INTRODUCTION. h 



can be made from observations of this description, since a large number of forms follow 

 their food, as the fruits ripen successively from the lower to the higher elevations. 

 Nor must it be assumed as certain that the regrettable extinction of certain of the rarer 

 woodland birds is due to the absence of the trees which supply a large part of their 

 diet ; for other causes have undoubtedly contributed to their loss, and it has been well 

 remarked that, for all we know to the contrary, the destruction of some particular 

 insect might result in the simultaneous disappearance of one or more members of the 

 avifauna. Nevertheless to many species forests would seem to be a necessity, for 

 though VesUaria coccinea and Himatione sanguined are found on Niihau, when blown 

 across by strong winds from Kauai, they perish there in a very short time. 



A characteristic feature of the scenery of the islands is the constant occurrence of 

 deep wooded valleys or gorges, descending from the knife-edged ridges above to the 

 comparatively level districts below, these glens branching again laterally into other 

 subordinate ravines : and herein to the ornithological collector lies one of his chief 

 difficulties ; for many specimens, when shot, fall among the dense scrub or fern with 

 which the banks are clothed, and are then, as will easily be understood by those 

 conversant with such localities, practically irretrievable, unless by foresight or an unusual 

 stroke of luck a good dog is at hand to secure them. 



The trees in these islands average from 60 to 100 feet at most, and do not 

 attain to that stupendous height of which Ave read in still more tropical climates, 

 where the feathered tribes occupy, as it were, a level of their own far above 

 that of man ; nevertheless the nests, save of a few of the commoner species, are 

 exceptionally difficult to procure, owing to the fact of their being usually built at the 

 very extremity of the slenderest branches, whether they be horizontal or vertical. 

 Strange though it may seem after the efforts of so many collectors, the only eggs 

 absolutely identified at present are those of Chasiempis sandvicensis and Himatione 

 virens. The favourite sites for nidification are the Koa and the Ohia trees. 



The equable climate and convenient geographical position of the islands lend 

 themselves naturally to facilities for trade and commerce. The average temperature 

 at the sea-level is 75° F., and there is no rainy season, though snow lies for at least two 

 months on all the higher peaks. Roughly speaking, the group lies about 2100 miles 

 from San Francisco, 3810 miles from Auckland in New Zealand, and 3440 miles from 

 Yokohama ; so that its central position bestows upon it a great advantage as compared 

 with many other countries. 



The visible mountain-peaks, moreover, being but the projecting summits of a vast 

 and lofty submarine chain, the ocean surrounding them is as a matter of course of 

 great depth, and consequently little difficulty is experienced in landing at any sheltered 

 spot ; indeed from the Sandwich Islands to Japan the soundings only vary from 2500 

 to 3100 fathoms. As might be expected, however, disembarkation is often dangerous 

 on the windward coasts, where the trade-wind blows for some nine months in the year ; 

 but this state of things is to a considerable extent remedied by the proximity of the 

 islands to one another, as they are in certain cases only separated by comparatively 



