would not touch fish of any kind. Although, by way of experiment, starved for several days, it still obstinately declined the fish offered it. When, however, its mate died and had been skinned, the survivor regaled itself freely on the carcass till it became decomposed. Behofoior. — BuUer (1888) gives the best account of the flight of this f uhnar, which I quote in full : Their power of wing is something marvelous. For hours together they keep up their rapid sailing movement without ever resting or descending to the water for a moment. It is very interesting to watch them in this tireless flight and to observe how completely they have their wings under control. .They approach the steamer at a swift rate with a slow flapping movement of the wings, and then make a wide circuit, keeping them perfectly rigid, but shifting the balance of the body in such a way as to make alternately one wing and then the other incline upwards or downwards, thus altering the plane without the 30 BT TT.T.R TT-Kr 121, UNITED STATES NATlONAIi MUSEUM. Slightest visible alular movement. The manner In v?hich the bird steers Itself through the air, first ascending far above the masthead, then sweeping down- wards, with the point of the wing at its lowest inclination Just skimming but never actually touching the water, even in a turbulent and broken sea, is reaUy wonderful, and would seem to indicate very perfect organs of vision as a means of measuring distance. Now and then it alters its mode of flight and sails or glides over the surface of the sea with its wings formed into a bow shape, and with an occasional flap to give it fresh impetus. Like the albatross, it descends Into the water in a very ungainly, straddling way, and, if in a hurry, with an awkward splash ; keeps its wings uplifted till the body is steady, then deliberately folds them up and settles down to dinner or floats lazily on the surface, with upstretched neck and eyes ever on the alert. When garbage or food of any kind is thrown overboard, they all descend together and congregate around it, uttering low guttural notes as if disputing for its possession ; but they never seem to quarrel or flght over it, and when disposed of they generally break up into pairs and float about in friendly com- pany till, actuated by some common impulse, they mount again in the air and come sweeping up astern. On the wing the tail is usually spread and has a broad cuneiform appearance. It is capable, too, of very rapid movements. On one occasion I was attentively watching six or seven of them, sailing about in circuits that ever crossed but never clashed, and had turned to my notebook for a few seconds to refer to something. On looking up again they had all disappeared as if by magic; and then I descried them in the water more than a mile astern, with their heads together, discussing some object that had been thrown over- board and had excited their notice. They are untiring, too, in their pursuit, for I have noticed that at sundown, when the albatrosses have drawn off from the steamer and disappeared one by one, the giant petrel (or " stink-pot," as the sailors sometimes call it) had remained, still crossing and recrossing the wake of the ship in undiminished numbers and unaffected by the deepening gloom. As might be expected of such big, strong, ravenous birds^ the giant fulmars are arrant bullies and are justly dreaded by the other sea birds among which they live. They undoubtedly work great havoc among thci young penguins and other sea birds which nest on or near their breeding grounds. Clarke (1906) writes: The heavy toll ruthlessly demanded from the penguins was very manifest on visiting their rookeries. Here abundant remains of recently killed youag penguins in the shape of clean-picked skins and bones were lying all around, while the gorged feathered giants were either waddling about or sleeping off the effects of their orgies on the neighboring snow-slopes. Again he (1905) says: The giant petrel breeds at Gough Island, where Mr. Comer says that it is not numerous, and commences to lay at the middle of September. He tells us that it enters the penguin " rookeries " and carries off the young to eat and also pulls birds (petrels) out of holes in the ground. Buller (1888) "observed at a distance one of these giant petrels pursue and capture a small bird (apparently Prion turtur), and then, holding it by the wing, batter it against the water till it was killed." Darwin (1889) says that: U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. BULLETIN 121 PL. 10 E^^B 1 I ^^^^^^^^^^^Ir ' ■■ ^1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^E^' '^^ijFr n ^H ^^^HH^^^^^HbL^. ^:''.. " jUniiikl mn l^^l ^^^^^^^^^^H^Hj^^^^^il .,.:|4hHhPj H ^1 ^^^^^^^P^^^^^H ^ ^^^&^ l| H ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K. ' "^^ f-ifl4.'^- ^r-% ■~^''*^V.'' mm ^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^Hb- >;,;1^' • ^^Hl^l \ ''^^^^9^B :d^^^^lE£X_l_i_ shm m fiifllMI FalHand Islands. R. H. Beck. South R. C. Murphy. Giant Fulmar. For description see page ; LIFE HISTORIES OF NOKTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND fELIOANS. 31 It was observed by some of the officers at Port St. Antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and flying, but was continufiny struck down and at last killed by a blow on its head. At Port St. Julian these great petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. Winter.— Mr. W, Eagle Clarke (1907) says: That at the close of the southern summer numbers of giant petrels (OsH- fraga gigantea) cross the Antarctic Circle and sojourn among the polar ice ere they retreat northwards to pass the winter in more genial oceanic resorts. It Is possible, however, that some of these visitors to the far south are non- breeding birds, and, if so, they may have spent the entire summer there. The Tubinares are, as is well known, great wanderers, but these very remarkable southern incursions are, perhaps, to be explained by the extraordinary abund- , anee of food to be found in the waters of the far south in the summer and autumn, which allures some of the birds farther and farther toward the pole, until the ice barrier which almost girdles the Antarctic Continent, arrests further progress, since at its base the food supply entirely ceases. • DISTRIBT3TI0N. Breeding range. — South Atlantic Ocean (South Orkney, South Shetland, South Georgia, Falkland, and Gough Islands) ; South Pacific Ocean (Macquarie, Campbell, Graham, Antipodes, Chatham, and Snares Islands) ; South Indian Ocean (Kerguelen and Crozet Islands) ; and on the Antarctic continent. Range. — Southern portions of Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. North in the Atlantic -Ocean to 31° South; and probably farther north in the Pacific. South to the Antarctic continent or the edge of the Antarctic ice, at least as far south as 78°. Ca8U