Birds of Eneivetak Atoll 



Chapter 29 



ANDREW J. BERGER 



University/ of Hawaii, Honolulu. Hawaii 96822 



In Chapter 1, Roy Tsuda wrote that "our present 

 knowledge of the floristics and ecology of the marine 

 benthic algae on Pacific atolls is based primarily on studies 

 conducted on Enewetak Atoll." This has not been the case 

 with birds: 1 know of no systematic studies that are based 

 on the birds of Enewetak Atoll. Most of the seabirds that 

 occur at Enewetak have a very wide range in the Pacific 

 basin, and they have not been shown to demonstrate a 

 tendency for subsp>eciation. 



Because of its geographical location, Enewetak pro- 

 vides nesting habitat for some species whose primary 

 breeding range is north of the atoll and for others whose 

 primary breeding range is south of it. For example, sp)ecies 

 that nest on the Hawaiian Islands include the wedge-tailed 

 shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), red-tailed and white-tailed 

 tropic birds (Phaethon rubricauds, P. leturusj, red-footed 



and brown boobies (Sula sula rubripes, S. leucogaster), 

 great frigate bird (Fregata minor), gray-backed tern (Sterna 

 lunata), sooty tern (S. fuscata), brown, black, and blue-gray 

 noddies (Anous stolidus, A. tenuirostris, Procelstema ceru- 

 lea), and the white tern (G^gis alba). Enewetak species that 

 also occur as breeding birds south of the equator include 

 the sooty and slender-billed shearwaters (Puffinus griseus, 

 P. tenuirostris) and the black-nap>cd and crested terns 

 (Sterna sumatrana, Thalassepus bergii). 



The reef heron (Egretta sacra) is a p)ermanent resident 

 on Enewetak Atoll and has a wide range that includes 

 Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, 

 and Micronesia. The long-tailed cuckoo (Eud^inamis 

 taitensis), a nesting bird in New Zealand, sp>ends the 

 nonbreeding season on Enewetak and many other Pacific 

 Islands from the Bismarck Archijselago eastward to the 

 Marquesas Islands. At least 17 sp)ecies of shorebirds that 

 nest in Alaska or Siberia have been recorded as winter 

 visitants on the islets of Enewetak Atoll. Table 1 provides 

 a checklist of Enewetak Atoll birds. 



TABLE 1 

 Checklist of Enewetak Atoll Birds 



Order PROCELLARIIFORMES 

 Family PROCELLARIIDAE 



Puffinus pacificus Salvin: Woodbury, 1962; Carpenter et al., 1968; Hailman, 1979. 

 Puffinus griseus (Gmelin); Pearson and Knudsen, 1967. 

 Puffinus tenuirostris (Temminck): Pearson and Knudsen, 1967. 

 Pterodroma hypo/euca nigripennis Salvin: Johnson and Kienholz, 1975. 

 Order PEUCANIFORMES 

 Family PHAETHONTIDAE 



Phaethon rubricauda (Mathews): Ceirpenter et al., 1968; Amerson, 1969. 

 Phaethon lepturus Mathews: Carpenter et a]., 1968; Amerson, 1969. 

 Family SULIDAE 



Sula sula Gould: Carpenter et al., 1968; Amerson, 1969. 

 Sula leucogaster (Forster): Woodbury, 1962; Amerson, 1969. 

 Family FREGATIDAE 



Fregata minor (Gmelin): Carpenter et al., 1968; Amerson, 1969. 

 Order CICONIIFORMES 

 Family ARDEIDAE 



Egretta sacra Gmelin: Pearson and Knudsen, 1967; Carpenter et al., 1968; 

 Amerson, 1969. 



(This table continued on next page.) 



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