ART. 10 BIRDS OF PIlSrCHOT EXPEDITION FISHER AND WETMORE 29 



OCEANITES GRACILIS GALAPAGOENSIS Lowe 



Galapagos petrel 



Oceanites gracilis yulapagoensis P. R. Lowe, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 41, 

 July 5, 1921, p. 140. (Charles Island, Galapagos.) 



Four females were obtained in the Galapagos, two on Indefati- 

 gable Island, June 22, 1929, one at Charles Island, the type locality, 

 June 28, and one at Narborough Island, August 25. These speci- 

 mens, the first of this race to come to the National Museum, bear 

 out the characters attributed to this form in the original description, 

 for when compared with skins from Peru the birds of the Galapagos 

 are distinctly larger, in addition to being paler, more grayish below. 

 In the series at hand the latter seem also to be more extensively 

 white below, an appearance due perhaps to their slightly larger 

 size. Following are measurements of these four: Wing, 129.2, 131.3, 

 131.6, 134.2 ; tail, 55.5, 56.8, 54.7, 61.1 ; culmen from base, 10.5, 10.8, 

 10.3, 10.5; tarsus, 30.2, 30.2, 30.6, 32.0 mm. 



As more material of this species was secured, the question arises 

 as to whether it is a commoner form than other stormy petrels, or 

 whether the larger number taken was due merely to better oppor- 

 tunities for collecting. At Indefatigable Island quite a number 

 came within long range astern, feeding on drift scrap from the 

 yacht, and two were secured. 



PHAETHON AETHEREUS Linnaeus 



Red-billed tropic-bird 



Phacthon aethereus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, 1758, p. 134. (Ascen- 

 sion Island, South Atlantic.) 



On Hood Island, in the Galapagos, GifFord Pinchot secured an 

 adult bird and a downy young only a few days old on July 1, 1929. 

 The young bird is light gray above and white below. 



Single individuals, or pairs of this tropic-bird, often were seen 

 flying over the ocean, but rarely came near the yacht. On Hood 

 Island a number bred in a low-lying cliff. Mr. Pinchot had a hard 

 climb in securing the adult and young above mentioned. Another 

 fine adult killed July 11 at Hood Island fell out of reach in the 

 sea and drifted off shore on a strong ebb tide. 



PHAETHON LEPTURUS DOROTHEAE Mathews 



White-tailed tropic-bird 



Phaethon lepturus dorotheae Mathews, Austr. Av. Rec, vol. 2, August 2, 1913, 

 p. 7. (Near Cairns," Queensland, Australia.) 



A juvenile bird not quite on the wing was collected by Gifford 

 Pinchot at the island of Fatuhiva in the Marquesas, September 



» See Mathews, Birds Austr., vol. 4, pt. 3, June 23, 1915, p. 311. 



