THE CONDOR 
Vor. XI 
1 ?? 
Myadestes townsendii. Townsend Solitaire. ‘ ‘Not uncommon in fall migration 
at Barr.” (Hersey) 
Hylocichla guttata auduboni. Audubon Hermit Thrush. Migrant; at times 
abundant during the spring movement. 
Planesticus migratorius propinquus. Western Robin. Summer resident; 
abundant. 
Sialia currucoides. Mountain Bluebird. Summer resident; not common. 
More common during migration. 
Denver , Colorado. 
NESTING OF DIOMEDE A X [GRIPES AND D. IMMUTABILIS 
ON MIDWAY ISLANDS 
By I)R. T. W. RICHARDS, U. S. Navy 
A MONG the smallest and most isolated of this country’s outlying territorial 
possessions is the coral group appropriately known as “Midway”. Situated 
in Lat. 28° 13' N., Long. 177° 21' W., the largest — Sand Island — only 
measures about one mile in length by half that distance in diameter; almost the 
entire surface is of barren sand, the highest point being some 78 feet above sea 
level. Were it not for a light-house and relay station for the long trans-Pacific 
cable, the entire group would be well-nigh forgotten. 
As might be expected we have thus afforded an ideal breeding resort for num- 
bers of pelagic birds, and for several years I tried to obtain some definite informa- 
tion regarding the local avifauna, but without avail until, in 1906 and 1907, two of 
my naval medical confreres were temporarily stationed at this outpost and, with the 
greatest pains, most kindly collected, prepared and forwarded to me a number of 
eggs, with notes, photographs and descriptions of the birds. To Drs. R. A. Camp- 
bell and M. C. Baker, LT. S. Navy, I am much indebted, and take this opportunity 
of expressing my thanks and appreciation. 
While I was aware that the Laysan Albatross bred on Midwa\ r in company 
with another species, I was surprised and particularly pleased when the photos and 
descriptions accompanying certain eggs showed beyond a doubt that they were 
referable to D . nigripes , the eggs of which, so far as I am aware, have not hith- 
erto been fully described. I may add that the identification was kindly confirmed 
by Dr. Charles W. Richmond, of the Smithsonian Institution. 
In nearly all publisht descriptions of eggs of the Diomedeidae they are referred 
to in terms somewhat as follows: “white, sometimes speckled or sprinkled on 
larger end with reddish brown” (Ridgwav), giving the impression that they 
resemble, on a large scale, eggs of the Stormy Petrel, for example. While this may 
be true of some species, it would be inappropriate for a great many specimens of 
D. nigripes , tho some are faintly speckled or even immaculate. In many 
instances, however, these eggs are boldly and handsomely splasht with dark brown- 
ish red, in some forming a cap or wreath about one end, usually the larger; in 
others, extending over nearly one-half the shell; in fact there is as much color, 
relatively, as on an average egg of any of our larger Buteos, tho it is apt to be 
more constantly confined to one end. Compared with eggs of immutabilis they 
