Birds of Yap — FlSHER 
59 
are not sufficiently constant and conspicuous 
to permit separation from collingwoodi 
These rails were present in all suitable taro 
patches or marshy areas that were investi- 
gated. They were not found in saltwater 
marshes but were present in marshes of brack- 
ish water less than 200 yards from the sea 
and only 2 to 5 feet above sea level. All 
areas found to be occupied by this species had 
three things in common: mudflats, shallow 
water ( 2 to 4 inches ) , and clumps of heavy 
marsh grasses. 
Apparently the size of a taro patch has 
little to do with the number of rails present. 
I never found more than one pair in any 
isolated marsh or taro patch, and I investi- 
gated 13 such places, ranging in size from 
circular areas 50 feet in diameter to swamps 
containing 3 to 5 acres. A pair was collected 
from each of two smaller taro patches; during 
the following 3 weeks no rails were seen 
there, although the areas were visited every 
other day during that time. On two occasions 
individuals were flushed from dense grass 
some 50 yards from swampy areas. On both 
occasions the birds flew strongly and swiftly 
to cover in the swamp. I never saw this 
species more than 5 feet from heavy, grassy 
cover. 
Two trips were made at night to areas in 
which rails fed in the daytime. In 41/2 hours 
of observation no birds were seen and no 
calls were heard. 
At Balabat, at 10:30 A. M., on August 11, 
I saw an adult run across a small opening in 
the middle of an abandoned taro patch over- 
grown with water grass. A few seconds later 
another adult followed; it was collected. 
When I retrieved the bird I found I had also 
collected a chick. At 2:30 P. M. on August 12 
in a similar area, I watched two adults and 
a brood of four chicks feeding in water 1 inch 
deep. During the entire 40 minutes this 
group was watched, both adults kept their 
tails up in the air and jerked them vertically 
at 5 -second intervals. They kept in a close 
Fig. 4. Elevated trail in sea level swamp, Bala- 
bat, Yap Island. Habitat of Ixobrychus and Polio- 
limnas. 
group, except for occasional straying by a 
chick; when a chick strayed the parent called, 
k-uk, k-uk, k-uk, in contrast to the usual, 
hard, kuk, kuk, kuk. So near to each other 
did these birds stay that I was able to collect 
all six with a single shot from a 410-gauge 
shotgun at a distance of about 25 yards. 
The adults were a male and a female. The 
chicks were covered with black down. Their 
legs were dull blue. The distal third of both 
the upper and lower mandibles was dirty- 
ivory in color; the middle third, extending 
proximally to the middle of the external 
nares, was black. The basal third was washed- 
yellow. The call of these chicks, whose body 
length was 2 inches, was much like that of 
day-old domestic chickens, but finer, shriller, 
and weaker. 
Ducula oceanica monacha, Micronesian 
Pigeon. # — These were not numerous on the 
islands, but one could be certain of seeing 
five or six in a half-day. It was seldom seen 
in the savanna area, except at dusk when 
there was considerable movement between 
wooded regions. As a rule, the birds were 
first observed high in the barer branches of 
trees 30 to 60 feet in height, but one was 
collected while it rested on a nest some 20 
feet from the ground in a breadfruit tree; the 
nest was old and empty. The call is a single 
augh or ungh. 
