806 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
depressed, and broad at the base, with moderately developed rictal bristles. * * * The general 
color of the plumage is more or less uniform brown, sometimes olive brown, sometimes russet brown, 
gradually fading, as the plumage becomes abraded, into a neutral brown or dust brown, not inaptly 
described as museum color. 
“Most of these birds are migratory and molt twice in the year, shortly before each journey. 
Their breeding range extends over the whole of the central and southern Palsearctic Region, but only 
one species extends as far north as the Arctic circle. They winter in the tropical regions of Africa 
and Asia, and are especially common in the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Two species appar- 
ently migrate south instead of north to breed, and resort to the swamps of Australia for that purpose. 
Two other species appear to be nonmigratory — one having found a permanent home in South Africa 
and the other « in the Caroline Islands of the Pacific. ' ’ & 
It is not difficult to conjecture how Laysan became colonized by the original Acrocephalus, as the 
Caroline Islands form a convenient mid-station from the Malay Archipelago. It is singular, however, 
that the genus did not secure a foothold in the large islands of the group— Kauai, for instance. 
Acrocephalus syrinx is said to occur only on Ponap6, one of the most easterly of the Caroline Islands, 
where it is resident. Thus, in a genus of marked propensities for migrating, it is of interest to find a 
few species so restricted and conservative, as it were. 
The miller bird is one of the most abundant of the four strictly land birds peculiar to Laysan. In 
the cool of the morning or in late afternoon it is seen to best advantage, for then it is very active and 
at times musical. During the heated portion of the day, following the custom of our wood warblers 
of North America, it retires, to remain hidden among bushes or in the tall tufts of grass where its nest 
is made. The species, like others on the island, is quite fearless. One Las no difficulty in 
approaching close to the active little creatures, especially near the nest, though, as is natural, they 
evince some doubt at first. With a little patience I was able to secure a photograph, although neither 
myself nor the camera, within a few feet of the nest, were at all concealed. (Fig. 43. ) 
Acrocephalus always appears busy. It is fond of moths and other insects, and drags the former 
from their hiding-places with much skill. It is not averse to the habitations on the island and may 
be seen with the himationes assiduously hunting for millers about piazzas and outhouses, prosecuting 
the search even into the rooms. One of its favorite feeding-places is over stretches of prostrate portu- 
lacas, near the lagoon, where it gleans small caterpillars from the herbage in considerable numbers. 
They nest usually in big tufts of bushy grass, and like the other land birds congregate in greatest 
numbers along the inner edge of the bush-grass area near the lagoon. We discovered -only two nests 
with eggs, but many empty ones apparently just ready for eggs. Each nest was placed in the middle 
of a large bunch of grass about 2 feet from the ground. The structure itself is composed of dried grass 
stems and blades, fine rootlets, white albatross feathers. The bowl is If inches wide by the same depth, 
and the diameter of the mouth is somewhat less than that of the interior, so that the edges of the 
cup overhang a little. It is lined with fine rootlets, shredded grass, and white 1 albatross feathers, the 
last being a very characteristic feature of all nests, so that the miller birds probably began very long 
ago to make use of this convenient material. Occasionally a trace of down was found on the inside. 
The outer portion of the nest is rather loosely held together, and forms a globose mass 3J inches in 
diameter. 
The eggs differ considerably both in size and coloration, one- being as small as 19 by 14 mm. and 
another as large as 22 by 15 mm. The ground color varies from very pale olive buff through greenish 
white to almost pure white. In one specimen the markings are olive blotches and spots of various 
intensities crowded at the blunt end, and likewise very tiny lines and specks scattered all over the egg. 
Another example is paler, blotched with olive and drab, and with minute specks. Two out of the five 
eggs lack the tiny specks. 
a Acrocephalus syrinx (Kittlitz) Ponap6. 
f>Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (Seebohm) v, 1881, p. 87. (Written before Acrocephalus familiaris was discovered.) 
