Some Birds of Molokaz. 5 
On 
they have disappeared. Doubtless the few pairs that in the past 
have found a congenial habitat along the streams at the Halawa 
end of the island have been preyed upon by the mongoose. 
Nycticorax nycticorax nezvius (Bodd). 
On May 30 I shot an adult male Auku Kohili from a tree be- 
side the Honouliwai stream well up into the mountains. The bird 
is not common at the higher elevations—only two or three being 
seen there. But towards dusk, on the beach, especially at Moanui 
and Mapulehu, they were common flying from the valleys to fish 
from the walls of the mullet ponds along the coast. 
Mr. O. Tollefson’s son relates that while he was returning from 
the mountains one day along the Honouliwai stream, he saw at 
some distance ahead of him an Auku sitting on a rock in the 
stream, evidently still-hunting for fish. As he was watching the 
bird a mongoose came out of the shrubbery along the stream and 
pounced on the solitary fisherman. ‘The bird and the animal en- 
gaged in a desperate struggle, resulting in the death of the Auku 
before the boy could interfere. Although he gave immediate 
chase, the mongoose succeeded in dragging its prey from boulder 
to boulder out of the stream and into a crevice in the rocky bank, 
from which it was impossible to dislodge the animal. 
Gallinula sandvicensis Streets. 
This species is common on the island, being seen in the taro 
ponds in Wailau, Pelekunu and Halawa valleys. 
Fulica alai Peale. 
I did not find the Alae keokeo, but am told that it is to be seen 
on the mud flat at Palaau, a locality I was not able to visit. 
Himantopus knudseni Stejn. 
The Kukuluaeo or Hawaiian Stilt is a resident species at 
Palaau where the young have been taken in June. 
[145] 
