472 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 823 



600 miles). Two of the three noddies returned 

 at the end of three days against heavy winds. 

 None of the four sooties returned, which is to 

 be expected since my experiments show that 

 the sooty can not spend the night on the 

 water and remain in good condition. This 

 return of the two weakened noddies over water 

 is to my mind the most wonderful flight on 

 record. There is neither a stick nor a stone 

 which might serve as a visual landmark be- 

 tween Bird Key and Galveston. 



Several of the original lot of both noddies 

 and sooties died on the way to Galveston. 

 Six noddies and five sooties survived. They 

 were released on Saturday, the fourth, at 5 

 A.M. They were very weak and flew a short 

 way to the shore and alighted there. None of 

 these birds returned to Bird Key. Mr. Wilson 

 remained in Galveston until the following 

 Wednesday, June 8. On the homeward trip 

 he noticed one marked sooty resting on a piece 

 of driftwood, approximately 400 miles out 

 from Galveston. The red marking of the bird 

 was plainly seen with the naked eye and was 

 still more clearly seen with the aid of the 

 field glass. The sooty is uncommon in those 

 waters and Mr. Wilson has been familiar with 

 the noddy and sooty terns for years. I think 

 his observation is wholly reliable. That this 

 bird should have reached this distance on the 

 homeward route is remarkable. The distance 

 from Galveston to Bird Key is approximately 

 800 miles. Since the sooty in all probability 

 can not remain in the water over night, and 

 since it is improbable that floating driftwood 

 can always be found when the bird is fatigued, 

 the failure of these birds to return over the 

 open water for 800 miles is not to be wondered 

 at. Adverse winds were again in evidence 

 upon this trip. 



The Release at Mobile. — Seven noddies and 

 seven sooties were sent to Mobile on June 4 

 in charge of Captain Lumblum. For some 

 reason the birds did not thrive and five out of 

 the fourteen died in passage. The others 

 were in poor condition. The birds were 

 hardly more than released before a heavy 

 ^_head wind set in, which culminated in a storm 

 so severe that all hope was given up of their 



return. None returned within the limits of 

 my stay. 



As a net result of my work then on the 

 homing sense, we have a failure of returns 

 from New York, Galveston and Mobile; we 

 have one sure return, and another probable one 

 from a night release off the northern coast of 

 Florida, 362 miles from Bird Key; we have 

 two noddies out of three returning from a 

 distance of 460 miles over open water in three 

 days against an adverse wind; and a probable 

 partial return of one sooty from Galveston. 

 However, we gained the needed experience in 

 crating and in caring for the birds which will 

 insure a successful continuation of the work 

 at some later time. 



Experiments to Determine the Rapidity of 

 Flight. — Three noddies and one sooty used in 

 the above flight from Key West were again 

 captured and sent to Key West (65^ miles 

 away). They were captured on the night of 

 June 16 and released at 1.25 in Key West, 

 June 17. They returned to Bird Key that 

 same afternoon, together, at 5.45. They re- 

 turned just as the other birds were coming in 

 from the feeding grounds. They probably 

 stopped to feed as soon as familiar waters 

 were reached. 



Experiments to Test Cyan's Hypothesis of 

 Special Nasal Sense. — Cyon's hypothesis to 

 the effect that pigeons utilize a special nasal 

 sense in homing is too well knovtm to require 

 discussion. 



Three noddies were captured on the evening 

 of June 16 and confined in small cages until 

 daylight of the following morning. At day- 

 light I closed the anterior nares of these birds 

 tightly with wax and then coated the surface 

 heavily with asphaltum, tying the legs of the 

 birds for several hours until the asphaltum 

 hardened. Two of the birds I sent to Key 

 West in a hooded cage by the laboratory 

 launch. The control bird was kept until the 

 launch was due in Key West. It was then 

 carried to Loggerhead Key, some three or 

 four miles distant and released. It returned 

 immediately to its nest and resumed its normal 

 activities. 



The other birds were released in Key West 



