6o 
THli CONDOR 
Voh. VI 
high in air, where of course some breeze is stirring. They frequently rise so high 
that one can scarcely detect them against the shimmering blue of the tropical sky. 
vSuddenly one of these lofty birds takes a notion to descend, and promptly does 
so, by a series of long leaps, or swoops, that make one fairly dizzy. 
The presence of a ship excites the curiosity of younger birds, and it is a 
pleasant sight when a whole flock hovers around the mastheads. Here they move 
leisurely back and forth, but give most of their attention to the lazily fluttering 
j)ennant, which tliey attempt to swallow. Hardly once in an hour do these birds 
flap their wings, but onlj^ spread and close their deeply forked tails, which evi- 
dently aid them in balancing. They are complete masters of their element. 
Frigate birds glean a portion of their livelihood from the host of creatures 
which live at the surface of the ocean: flying-fishes, ctenophores, jelly-fishes, vel- 
lela, janthina, and in tact anything that may attract their fancy. I even observed 
one bird aimlessly carrying a splinter of wood, uncertain of its utility, yet unwill- 
ing to release it. As they never alight on the water, they seize such bits of food 
by swooping down in a broad curve. The}" are able to measure distance so accu- 
rately that no disturbance is created when the object is grasped. 
On Laysan this good judgment was utilized when the birds drank from a 
small pond. They flew back and forth about twenty feet above the surface, then 
suddenly darted downward in a long curve, and just at the right instant, like a 
flash, bent the head down, dropped the lower mandible, and scooped up a little 
water. So swift was the performance that I was always a moment too late, when 
photographing it. The males with inflated pouches cut a most ridiculous figure, 
for the sac would plow a little wake, and also tend to overbalance the birds, but 
I saw no accidents. 
We were somewhat surprised and disappointed that we were not a witness to 
those acts of highway robbery for which the man-o’-war bird may be said to be 
justly famous. Whether they occurred during our stay of a week (May 17-23, 
1902) I am unable to say, but if so, must have been rather rare, because either Mr. 
Snyder or myself were usually in the field at all times of day. The explanation 
probably is that the warfare starts when the young frigates hatch or begin to 
require considerable food. As noted above not all the birds had yet deposited 
eggs, while the young were exceedingly few in number. 
The best account by far that I have ever seen of this high-handed proceeding 
is given by Mr. William Alanson Bryan, in his monograph of Marcus Island," and 
in concluding I can do no better than quote his words ( 1 . c. p. 114). 
“I have before referred to the large colonies of common brown boobies about 
the north point of the island. It was in the vicinit}" of this colony that the man- 
o’-war birds were most abundant. Here they would lie in ambush for the old 
boobies and tropic birds as they returned from the sea heavily laden with fresh 
food for their young. vSitting (puetly on the tree tops, or more often wheeling 
high overhead industriously patroling the island, out where the surf broke on the 
reef, the.se birds would keep a sharp lookout to sea for a sight of the returning 
fishing fleet of boobies. Sighting one (sometimes consisting of one, sometimes of 
several individuals) as many as half a dozen hawks would make for them under 
full sail, and without a moment’s warning would engage a helpless bird in battle. 
Swooping down upon it from ever}' side, bufTeting it with their wings, snapping at 
a A Monograph of Marcus Island, by William .Vlanson Hryan, in: Occa.sional Papers of the Ifernice Paiiahi 
Bishop Museum, II, Xo. i Director's Report for 1902. Honolulu 1903, 
