NO. 15 BIRDS OF TPIE PACIFIC WAR AREA — BAKER 43 



records extend the range of this bird to the CaroHnes and Marianas. 

 The specimens collected in Micronesia were nonbreeding birds, all 

 of them having yellow bills tipped with black. Birds taken at Guam 

 in June and at Angaur in September show no development of 

 ornamental plumes, whereas birds taken at Ulithi in August and at 

 Rota in late October have some ornamental plumes. 



At Guam, the egret was first observed on February 25, when a group 

 of 14 birds was seen in a fallow rice paddy near Piti. The flock 

 remained in this vicinity and was observed until June 13, when the 

 area was cleared for military use. A flock of 16 birds was seen on 

 the beach at Agfayan Bay on July 25 and again on August 6. At 

 Ulithi, three egrets were observed feeding in grassy, cleared areas. 

 In the Palaus, egrets were seen on tidal flats and open grassland at 

 Angaur and Peleliu. One flock of 15 was counted. At Rota, a group 

 of 16 birds was found in a cultivated field on October 31. On all the 

 islands egrets appeared to prefer grassy flats to the beaches. These 

 observations show that egrets were present in Micronesia from 

 February through October in 1945. 



Weights of two male egrets from Guam were 445 and 463. Stom- 

 achs of birds collected at Guam, Ulithi, and Angaur contained grass- 

 hoppers, other insects, spiders, and skinks. 



NYCTICORAX CALEDONICUS PELEWENSIS Mathews 



Nycticorax caledonicu^ pclczvcnsis Mathews, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 46, 1926, 

 p. 60. (Pelew Islands.) 



Palau Islands (Peleliu Island) : Akarakoro Point — 2 males, 2 

 females, September 6, 8 ; Southeastern Peninsula— 3 females, i 

 juvenile male, i juvenile female, 2 male nestlings, i female nestling, 

 August 29, 31, September i, 5. 



Night herons were found on tidal flats and in mangrove swamps 

 at Peleliu, Angaur, and Garakayo Islands of the Palau group. Mc- 

 Elroy reported seeing three birds at Truk. At Southeastern Penin- 

 sula, Peleliu, two juveniles and three nestlings in postnatal molt 

 were collected in a grove of low, saplinglike trees. There were eight 

 nests counted in this area, all being 15 to 20 feet from the ground. 



Stomachs of the birds contained eels, fish, skinks, crabs, shrimp, 

 and insects. One stomach of an adult contained 14 large grasshoppers 

 and four fish, totaling about 15 cc. in volume. The nestlings had 

 insects, skinks, and eels in their stomachs. One adult taken in Sep- 

 tember was in molt. 



