20 CALIFORNIA ACADEMV OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



July 20, 1905, the first one was seen about noon, when in 

 latitude 25° 56' North, longitude 114° U' West. A young 

 one was seen five days later, the schooner's position then being 

 latitude 19° 37' North, longitude 111° 11' West. 



The first breeding-place of this species visited was Oneal 

 Rock, near Socorro, Revilla Gigedo Islands. There, on July 

 27, 1905, they and the Noddies were about equally abundant, 

 thousands flying overhead as Mr. Beck and I landed on the 

 rock. Whenever a shot was fired they arose in a cloud, and 

 the calling was incessant. No fresh eggs of the Sooty Tern 

 were discovered, but a number of well- feathered young were 

 taken. 



After leaving the Revilla Gigedo Islands, the species was 

 not again encountered until in latitude 10° 43' North, longi- 

 tude 109° 10' West, on August 3, 1905, when about a dozen 

 were seen. This was in the vicinity of Clipperton Island, 

 Mexico, where this tern breeds abundantly. They were seen 

 quite commonly every day after that, while we were beating 

 back and forth against contrary winds and currents in an at- 

 tempt to reach the island, which we finally succeeded in doing 

 on August 10. Very frequently the Sooty Terns were fishing 

 in company with other b.irds such as Brewster's Boobies, Nod- 

 dies, Clipperton Noddies, and Blue-faced Boobies, and often 

 all were mixed indiscriminately in one large flock. 



Messrs. Beck and Hunter reported Sooty Terns nesting by 

 thousands on several low, flat islets in the brackish lagoon at 

 Clipperton Island. On one islet, about eight hundred 

 square feet in area and ten inches in elevation above the 

 water of the lagoon, there were over a thousand eggs. They 

 were laid on the bare coral with no semblance of a nest, and 

 were so closely placed that it was necessary to step with ex- 

 treme care to avoid crushing them. The owners were very 

 fearless, and allowed themselves to be handled freely. They 

 were also very noisy, and kept up a great din. On the 9th 

 four hundred eggs were collected by the two residents of the 

 island from a space twenty by twenty feet, and by 11 A. M. 

 on the 10th over one hundred fresh ones had been laid in the 

 same area.^ The week before we arrived, a rise in the water 

 of the lagoon had submerged some of the lower islets, ruining 



^Cf. Hull, Birds of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, P. L. S. N. S. W., v. 34, 

 p. 6S3. 



