46 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. IO7 



This necessitates careful conservation of the ducks to insure survival, 

 particularly in the southern Marianas. 



PANDION HALIAETUS MELVILLENSIS Mathews 



Pandion haliaetus melvillensis Mathews, Austr. Av. Rec, vol. i, 1912, p. 34. 

 (Melville Island, Northern Territory.) 



Records of the osprey in the southern Palau Islands in 1944 and 

 1945 were obtained from Lt. C. K. Dorsey of the Epidemiology Unit 

 at Peleliu. No birds were seen during the visit of our collecting party 

 there in August and September. An osprey was observed by Lt. B. V. 

 Travis at Agana Bay, Guam, in December 1945. He reported that the 

 bird was carrying a fish in its talons. 



FALCO PEREGRINUS subsp. 



Lt. Irven O. Buss reported that on November 2, 1945, as his ship 

 approached Guam, a duck hawk alighted on the superstructure. He 

 watched the bird catch and eat a noddy tern (Anous stolidus) before 

 flying to the rugged cliffs near Facpi Point. 



Hawks were seen by our field parties on several occasions in the 

 Micronesian islands. At Guam, a small hawk resembling an accipiter 

 was observed by Muennink darting at swiftlets on Mount Tenjo on 

 June 8. At Peleliu, a bird thought to be a duck hawk was reported 

 in the spring of 1945. At Angaur Island on September 21, a small 

 hawk was seen to fly into heavy vegetation at the edge of the rugged 

 coast line. 



MEGAPODIUS LAPEROUSE SENEX Hartlaub 



Megapodus senex Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 830. 

 (Pelew Islands.) 



Palau Islands (Peleliu Island) : Southeastern Peninsula — 2 males, 

 August 31, September i ; Ngabad Island — i female, September 

 1 1 ; Garakayo Island— 2 males, i female, i male chick, i female chick, 

 September 17, 18, 19. 



At Peleliu, megapodes were found on the eastern side of the island 

 where war activities had not removed the dense jungle cover. A few 

 birds were also observed in the rapidly-growing vegetation that was 

 beginning to cover the battle-cleared areas. At Garakayo Island, which 

 was little disturbed by occupational activities, megapodes appeared 

 rather numerous. The birds were located by listening for their loud 

 screeches and cackles but were extremely wary and difficult to 



