62 BULLETIN 121, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



north of Point Pinos and in a larjge flock of about twenty thousand sooty shear- 

 waters secured two flesh-footed that flew up to me. No others were seen, 

 though possibly present in other portions of the scattered flock. Two Buller''-s 

 shearwaters were taken here and also a slender-billed shearwater and several 

 Cooper's shearwaters. 



Judging from the manner of their occurrence, it seems evident that the flesh- 

 footed shearwaters frequenting the ocean in the vicinity of Point Pinos, Cali- 

 fornia, are regular but not common visitors from the antipodes, and that they 

 followed in their exodus and return Qiigrations the American coast route of the 

 sooty shearwaters. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — Australian and New Zealand seas. Known to 

 breed on Breaksea, North, White, and Solitary Islands, and perhaps 

 others in that region; 



Range. — Migrates northward in the Pacific Ocean, between breed- 

 ing seasons, to Japan (Hakodate) and California (off Monterey), 

 probably regularly but sparingly. California dates fall in February 

 and April and in every month from June to November. 



Egg dates. — Breaksea Island : Three records, September 11, Octo- 

 ber 16, and November 23. 



ARDENNA CREATOPUS (Coues). 

 FINK-FOOTED SHEARWATER. 



HABITS. 



This large shearwater is referred to by Godman (1907) as " the 

 Pacific representative of Puffinus kuhli" to which it bears a certain 

 amount of superficial resemblance. It is distinguished from that 

 species, however, " by the black tip to the bill and the general sooty 

 color of the axillaries and under tail coverts. The species was 

 first described by the late Dr. Elliott Coues from a specimen pro- 

 cured by Dr. Cooper on San Nicholas Island, off California." 



A'esting.— Nothing was known about the nesting habits of this 

 species until Mr. EoUo H. Beck, of the Brewster-Sanford expedition 

 to South America, found them breeding on islands in the Juan Fer- 

 nandez group, off the coast of Chile. He has kindly sent me the 

 following notes: 



On December 12, 1913, I started out from the settlement on Masatierra Island, 

 of the Juan Fernandez group (which lies about 400 miles to the westward of 

 Valparaiso, Chile), to find the nests of the pink-footed shearwater. About four 

 miles from the village many holes were found, but nearly all were too deep 

 and long to be opened without pick or shovel. One hole 6 feet long was opened 

 and a pair of birds was found at the end. Burrows were found from near 

 shore up into the ferns at 1,500 feet elevation. On the 15th I went again to 

 the colony with a man to dig for me. One burrow was followed for 10 feet 

 It then branched for the third time and went too deep to follow Nearly all 

 the burrows were 6 feet or more in length; sometimes a little grass was found 



