392 FiSHKK, Birds of Laysan Island. ^o"^ 



olive plumage renders it inconspicuous, and one scarcely takes 

 notice when it flies about the verandas, or into the dark corners of 

 a room, searching for its favorite food. We often saw this species 

 with Himationes gleaning insects in the broad purslane beds near 

 the lagoon. 



The nest is built usually in the midst of a big tussock of grass, 

 and the birds seem to congregate along with the Finches and 

 Honey-eaters near the open plain, several times mentioned in fore- 

 going pages. We were puzzled to find many nests entirely com- 

 pleted, but without eggs, and finally concluded that the birds had 

 not yet begun to lay in any numbers. Only two sets, one of three 

 and the other (incomplete) of two, were taken. The nest is com- 

 posed of dried grass stems and blades, fine rootlets, and is lined 

 with rootlets, shredded grass and white albatross feathers, some 

 of the last being woven into the coarser structure of the nest. 

 These feathers are strictly characteristic of all the nests we found, 

 so that the Miller Birds probably began very long ago to make 

 use of this convenient material. None of the other birds use the 

 large white feathers, although as already stated the Himatione 

 employs soft albatross down. The eggs vary in ground color 

 from the palest olive buff through greenish white to almost pure 

 white. The markings consist of olive blotches and spots of vari- 

 ous intensities, crowded at the blunt end, and likewise very tiny 

 lines and specks, scattered over the whole egg. Sometimes there 

 are drab shell marks. One egg was as small as 19 by 14 milli- 

 meters and another as large as 22 by 15. 



Lavsan Rail. Porzanula palmeri Frohawk. 



The Laysan Rail is a wide-awake, inquisitive little creature with 

 a seemingly insatiable desire for first-hand knowledge. It is one 

 of the most naive, unsophisticated, and wholly unsuspicious birds 

 in the whole avian catalogue. Usually it is confiding and familiar 

 in its relations with man, yet sometimes holds aloof with a show of 

 reserve. It will occasionally hide behind a bunch of grass, as if 

 afraid, and then suddenly saunter forth with entire change of 

 demeanor, and examine the intruder with critical care. One can 



