16 EXPEDITION TO LAYSAN ISLAND IN 1911. 



poachers killed these helpless creatures with clubs and threw the 

 wings and feathers into the cars, heaping the bodies up along the 

 sides of the track as they worked, and used the cars to carry the 

 spoils to the sheds. 



About all of the old main rookery, where the birds were reported 

 so plentiful by Prof. Nutting in 1902, has been annihilated; only 

 now and then a pair of birds with young may be seen. Along the 

 shores of the lagoon they are still to be found in large numbers, and 

 to one who has never seen such masses of birds it is a wonderful 

 sight. 



Notwithstanding the treatment these birds have received, they 

 still seem fearless of man, with the exception, perhaps, of a few stray 

 individuals nearer the buildings which will not allow one to approach 

 them. 



They amuse themselves with a strange proceeding, which at times 

 seems to be done more from a sense of duty than for pleasure. The 

 performance is varied, but usually begins as follows: One bird ap- 

 proaches another with an indescribable squeaking sound, bowing all 

 the time. If the other bird feels like performing, which is usually 

 the case, he bows in return. They cross bills very rapidly several 

 times. Then one bird turns its head and lifts one wing in such a 

 manner that the primaries point directly out at the side. In the 

 meantime the other bird keeps up a loud noise that sounds somewhat 

 like the neighing of a horse. The bird taking the lead then walks 

 around his partner, stepping high like a negro cake walker. This part 

 of the procedure is usually closed by one or both birds pointing their 

 beaks straight up in the air, rising on their toes, puffing out their 

 breasts, and uttering a long-drawn groan. The same thing is repeated 

 many times with slight variations. 



There were comparatively few young albatrosses. When the par- 

 ent birds were feeding at sea, the rookery would seem almost deserted. 

 We found a number of young birds dead, but the mortality from nat- 

 ural causes is not large, considering the number of this species. Some- 

 thing must have disturbed the birds earlier in the nesting season; 

 possibly their eggs may have been taken. 



An accompanying map (p. 14), on which I have indicated the lar- 

 ger rookeries, will show about the area occupied by this species. At 

 the present time there are approximately 180,000 Laysan albatrosses. 



For the benefit of those who have estimated the number of alba- 

 trosses as high as 10,000,000, I would like to call attention to the 

 map made by the officers of the Albatross in 1902. According to 

 this map Laysan has an area of about 5,420,800 square yards. Taking 

 out the area of the lagoon, which is 471,500 square yards, we have 

 4,949,300 square yards. Place 10,000,000 birds the size of an alba- 

 tross upon 4,949,300 square yards of ground; how much room would 



