^S^ Fisher. Birds of Laysau /s/a^d. f O 'f 



NOTES ON THE BIRDS PECULIAR TO LAYSAN 

 ISLAND, HAWAIIAN GROUP.^ 



BY WALTER K. FISHER. 



I^/a/es XII- XVI. 



We do not naturally associate land birds with tiny coral atolls 

 in tropical seas. It is therefore a strange fact that such a diminu- 

 tive island as Laysan, and one so remote from continental shores, 

 should harbor no less than five peculiar species: the Laysan 

 Finch {Telespiza cantans) and Honey-eater [Hhnatione freethi), 

 both 'drepanidid ' birds, the Miller Bird {Acrocephalus familiaris) , 

 the Laysan Rail i^Porzamtla pahneri) ^ and lastly the Laysan Teal 

 {Anas laysanefisis). I use the term ' land birds ' loosely, in con- 

 tradistinction to sea-fowl, multitudes of which breed here through- 

 out the year. The presence of these species is all the more 

 remarkable because none appear on neighboring islands, more or 

 less distant, some of which are very similar to Laysan in structure 

 and flora. 



Reaching out toward Japan from the main Hawaiian group is a 

 long chain of volcanic rocks, atolls, sand-bars, and sunken reefs, 

 all insignificant in size and widely separated. The last islet is 

 fully two thousand miles from Honolulu and about half-way to 

 Yokohama. Beginning at the east, the more important members 

 of this chain are : Bird Island and Necker (tall volcanic rocks), 

 French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Rock, Laysan, Lisiansky, Mid- 

 way, Cure, and Morell. Laysan is eight hundred miles northwest- 

 by-west from Honolulu, and is perhaps best known as being the 

 home of countless albatrosses. 



We sighted the island early one morning in May, lying low on 

 the horizon, with a great cloud of sea-birds hovering over it. On 

 all sides the air was lively with terns, albatrosses, and boobies, 



' These notes were made during a visit of the Fish Commission steamer 

 ' Albatross' to Laysan, May 17 to 23, 1902, and are abridged from a more 

 extended report on the avifauna of the island, to appear in the Bulletin of the 

 U. S. Fish Commission, 



