BIRDS OF LAYSAN AND THE LEEWARD ISLANDS, HAWAIIAN 
GROUP. 
By WALTER K. FISHER. 
INTRODUCTION. 
From March to August, 1902, the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross was 
engaged in deep-sea explorations among the Hawaiian Islands. During May these 
investigations were extended westward along the chain of reefs and islets which 
reach out from the main group in the direction of Japan. I have referred to these 
as the Leeward chain. The Hawaiian group can very convenient^ be divided into 
two parts — the Windward Islands, including the main large members from Hawaii 
to Niihau and Kauai, and the Leeward Islands or “chain,” comprising the westward 
extension, sometimes known as the “Bird Islands.” Beginning at the east, they 
include .Bird Island, Necker, French Frigate (or Brooks) Shoals, Gardner, Laysan, 
Lisiansky, Midway, Cure, and Morell, together with numerous sunken reefs. 
The Albatross went only as far as Laysan, lat. 25° 42' 14" N., long. 171° 44' 06" 
W., about 800 miles from Honolulu. The vessel arrived here May 16 and remained 
till the 23d. On the return voyage she stopped at French Frigate Shoals, Necker 
and Bird islands, but a landing was made only on Necker. During the stay at 
Laysan Mr. John O. Snyder and the writer were detailed by the naturalist in charge 
of the expedition, Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, to make observations on the bird life of 
the island and collect such specimens as seemed desirable. 
The results of this week’s investigations on the island — one of the most remark- 
able bird islands in the world — make up the greater part of the following report. I have 
included also notes gathered at other islands of the Leeward chain visited, besides 
the few published records for those we did not visit. This makes the paper fairly 
complete for the Leeward group. The main Hawaiian Islands are not touched upon. 
The number of species breeding in the region indicated is not great, there being 
among the sea fowl only eighteen and of the “land” birds five, including a rail and 
a duck. On pecker a new tern, of the genus Procelsterna , was discovered. This was 
found to inhabit also French Frigate Shoals and Bird Island. 
The following report is in no sense a systematic treatise on the ornithology of 
the region, but merely a running account of the birds as we saw them during our 
brief sojourn. Only such technical notes have been included as seemed worthy of 
permanent record. Systematically, the ornithology of the group has been handled 
by Mr. Rothschild in his handsomely illustrated “Avifauna of Laysan,” based upon 
material collected in 1891 by Henry Palmer on Laj^san, Lisiansky, and Midway 
islands and the French Frigate Shoals. Mr. William Alanson Bryan’s “Key to the 
Birds of the Hawaiian Group” covers this region also; this book is for the Hawaiian 
Islands what Ridgway’s “Manual” is for North America. Wilson and Evans’s “Aves 
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