FAMILY SULIDAE 59 



that of the other race, but with back and wings uniform in color 

 with the head, neck, and chest. 



An adult male taken at Pacheca, January 20, 1960, had the iris 

 Marguerite yellow; space around eye dull blue, becoming dull bluish 

 green on the base of rami, and leaden blue on the gular area; base 

 of maxilla dull greenish buff; rest of bill greenish drab, except cul- 

 men which was fuscous ; feet and tarsi light greenish yellow. 



An adult female shot off Isla Canas, on the same day, had the 

 eye colored as in the male; a large spot in front of the eye dull 

 leaden blue; rest of bare skin around eye, base of bill all around, 

 and gular sac light yellow ; bill light avellaneous ; tarsus and toes 

 light greenish yellow ; webs between the toes bright yellow. 



Measurements. — Males (15 specimens), wing 360-384 (370), tail 

 163-187 (181), culmen from base 82.0-93.3 (88.6), tarsus 44.8-48.0 

 (45.5) mm. 



Females (14 specimens), wing 385-408 (397), tail 182-198 (189), 

 culmen from base 89.6-103.2 (95.8), tarsus 46.8-49.8 (48.2) mm. 



Resident. Common along the Pacific coast, particularly in the Gulf 

 of Panama. 



The following nesting colonies are recorded : Isla Bona ; Farallon 

 Rock, off the southern side of Isla Taboguilla ; Isla Pachequilla, Isla 

 Pacheca, Isla Saboga, and Isla Galera, Archipielago de las Perlas. 

 Friends who fish in the Gulf of Chiriqui have told me of a colony of 

 boobies on Islas Ladrones, doubtless the piquero moreno, as this 

 is the common one in those v/aters. Murphy (Vert. SCOPE, 1957, 

 pp. 133-134) reported many near these islands on November 25, 1956. 

 Hellmayr and Conover (Cat. Birds Amer., pt. 1, no. 2, 1948, p. 136) 

 are in error in their inclusion of Isla Chepillo and Isla del Rey in 

 their list of breeding colonies, since these localities are merely records 

 of birds seen many years ago by Bovallius (Rendahl, Ark. Zool., 

 Bd. 12, 1920, p. 10), or where specimens were collected in 1904 by 

 Brown (Thayer and Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 46, 1905, 

 p. 141). 



Three sets of eggs of 2 each, in the U. S. National Museum, 

 collected by Maj. Gen. G. Ralph Meyer, are chalky white, with a 

 slightly roughened surface. The outer chalky deposit completely 

 covers a base color of pale bluish white which is visible only when 

 the shell has been scratched sufficiently to cut through the outer 

 coating. All the eggs are considerably stained. One set with incuba- 

 tion advanced, from Farallon Rock taken December 13, 1942, was 

 placed among rocks on the ground, in a depression about 300 mm. 



