NO. 2298. THE GUANO BIRDS OF PERV—COKER. 505 



lions were either of much benefit or of very significant injury; (3) 

 that when the good was balanced against the harm, the difference 

 could not be sufficiently great either way to demand the destruction 

 of the sea lions, on the one hand, or the absolute protection of them, 

 on the other. 



The sea lions are, of course, destructive to fishing apparatus and 

 even to fish when in nets or on the hooks. It was recommended to 

 the Government that a limited catch be permitted, the use of dyna- 

 mite to be prohibited, and the number to be taken in an}^ locality to 

 be restricted, with a view to the preservation of the species and pro- 

 motion of the industry. 



BIRDS OF THE CHINCHA ISLANDS IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT. 



On becoming acquainted with the guano islands on the coast of 

 Peru it seemed to me rather surprising that it should have been sup- 

 posed and so frequently stated in works of reference that the chief 

 guano-producing bird was the Sula variegata, or "piquero." Tschudi, 

 in fact, selected this bird for experiment and found that it produced 

 3 J to 5 ounces of guano a day. It was assumed at first that Tschudi 

 had been misled by the fact that these birds are exceedingly abundant 

 and by their conspicuousness in the harbors, where their precipitous 

 and graceful plunges must attract the attention of any observer. 

 But how could he have overlooked those long black streaming clouds 

 of "guanays" (PJialacrocorax hougainvillei) which lie low over the 

 water for miles ? 



Stating briefly the conditions as they were in 1906 to 1908, the 

 "guanay" is by far the most important producer of guano, while the 

 pelican is second, and the other birds fall far behind. In June there 

 were 15 acres of guana3^s on the south island of the Chinchas (lati- 

 tude 14°), and two m.onths later the extent of the flock was probably 

 well over 20 acres. I saw no other flock, neither of cormorants nor of 

 any other species, to compare to this one, and there were, besides, 

 many smaller aggregations of guanays on various islands. North of 

 Independencia, at least, this was the chief guano-producing bird, 

 except in the north, at the Lobos Islands, where the pelican took 

 first rank. Even at the Lobos de Tierra there was a large flock ot 

 guanays. The scarlet-foot cormorant, or so-called "pato de mar" 

 ( sea duck) , Phalacrocorax gaimardi, is one of the most common birds 

 along the coast south at least of Guanape, but, from its habit of 

 nesting on the cliffs and in the caverns, is of no value as a producer. 

 And the same may be said of the less abundant black cormorant, or 

 Cuervo de mar, P. vigua. The bird next in rank to the pelican 

 is the piquero, Sula variegata. The small diving petrel, Pelecanoides 

 garnoti, deserves consideration from its abundance in certain locali- 

 ties and from the supposed value of its guano. The penguin, Sphe- 



