6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. m 



prions (Pachyptila) were the most abundant and conspicuous spe- 

 cies while others such as the sooty albatross (Phoebetriaj 'usca) , shy alba- 

 tross (Diomedea cauta) , black-browed albatross (Diomedea melano-phris) , 

 yellow-nosed albatross (Diomedea chlororhynchos) , and great-winged 

 petrel (Pterodroma macroptera) were seen regularly but in smaller 

 numbers. Scattered individuals of only six other species were seen 

 at sea in this region : Schlegel's petrel (Pterodroma incerta) , giant petrel 

 (Macronectes giganteus), pediunker (Adamastor cinereus), sooty shear- 

 water (Puffinus griseus), Wilson's petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), and 

 white-bellied storm petrel (Fregetta grallaria). 



St. Paul and Amsterdam Islands were once very important seabird 

 breeding stations (Jouanin, 1953; Murphy and Irving, 1951). During 

 cruise 5 of the Anton Bruun, we visited each of these islands briefly, 

 St. Paul for a few hours in the late afternoon of Apr. 7 and Amsterdam 

 Island the following day. Seabirds were numerous in the waters 

 around both of these islands and included most of the common petrel 

 and albatross species seen elsewhere at sea in this region; however, 

 sooty albatrosses and white-chinned petrels were especially numerous 

 near Amsterdam Island. Flocks of Antarctic terns (Sterna vittata) 

 were feeding near both islands and, within one mile of St. Paul, we 

 also found feeding flocks of the little shearwater (Puffinus assimilis). 

 Aside from Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes crestatus), we could 

 find no seabirds on St. Paul Island itself, though a number of "petrel 

 nests" were located in small crevices and under rocky overhangs. 

 Although the island was infested with both rats and hares, the absence 

 of seabirds may be attributed to the fact that most species would 

 have finished breeding and left the island by this date. We there- 

 fore spent little time on Amsterdam Island but instead confined our 

 collecting efforts to the waters just offshore. 



On the 75° E transect few seabirds were seen north of 31° S until we 

 reached the latitudes of the Chagos and Maldive Islands. Here we 

 found dark shearwaters, apparently the pale-footed shearwater 

 (Puffinus carneipes), and scattered flocks of sooty terns. Occasional 

 tropicbirds (P. lepturus) also were seen. 



Several species of seabirds known to breed on the Seychelles or 

 Mascarene Islands were not observed in the course of the two voyages. 

 These include the Trinidad petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana) , red- 

 tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda), greater frigate-bird (Fregata 

 minor), red-footed booby (Sula sula), lesser noddy (Anous tenuirostris) , 

 and roseate tern (Sterna dougallii). All of these species were encoun- 

 tered during subsequent field work on these islands and will be 

 included in other reports. 



Oceanographic data. — Concurrent with my seabird observations, 

 standard oceanographic measurements (temperature profiles, nutri- 



