Mar., 1902. 
THR CONDOR 
51 
and niillions of them and the astonishing ef- 
frontery of the intrepid thieves! I couldn’t 
stand still two minutes before one would be 
clawing at my shoe, and from all directions 
the crabs would be edging toward me with a 
stealthy, sidelong, intermittent movement, and 
great, wide-open, bulging, staring eyes. As 
an instance of their amazing impudence I laid 
down three or four birds in front of me in 
order to wrap up some eggs. After wrapping 
three or four I glanced at the birds and an in- 
satiable glutton of a crab had chewed off an 
eyelid of one while two others were picking at 
the wings of another bird and yards away 
other crabs were hurrying forward to partici- 
pate in the toothsome repast. I scared back 
the nearest and felt a nip at my foot. There 
was an old reprobate trying to crawl into a lit- 
tle crack in my shoe, while near at hand came 
others to reinforce him. I actually had to wrap 
the birds up before doing anything else. 
Now if I wanted to give you a distorted ver- 
sion or exaggerate this statement in the least I 
would elaborate in the manner in which they 
carried off eggs while 1 was wrapping birds, 
but I haven't given you any thing but an 
abridged condensation of the facts! I wrap- 
ped the birds and eggs in a hurry and left the 
spot. Rut it is laughable to see a crab seize an 
egg as they do with boobies’ eggs when occas- 
ion offers. They grasp it tenderly in that long 
arm and sidle off in a fashion highly amusing. 
The men on the islands tell me the crabs often 
take the young boobies from under their pa- 
rents and I can easily believe it. They also 
say but one young bird is reared though two 
eggs are usually hatched. I cannot recall now 
having seen two fair-sized young of either the 
blue-faced or variegated species, though 1 have 
seen plenty of nests of both with one young 
bird and two eggs. 
The land crabs are one of the unpleasant 
features to a collector down here. On Socorro 
Island which we visited I wandered along 
under a wnde-spreading mangrove-like tree 
and would see an inviting looking dead stump 
with an excellent roosting hole for a pair of 
the rare screech owls. Running my arm down 
to the full length I would jerk it out with a 
great big orange and j)ink land crab closely 
hugging a sore finger that had inadvertently 
been placed in his light. A careful inspection 
of other similar holes usually revealed one of 
the detestable cannibals snugly ensconsed 
therein. While larger than Clipperton crabs 
they are not as plentiful and one could lay 
down 15 or 20 minutes I think before a crab 
would venture near. They are more cautious 
on this island, due perhaps to the redtails 
which I think eat them. On San Benedicte 
and Clarion islands one is unaware of the ex- 
istence of crabs till he has dug five or six feet 
down with his hands into a fresh looking shear- 
water’s nest. Then stretched out in the boiling 
sun, covered with dirt and perspiration and 
straining every muscle to reach the end of the 
hole, you feel a decided pressure on the tips 
of two or three fingers and after a long, strong 
pull outcomes a fine red land crab in the place 
of the shearwater yon hoped for. Rut enough 
of these ever-present pests. 
On San Renedicte I got into a colony of fri- 
gate birds that were nesting on the ground. 
At a mile distant a number w'ere seen circling 
about a knoll and 1 went over to see what was 
the attraction. Webster boobies were nesting 
in the long grass in the little runs and hollows, 
this being the first time I had seen them nest- 
ing on the ground. On Clarion and in the 
Galapagos they always nested in trees and 
bushes, while here there were no trees. .Ap- 
proaching the ridge 200 or more frigates were 
seen sitting closely together. I took off my 
hat and crouching low, worked my way care- 
fully along to a favorable j)osition for a photo- 
graph but it was facing the bright sun so I de- 
termined to get around to the other end of the 
colony. Circling a little mound I came 
plump into a lot of nests with young birds two 
weeks old, and up the hill seventy-five yards 
were 500 or more setting birds. 
I sneaketl across and into a deep gully that 
ran parallel with the ridges on which they 
were nesting. Getting near the upper end of 
the colony I cautiously raised my head and 
planted the camera at a distance of twenty 
yards and got a picture. Then I slowly crept 
forward to fifteen yards and gradually closer 
and as the birds were not seriously disturbed I 
walked right up to the nearest one hut they 
stayed where they were. For the next hour 1 
maneuvered through that mass of birds trying 
the camera first in one position and then in 
another. Finally I placed the tripod squarely 
over a setting bird and got a snap. Then 1 
decided to get a picture showing the eggs in 
the nests. I placed the camera and started out 
to scare off 20 or 30 birds in front of it, and it 
was necessary to elevate the birds with my foot 
to persuade them to leave. 1 W’as only able to 
use three plates in this colony having taken 
but six ashore. It was the most compact 
colony of nesting frigates I have seen. And 
the flying lice! .Some birds would have two or 
three dozen in the nest. When left suddenly 
by the bird they fluttered into my face, li.ands 
and head and the tenacity of their grip was 
bewildering. Sometimes there were a dozen 
on the throat of a setting booby, something I 
never noticed elsewhere. 
Lei sir rely yours, 
R. H. RiiCK. 
h'ive miles off Acapulco. 
January, 5. 1902. 
We are now sailing wing ami wing for the 
entrance of the harbor and will be ashore to- 
