July, 1904 I 
THE CONDOR 
91 
the sand, with a few dried grasses scratched around them, as it the old 
bird in her own mind satisfied her sense of possession by thus staking a claim. 
Very often even the formality of a few grasses is omitted. The eggs are outward- 
ly limy white, the under shell of light blue being often revealed by scratches made 
while the outer layer was soft. It is apparently characteristic of this species to lay 
two eggs, and raise but one young. The right of the oldest child of the house of 
Cyanops seems all fixed by law, but in the enforcement of this canon. Nature 
proves once more that she is not always a kind mother. In other words, it is dis- 
tinctly rough on the bird which isJiatched last. There is evidently a period of 
several days between the laying of the first and second egg. The chick first 
hatched is considerably grown before the second appears, and from the peculiar 
manner of feeding, is able to devour all available food. It is probably true, also, 
that the old bird is not at all concerned for its second chick, for we found two newly 
hatched young, one of which had already been trampled to death, as if purposely. 
We found young and eggs in about ecpial numhers, and most of the eggs were far 
advanced in incubation. The young varieil from about a week old down to new'- 
ly hatched individuals. Often all signs of the second egg were removed, as if the 
nestling had hatched, and had been devoured by a parent, or some marauding 
Fregata. But more frequently there would be one nestling and one egg. Some- 
times this egg w'as spoiled, sometimes contained an embryo. The habit of dispos- 
ing of one of its offspring is not confined to the birds inhabiting the Hawaiian 
Group, but has been noted also on Clipperton and the Galapagos Islands by 
Mr. R. H. Beck, who tells me he has observed the old bird strike one of the nestlings, 
as if attempting to make aw'ay with it. 
The first afternoon at Eaysan we spent on the outer .slopes of the islet among 
the boobies. While stalking some bristle-thighed curlews {N'liint’iiius ta/iitie?isis) 
which w'ere ridiculously tame and kept Hying a little way ahead, uttering flutelike 
