8 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XI 
over the back, the wind’s levitation thus bearing most of the weight. Actually, 
the birds now walk on the water , paddling with the big feet quite sufficing to lift 
the bodies clear, and, gulping food rapidly as they go, the whole performance is 
most grotesque. With all this excitement, there is no noise; in a few moments the 
last scrap has disappeared, a hundred wings are extended, and, with a final “push”, 
each bird rises lightly to windward, resuming his tireless vigil in our wake. 
I am inclined to believe that among ornithologists unaccustomed to ocean voy- 
aging, a mistaken estimate is apt to prevail as to the relative number of pelagic 
birds: I say “relative”, for of course the actual total is enormous. Such a false 
impression would naturally arise from several causes, the principal one, no doubt, 
being a failure to realize the immensity of the seas, covering, as they do, four-fifths 
of the earth’s surface: an incredible number of birds may be scattered over this 
vast area and yet appear, as is actually the case, few and far between. Then, too, 
these birds breed in colonies, and are best known to us when assembled in appar- 
ently countless hordes. While it is true that in making a coastwise trip, say from 
San Francisco to San Diego, or New York to New Orleans, one would, during cer- 
tain seasons of the year, have plenty of feathered followers, few of the birds ob- 
served would be “pelagic”, and a voyage over the high seas in similar latitudes 
would probably be comparatively lonely; indeed, I can confidently assert that ex- 
cept in high latitudes, and especially those of the southern hemisphere, one may 
sail not only hundreds but thousands of miles and not see a bird for days at a time. 
The recent voyage of the “Kansas” — with the other fifteen battleships of the 
U. S. Atlantic Fleet — from San Francisco to Japan, via Hawaii, New Zealand, 
Australia and the Philippine Islands, may serve as an illustration. The total dis- 
tance covered was approximately 12,000 miles, but except from Fat. 32 S., Fong. 
178 E. (some two hundred miles north of New Zealand) to Fat. 30 S., Fong. 
112 E. (off the west coast of Australia) I did not observe, all told, as many as 100 
pelagic birds. Doubtless many escaped notice, but I was much of the time on deck 
myself, and my shipmates, knowing my hobby, were always keen to send me word 
whenever any “strange birds” were about. I think, therefore, such errors were 
reasonably few and quite insufficient to materially affect the general conclusions 
expressed herein. 
U. S. S. Kansas , Yokohama , Japan. 
NESTING OF THE XANTUS MURREFET AS OBSERVED ON FOS 
CORONADOS ISFANDS, FOWER CAFIFORNIA 
By CHESTER LAMB 
T HIS article does not pretend to be a life history of Brachyram phus hypoleu- 
cics , for my stay on its breeding grounds was much too short to make full 
observations. It is merely an account of the manner in which the species 
nests in the locality where I found it. 
Fos Coronados Islands are four in number, situated a few miles south of the 
boundary line of California and Mexico, and about ten miles from the mainland. 
They are quite small, the largest being not over two miles and a half long, by a 
mile wide, the next in size about half as large, while the two remaining are mere 
large rocks rising out of the sea. 
During the week, May 30 to June 6, 1908, it was my good fortune to camp on 
