3G ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLOliATIONS. 



No. 92979. — Iris white. Bill horny brown ; gonys and totnia somewhat lighter; extreme tip of lower 

 mandible whitish. Feet light whitish cobalt blue ; join'-s darker, a little purplish ; soles and webs 

 blackish. Crop contained several small Gammaridse ; in the stomach remains of a larger one. 



No. 92981.— Iris white. Bill horny brown ; tip whitish ; gonys reddish flesh color. Feet light bluish 

 gray ; joints marked with brownish violet; soles and webs blackish. Testes large and swollen Stom- 

 ach and crop empty. 



No. 92980.— Iris white, with a faint rosy tinge. Bill horny blackish brown : under mandible lighter ; 

 tip whitish. Feet light grayish blue, with a faint yellowish tinge, except on the joints, which are darker 

 and marked with purplish bine ; soles'.and webs blacki.sh. Testes small, not swollen. Stomach and crop 

 contained Gammaridae and Palsenionidae. 



No. 92983. — Iriswhite. Bill homy black ; extreme tip of lower mandible whitish. Feet light grayish 

 blue; darker blue on the joints; webs and soles blackish. Testes small, not swollen. Several new- 

 feathers in their sheaths on the back. Crop crammed with small Palfemonidse. Lean. 



No 92978. — Iris white, with a faint rosy tinge. Bill horny black ; gonys and base of lower mandible 

 light flesh color ; interior of mouth whitish. Feet light graj ish bhie ; joints somewhat brownish ; webs 

 and soles black. Stomach empty. 



No. 92984.— Iris white. Crop contained Amphipods. 



Ill addition to the above uotes on the color of the nak^d parts, con- 

 tents of stomach, «&c., a series of remarks were taken down from the 

 fresh birds in order to show the relative proportions of different parts 

 and other points which might be of interest as showing features not 

 observable in the dried skins. The original notes read as follows : 



No. 92978. — Membrane covering the nasal groove soft, except the prominent ridge fonning the hind 

 and upper border of the nostrils. The cere covering the culmen between the nostrils entirely soft, and 

 of the color of the bill. No knob. 



No. 92979. When the legs are stretched backwards the distal end of the first phalanx of the middle toe 

 roaches tip of tail ; tip of folded wings reach a little beyond t he digito-tarsal joint. Middle toe without 

 claw decidedly longer than the outer one; end of inner too reaches penultimate phalanx of the middle 

 toe. Feathering on mental angle reaches as far as the fore border of the nostrils. No knob. 



No. 92981. — Proportions similar to those of the foregoing number, only that the wings hardly reach 

 beyond the tarsal joint. On the bill the cere is raised a little on the culmen, on which several longi- 

 tudinal furrows are visible, indicating the beginning of the knob. 



No. 92982. — Tips of closed wings and end of tail reach middle of basal phalanx of middle toe, legs be- 

 ing stretched backwards. Middle too decidedly longer than outer one. Knob very small, but fairly 

 perceptible. 



No. 92980. — Tip of tail reaches first joint of middle toe ; the latter without claw longer than the outer 

 too. At base of culmen a compressel knob. 1 .S"™ long, 0.5'""' broad, and 1™"' high, highest behind. The 

 upper surface of the knob is furrowed lengthwise, as if the knob were composed of four or five vertical 

 leaves or layers. This is the original of the drawings. 



Almost every one of the specimens had some injuries to their feet, pha- 

 langes wanting, webs split, &c. No. 92984 had even the whole left foot 

 amputated, just beneath the heel, and the wound completely healed, and 

 No. 92980 had the bone of the right tibia in the middle grown out to a 

 big knot many times as thick as the bone in its normal condition. 



All the specimens were lean, several of them even extremely so. 



The plumage is still the so called winter plumage; that is, the lower 

 surface is still pure white, except in one skin (No. 92981), in which a few 

 feathers on the abdomen are edged with dusky, as in summer specimens. 

 But the white ornamental plumes of the face are present in all stages 

 of development, from mere white specks until fully grown out, as in the 

 be^d figured. The sequence of the following numbers indicates the 



