54 



HOMING AND RELATED ACTIVITIES OF BIRDS. 



BIRD KEY NOTES ON THE RETURNS FROM THE SECOND MOBILE TRIP. 



On May 20 bird No. 2 returned, probably in the night of May 19, since it 

 was observed at 7 h 30 m a. m. The marking was not erased in any way. The 

 mate had deserted the nest. The marked bird was found sitting on a limb 

 within 3 feet of the nest and was noticed near it for 3 days, usually sitting on a 

 nearby limb. The egg and nest were not taken until the afternoon of May 23 ; 

 then we saw the marked bird (a male) for the first time on the nest. The time 

 required for return was about 7 days. This is the only bird which we ever 

 observed returning from the trip. 



The location of the nests was unfortunate. They were nearly all flat on the 

 ground, the nesting material being placed in the grass. The grass grew rap- 

 idly and in a few days it was difficult to locate the nests. Furthermore, the 

 rats took the eggs the moment the O's began to go for food. We replaced the 

 eggs many, many times from nearby nests, but the rats robbed them so con- 

 sistently that the O's, after a very few days, all deserted. This choice of the 

 noddy nests was unfortunate from another side as well. Even when the nest is 

 deserted or destroyed the occupants of the nest will often sit on limbs near 

 the nesting place. On account of the absence of bushes near the nests of the 

 Mobile birds, it would have been difficult to have located the birds had they 

 returned. It must be said that on account of these difficulties we redoubled 

 our efforts to locate the birds, sometimes sitting near the nests for 3 or 4 

 hours without leaving. 



THE SECOND GALVESTON FLIGHT. 



Twelve noddies and 12 sooties were captured on Bird Key at 2 p. m., 

 May 15, 1913, and were left there that night. The numbers and markings 

 of the birds are given in table 18. 



TABLE 18. 



Sooty: 



No. 1 . Red, dab on throat. 



2 . Red, dab on head. 



3 . Red, dab on right wing. 



4 . Red, dab on left wing. 

 6 . Red, dab on breast. 



6. Red, dab on both wings. 



7 . Red, two dabs on neck. 



8. Red, two dabs on breast. 



9. Red, throat and right wing. 



10. Red, throat and left wing. 



11. Red, head and left wing. 



12. Red, head and right wing. 



Noddy: 



No. 13 . Red, dab on throat. 



14. Red, dab on head. 



15. Red, dab on right wing. 



16 . Red, dab on left wing. 



17. Red, dab on breast. 



18. Red, dab on both wings. 



19. Red, two dabs on back of neck. 



20. Red, two dabs on breast. 



21. Red, throat and right wing. 



22 . Red, throat and left wing. 



23. Red, head and left wing. 



24. Red, head and right wing. 



On May 16 they were taken to Key West on the Anton Dohrn. On May 17 

 the birds were put on board the Mallory freight steamer San Marcos. Mr. 

 Lashley's record of the care of the birds on the trip and their behavior during 

 release follows: 



The first food was given on May 17; 3 minnows each were given by forced feeding. From 

 this time on the feeding was continued as shown in table 19. It will be seen that on the 

 afternoon of the 19th no food was taken. Food was placed in the cages to see if the 



