A Monooraph of Marcus Island. 107 



The skin secured was that of t^-pical immiitabilis and meas- 

 ured : Length 30.50, wing 18.00, tail 5.65, tarsus 3.10, toe 4.20, 

 cuhnen 4.00, depth of bill 1.35. 



Diomedea nigripes And. Black-footed Albatross. 



Not a single bird was seen on the island, and indeed few at 

 any time at sea. I learned that they had formerly been almost as 

 abundant as the white-breasted species, and had been exterminated 

 simultaneously with them. The bird hunters did not secure a 

 specimen during the season of 1902. 



Priofitius cuneatus (vSahin.). Wedge-tailed Shearwater. 



This "Mutton bird", as it is common!}^ called by sea-going 

 people, without in au}^ way distinguishing it from its numerous 

 cousins, was found wnth eggs and young in all stages of develop- 

 ment. As the species has been previousl}' reported from Sulphur 

 Island (Bonin group), KrUvSenstern Island (Marshall group), as 

 well as from Laj'san and Kauai of the Hawaiian group, it was not 

 strange that it should be found at this spot, which is more or less 

 intermediate between them all. 



Flying largely at night as the species does, and consequently 

 spending much of the day sitting about on the ground or in their 

 burrows the}' are quite available for specimens, though the}' in- 

 variabh' make good use of their beaks and claws before they are 

 finally taken. The shady interior was most frequented b}' them, 

 especially the edge of the soft alluvial earthy deposits which are 

 well suited to their burrowing habits. None were seen on the 

 southwest point, though this portion of the island was niainl}- coral 

 sand and leaf mould and quite thickly wooded. They are to be 

 seen, a pair together, during the day dozing under a log, about the 

 roots of the trees, under low bushes or in holes. A hole which I 

 dug out in one of the alluvial patches was eight feet long, six inches 

 in diameter, and eighteen inches below the surface. From it a 

 parent bird and a down}' young were taken. On the wing they 

 fly rapidly, going far out to sea for their food. While we saw in- 

 dividuals almost every day during our journey to and from the 

 island, they were far more plentiful inside a circle with a radius of 

 say three hundred miles, a distance which they can easily go and 

 return during the same day. 



