NO. 15 BIRDS OF THE PACIFIC WAR AREA BAKER 45 



I am following the Handlist of Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 205, 

 in placing the Palau bittern with the race at Truk. As in the case of 

 the race of the bittern at Guam, this form is not a very distinctive one. 



ANAS SUPERCILIOSA PELEWENSIS Hartlaub and Finsch 



Anas superciliosa var. pelcivensis Hartlaub and Finscii, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon- 

 don, 1872, p. 108. (Pelew Islands.) 



McElroy found ducks in rice paddies, marshes, and swamps at 

 Truk. The ducks apparently flew to outlying islands during the day 

 but roosted in the swamps of Moen Island at night. The 1942 Japa- 

 nese Checklist, p. 206, places this bird in the race Anas superciliosa 

 rukensis Kuroda (1939). I am unable to see a copy of this descrip- 

 tion at the present writing. The one specimen obtained was lost in 

 shipment. 



At Peleliu, service personnel reported seeing ducks, but our col- 

 lecting party did not find any there in August and September. 



ANAS OUSTALETI Salvador! 



Anas oustaleli Salvadori, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 4, 1894, p. i. (Marianne 

 Islands.) 



At Guam, Anas oustaleli was not observed. Ducks, which might 

 have been of this species, were seen flying over a marsh near Agat 

 on June 13, 1945, and others were seen at a fallow rice paddy by 

 service personnel in August 1944. It is possible that ducks are present 

 in inland marshes and swamps of the southern interior of Guam. In 

 June 1923 H. G. Hornbostel (in Phillips, Natural History of Ducks, 

 vol. 2, 1923, p. 54) reported that the ducks were found only in the 

 Talofofo River valley. Our field parties investigated the lower parts 

 of this valley but owing to the presence of enemy troops in the area 

 did not venture very far from the roads. Some of this area was used 

 as an artillery range, which might have been a disturbing influence. If 

 the ducks are present, they are apparently rather restricted in their 

 movements. 



At Rota, two ducks, which might have been of this species, were 

 seen by Johnson on October 30 in a cultivated field. Lt. Joe T. Mar- 

 shall, Jr., collected a pair of the birds at the island of Saipan in the 

 fall of 1945. These specimens are in the collection of the United 

 States National Museum. Ducks were also reported at a lake on 

 Tinian. The presence of war activities and large concentrations of 

 service personnel on the small islands inhabited by this unique bird 

 have undoubtedly disturbed and affected the already small numbers. 



