54 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



Himantopus mexicanus: Black-necked Stilt 

 Plate I, Fig. 2 



Albemarle, Charles, Chatham, Hood, Indefatigable, James, 

 and Seymour islands. 



This noisy bird we found to be rather common on the above- 

 mentioned islands with the exception of Hood and Seymour. 



On February 25 a nest containing four eggs incubated 

 about seven days, was found on a small flat lava-islet in the 

 large lagoon at Cormorant Bay, Charles Island. The islet 

 projected less than five inches above the surface of the lagoon. 

 The nest was composed of twigs, small pieces of moss taken 

 from the lagoon, and bits of lava placed in a slight depression 

 in the rock. Close by were seven Flamingo nests in use. 

 The eggs measure in millimeters, respectively: 41X29.5, 

 42.4X29.5, 41.9X29.8, 41.6X29.9. The Academy has of 

 this species twenty clutches of four eggs each, from Merced 

 County, California. All were taken by Mr. Beck in May and 

 June, 1908, showing that, so far as known, the breeding-sea- 

 son in the Galapagos is much earlier than in California. 



Numenius hudsonicus: Hudsonian Curlew 



Albemarle, Charles, Chatham, Hood, Indefatigable, James, 

 and Narborough islands. 



This species was observed quite commonly about Albemarle, 

 Charles, Indefatigable, and James islands, proving to be a 

 bird of the interior as well as of the shore. On Charles Island 

 it was found in considerable numbers in the open stretches 

 among the low trees and bushes at an altitude of a thousand 

 feet on the west side of the island, as well as in the pasture 

 lands of the interior. At Villamil, Albemarle Island, it was 

 not infrequently seen perching in the tall, bare, dead trees 

 close to the village and about the large lagoon. 



From the time we arrived at the islands up to the latter part 

 of April, curlews were fairly common. One or two individu- 

 als were noticed at Villamil as late as May 2. One was shot 

 on Hood Island on June 25. From July 14 on, they were 

 seen frequently. 



Only one was encountered at Cocos Island, Costa Rica — a 

 i female in worn plumage, shot on the beach at Wafer Bay on 



