8(^ USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



cM&mjnui Lath., called "pulatal" by the natives, excellent for food, 

 and easily distinguished by a red shield on its forehead; three birds 

 called ■■ kalalang." the Pacific godwit. Z/'/no-w hipponica 5aM^/'/(Nauni.), 

 the Australian curlew. Xumenvus cyanopus\\^\A. ^ often seen on newly 

 tilled fields, and the oriental whimbrel Xti mc-nius phaeopus i-ariegaftm 

 (Scop.), somewhat smaller, usually seen at periods of migration; and 

 the widely spread snipe, GaJIinago megola Swinh. Among the shore 

 birds called by the general name ' • dulili " are the gray and white 

 Asiatic wandering tattler, Hetemctltis hrev'pi--< Vieill. ; the bullhead 

 or black-bellied plov^er, Squataroln sqwdai'iihi. (L.); the well-known 

 Asiatic golden plorer, Charodrhis dominioix fvlvus (Gm.), very 

 common on cultivated fields and along the shores of the island; the 

 Mongolian sSinA Aottevel, Aeghd it is iinmgol<i{^9\\.); and the common 

 turnstone, An-naria inttrpres (L.), which may be easily distinguished 

 from the rest by its bright yellow feet. A duck. Anas oustaleti Salv. , 

 called ngaanga by the natives, is peculiar to the ^larianne islands. It 

 is closely allied to species occurring in Hawaii and Samoa. 



Sea birds. — No gulls are found in the vicinity of the island. Nod- 

 dies, Anou.s leueoeapillus Gould and Antni.s sfolidus (L. ), called " fahan," 

 by the natives, are common. The beautiful snow-white tern, Gygis 

 (dhii l:ittlitzi Hartert, called ■"chunge" by the natives breeds on the 

 island in great numbers, not making a nest but laying its single white 

 egg on the bare branch of a tree. The common booby S>da sida (L.), 

 is common in the \'icinity of the island. Great numbers of them may 

 always be seen off the coast of Orote Peninsula, and the red-footed 

 booby {Sida piscairi.v L.) with white plumage, also occurs. They 

 pursue flj'ing fish, and dart into the water from great heights. The 

 frigate bird, F'reguta aquiia (L.), called '"paj^aaya" by the natives, is 

 not rare, but is seldom seen near the shore of Guam. The tropic 

 bird, PhmtJi&n leptunis Daudin, nests on the northern islands of the 

 group." 



EEPTILES.* 



There are few reptiles in Guam. The most conspicuous is a large 

 lizard { Varan us sp.) about i feet long, of a black color speckled with 

 lemon-yellow dots. The combination of these colors gives to the ani- 

 mal a greenish appeai"ance as it runs through the bushes. As in the 

 Guam kingfisher or "sihig" we have a lizard-eating bird, so in this 

 animal, called "hilitai'" by the natives, we have a bird-eating lizard. 



« Students of ornithology are referred to the report of Quoy and Gainiard in the 

 zoology of the Freycinet Expedition; Oustalet'p " les mammifjres et les oiseaux des 

 ties Mariannes;" Hartert "on the birds of the Marianne Islands;" and Seale's 

 " Report of a mission to Guam." See list of work.=. 



6 1 am indebted to Dr. Leonard Stejneger, of the U. S. National Museum, for the 

 names of the reptiles. 



