326 



Bird - Lore 



2^irb=1Lore 



A Bi-Monthly Magazine 

 Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Contributing Editor, MABEL OSGOOD "WRIGHT 



Published by D. APPLETON & CO. 



Vol. XVIII Published October 1,1916 No. 5 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in the United States. Canada and Mexico, twenty cents 

 a number, one dollar a year, postage paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1916, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore's Motto: 

 A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand 



The expedition of the American 

 Museum of Natural History, of which the 

 Editor of Bird-Lore is a member, and 

 concerning the work of which we wrote 

 briefly in our last issue, sailed from 

 Guayaquil, June 9, for MoUendo, Peru. 

 The voyage was made in a local steamer, 

 with frequent stops, nevertheless it gives 

 one some conception of the extent of 

 Peru's coast-line to know that Mollendo 

 was not reached until June 24! It is 

 difficult to conceive of a sea-journey on a 

 passenger steamer which would be more 

 interesting to a bird-student. From the 

 time we passed Cape Parina, the most 

 western point of South America, until we 

 reached our destination, there was not a 

 moment when birds were not in sight, and 

 often they were present in such numbers 

 that no words can convey an adequate 

 idea of their abundance. As far as the 

 eye could reach, the air above the water 

 fairly twinkled with feathered forms; 

 while a glass, like a telescope turned 

 toward the stars, revealed unsuspected 

 myriads beyond. 



On such occasions the birds were 

 usually feeding, and their activity, added 

 to their numbers, greatly increased the 

 interest and impressiveness of the scene. 

 Pelicans dropped from the air with their 

 reckless plunge; Gannets, like gigantic 

 living spear-heads, shot downward; Terns 

 darted more quickly, while immediately 

 above the water an amazing throng of 

 Cormorants and Gulls hunted in a less 



spectacular but no doubt equally effective 

 manner. 



If one marveled at the numbers of the 

 birds, what could one think of the appar- 

 ently unfailing abundance of the fish on 

 which they were preying. Nor were these 

 inhabitants of the deep menaced only 

 from above. Where the birds clustered 

 most eagerly, the water was usually 

 broken by the heads of groups of seals 

 which, in their pursuit of fish below, drove 

 them within reach of the birds above. 



Without considering the question of 

 food for the fishes, we have in the combin- 

 ation of bird and fish, plus certain coastal 

 islands and a rainless climate, the funda- 

 mental factors in producing the guano 

 deposits for which the Peruvian coast is 

 famous, and which from the days of 

 the Incas to the present time have been 

 matters of government concern. 



Those guano islands which we passed 

 near enough to see clearly — among others 

 the Chinchas — were practically without 

 birds. This was their non-breeding or mid- 

 winter season, a fact which no doubt ac- 

 counted for the general abundance of bird- 

 life in the area through which we passed. 

 In December they would probably have 

 been gathered on their nesting-grounds. 



Of the birds named, there was one 

 species of Pelican, closely related to our 

 Brown Pelican, two of Gannets, two of 

 Terns — including the beautiful Inca Tern- 

 four of Gulls and at least two of Cormor- 

 ants, both more attractive than our black 

 species. There were vast numbers of Tu- 

 binares, including a large Albatross, 

 Shearwaters, and Petrels. 



From Mollendo the expedition pro- 

 ceeded to the Urubamba Valley, where, 

 in the interests of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society and Yale University, a 

 brief survey was made of the life-zones 

 from the cold paramo or puna to the 

 tropics, and specimens of birds secured on 

 which, in connection with those previously 

 obtained by Mr. Edmund Heller, it is 

 proposed to base a paper on the distri- 

 bution of bird-life in this remarkably 

 interesting region. — Cuzco, Peru, July 

 26 1916. 



