BIRDS OF LAYSAN AND THE LEEWARD ISLANDS. 
799 
weeks later in 1891, this is a very common occurrence, but the young were so scarce we considered the 
accidental demonstration mentioned above as sufficient evidence of the heartless trait. It is probable 
that the man-o’-war birds eat the young of other species also, but we did not observe anything to 
substantiate this. The fact that they chase other sea birds, gannets for instance, and make them dis- 
gorge their hard-earned prey is well known, but I was not fortunate enough to see them do this. One 
bird which I frightened excessively disgorged over the side of its nest a mass of squids, which are 
the staple of diet among all larger sea birds, Sula cyanops perhaps excepted. 
When roused from the nest the birds have some difficulty in rising, especially the males with 
swollen throats, and will sprawl over the bushes in a very awkward manner. But once awing they 
are perfectly at home and sail off with ease, the cardinal “balloon” of the males swaying from side. to 
side. Their appearance, as they soar aloft with this impedimentum, can be more readily imagined 
than described. I suppose there is a temptation with everyone who has observed man-o’-war birds 
on the wing to wax eloquent. But certainly in this art of soaring they are deserving of any meed of 
praise which we may bestow. To maintain any continuous sailing the albatrosses need a fresh breeze, 
and they always move with considerable rapidity. Not so with the frigate birds, however: on com- 
paratively calm days they are able to rest on motionless wing or slowly to describe circles high in air. 
Some wind or motion of air is of course always necessary, but they seem to be able to do with a mini- 
mum amount. They frequently rise so high that one can scarcely detect them against the shimmering 
blue of the tropical sky. Suddenly some individual aloft takes a notion to descend, and promptly 
does so by a series of long leaps or swoops that make one fairly dizzy. It is a pleasant occupation to 
watch them soaring about the mastheads, when the peculiarly short “arm” and “forearm” and 
disproportionately long quills are seen to advantage; and their deeply forked tails, likewise, which 
help to keep them balanced, and which open and shut occasionally like a pair of shears. Their feet 
are small and their legs weak, so that although still totipalmate they never alight on the water, but 
pick up floating bits of food as they swoop down in a broad parabolic curve. They can judge distance 
so accurately that no disturbance is created when the object is seized. 
On Laysan this good judgment was made use of when the birds drank from a small pond. They 
flew back and forth, about 20 feet above the water, then suddenly darted downward in a long curve, 
and when directly over the surface, like a flash bent the head down, dropped the lower mandible, 
and scooped up a little water. I observed some with distended pouches performing in this way, and 
each time they came down the sac would plow a little wake. 
We found man-o’-war birds at French Frigate Shoals in considerable abundance, and on a tall rock 
south of the shoals proper they were particularly plentiful. Also on Necker we encountered them, nest- 
ing mainly on bushes scattered over the summit, where there were large colonies. A few had nests on 
the rocks, generally on jutting crags. Mr. Snyder photographed a female sitting bolt upright with 
her wings spread out and tail bent back for a rest, apparently sunning herself. While we lay at anchor 
off the south side of the rock a flock of immature white-headed, brown-breasted birds sailed leisurely 
back and forth about the mastheads, inspecting the flapping pennant, which they occasionally tried to 
seize. I here saw a bird carrying a splinter of wood in an aimless way, as if uncertain of its utility, 
yet unwilling to release it. The stomach of one of these birds contained a flying-fish. 
At Bird Island the species is abundant, nesting on bushes over the steep south slope of the moun- 
tain. On our second visit, early in August, they were still to be seen in considerable numbers. 
ANATIDAi. 
Anas laysanensis. Laysan Teal. 
Anaslaysanensis Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, No. iv, 1893, p. xvii. 
It is surprising that an islet scarcely 3 miles in its longest dimension should harbor a peculiar 
species of the genus Anas. The birds themselves are scarcely less peculiar than their distribution. 
Most of us picture ducks as among the wariest of wild fowl, but the Laysan teal, though not exactly 
tame, are at any rate quite unsophisticated. These birds congregate in greatest numbers about a little 
rush-bordered fresh-water pond, mentioned in the narrative. Here we could find them at any time, 
standing usually on a little pile of rocks near the center. When disturbed near-shore they quietly 
swam out to their rock and sunned themselves by the hour. We saw the ducks also on other parts of 
F. C. B. 1903, Pt. 3—3 
