( 410 ) 



marked nearl.v the same as the adult birds. Xearly every suitable place on the 

 island either was a nest or had been one. Nests were found in the crater near 

 the floor as well as along the shore. In one pile of shattered rocks four nests 

 containing birds were found within G ft. of one another. Home nests were j)laced 

 away back at the end of a small cave or under a pile of rocks, while another would 

 be only a few iuclies deep inside. Most of the breeding birds had only one worn 

 tail-feather. Quite a number of long tail-feathers were found in tlie iioles, as well 

 as several skeletons of tro]iic-birds. In one case two oM birds were found on a uest 

 with a young bird. lu all other cases but one bird was foufld with the egg or young 

 bird, unless the young one was nearly ready to fly, and then it was usually alone. 

 The call or cry of the bird is a rapid iv/if, ir/if, whi, almost identical with that 

 of the North American White-throated Swift {Acronaiiti's melmwledcus), and the 

 actions of the birds as they sail and dart about the cliffs are very similar. When 

 taken from the nest the call is somewhat different. One bird was found incubating 

 in Weuman, on February 12th, in a small cave witli a crevice running back into the 

 cliff. The tliglit of P. aetlien-iis is quite different from that of P. rtiiriraiida. In 

 19° N. and 12u' W. one of each were about the vessel together, aflbrding a fine 

 chance for comparison. The red-tailed species was much the larger, and flew with 

 slower wing-beats. Frequently it sailed about with occasional wing-beats ; while 

 P. aethi'iriis kejit up a continual rapid beat of the wings to cover jiraetically the same 

 amount of ground or air. Two or three tropic-birds, jiroliaWly /'. (trt/nTfiis, were 

 seen at Alijos l{ocks, on tlie trip down." 



[Phaethon rubricauda r><iild. 



P. vuhricawJa is not known to occur among the Galapagos Islands, but is 

 common farther north, as shown by the following notes of Mr. Beck, and by a 

 number killed by Mr. G. M. Greeu, who obtained it as far south as 5° 35' N. 

 lat. All the sjjecimens are what we consider typical P. ruhrkanda, and not 

 P. rubricauda erubescens liothsch. (cf. Aeij'atina of Lai/.w/i ft/:, p. 2'.Hi). Mr. Beck 

 sent one immature bird, with some black spots on the back, whicii lias the 

 (one) elongated central tail-feathers white, not at all red. 



Mr. Beck writes: ^' I'hartlion rdbriraiida seem to travel a longdistance from land, 

 as we found them (ioi) miles west of ('lij)perton. One or two were noted some 

 distance above Clarion on the way down, and from there to within lOU miles west 

 of Culj)epper they were seen nearly every day. They were also common in 130" 

 west and 2 soutli. On the homeward trip in .5" north and 10' west a coujile of 

 Redlails were seen, and one seen in U north and lol west ; but in 10°3U' north and 

 132' west two or three P. aethereus showed up for two or three days, to 12 north 

 and 104° west. From here on to 24° north and 129° west the lledtails were seen 

 (juite regularly, the last being seen in that latitude. The tails were always shorter 

 than the P. uetliereus, not over 14 in., and some had no elongated tail-feathers. 

 They were moulting, nearly all that were shot having some new feathers coming 

 out. One shot on May 13th was very rosy, nearly all the feathers having a rosy 

 tinge, wing-feathers as well as liody-feathers. P. riibricaada breeds in (Jlipperton, 

 or at least ilid breed there when the island was first occupied by guano diggers."] 



Ardea herodias L. 

 Nov. ZooL. VI, 1899, p. 180. 



Two eggs found by Green measure UO-S x 4Tr) and OS x 47-2 mm. 



