Some Birds of Molokai. 57 



The young bird was not more than a da}- old. It was covered 

 with very short, fine, creamy l)uff down, and looked ver}- helpless 

 and comical. The nest itself was unpretentious in the extreme, 

 being simply a few dry spears of grass and a dozen feathers from 

 the parent's breast, not enough, all told, to keep the eggs off the 

 wet boggy ground. Beside the nest was a half -eaten rat. 



The adult, young and eggs were taken and left that night at 

 the camp. The following day, during ni}^ absence, a mongoose 

 found the eggs on top of a wood-pile shelter, where I had left them 

 temporarily, and destroyed them all. The parent-bird was in verj^ 

 worn plumage, and measured : wing 11.90, tail 4.50, culmen i.io, 

 tarsus 1.40. The young birds have now l)een taken from the nest 

 on November 20, 1901, March 6, 1905, and May 24, 1907. These 

 widel}- separated dates indicate that the Pueo nests at any time 

 that suits its convenience. It is more abundant in Molokai than 

 any other island of the group I have visited. In favorable locali- 

 ties it is to be seen each evening, sometimes as many as half a 

 dozen at a time, flving about in search of food. 



Alauda arvensis Linn. 



The Skylark is now common on the grass lands of the island. 

 Frequently as many as six or eight birds are in sight at a time as 

 one rides or walks through the most favorable localities. The 

 mongoose seems not to have interfered seriously with the nidifica- 

 tiou of this introduced songster, owing, no doubt, to the fact that 

 it nests in the open field far away from an}- cover that would har- 

 bor this avowed enemv of all ground nesting birds. 



Acridotheres tristis (Linn.). 



The Mina is thought to be less numerous than in former years. 

 If true, it may be due to the dying out of the lantaua on the islands, 

 since it is known to feed voraciously on the berries of this plant. 

 Birds were seen about our camp at Kamoku, always keeping to the 

 open fringing woods. At Halawa, however, they were seen further 

 into the interior, but at no great elevation. Nowhere were they 

 observed in conflict with the native birds. Thev are indeed so 



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