2 



AVIFAUNA OF LAYSAN. 



I quite agree with Canon Tristram, who wrote on the subject (in ' Ibis,' 1883, pp. 38-46), 

 that the members of the so-called genus Tatare cannot be separated generically from 

 Acrocephalus. Mr. Hartert is also of the same opinion. 



The nest is a deep and cup-shaped soft structure, chiefly built of down and feathers of 

 Albatrosses and other sea-birds, interwoven with some line roots and twigs ; the outer parts 

 consist chiefly of the down of young Albatrosses, while the inner lining is made up of fine 

 roots and white feathers. 



The eggs are remarkably large for the size of the bird, and measure 0'8 by' 0*54, and one 

 even 85 by 0*65 inch. In colour they are quite Acrocephaline, closely resembling those of 

 other Heed- Warblers. The ground-colour is a very pale bluish. Large blotches of olive- 

 brown are distributed pretty evenly over the surface and arc relieved by small spots of the 

 same colour, while the underlying blotches show bluish grey through the ground-colour. In 

 another specimen the dark spots are more blackish, much more numerous and smaller, and 

 the underlying pale blotches are not so distinct, while in the largest one the colour is some- 

 what abnormally restricted to the broad end. The measurements will show that the eggs are 

 not very much smaller than those of Acrocephalus turdoides, while the bird is so much 

 smaller. The Plate shows the colour of the three varieties represented in my collection. 



The "Miller-bird" is plentiful on Laysan and very tame. All specimens sent were 

 caught with a hand-net. It is very active in its habits, hopping and creeping among the 

 grass and scrub in search of insects. It takes its name from its fondness for some large white 

 moths, called on the island £c Millers." For the size of the bird it has a harsh deep note, 

 much resembling that of a Thrush. It lays three eggs, and the nest is placed in a tussock of 

 grass. 



