50 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, January, 1947 
GREATEST 
LEAST 
DIAMETER 
DIAMETER 
DEPTH 
cm. 
cm. 
cm. 
Outside 
. . 11.5 
9.0 
9.0 
Inside . 
. . 5.5 
4.5 
5.5 
EGGS 
The egg is shiny, with an extremely pale- 
blue ground color and a ring of red-brown or 
purple splotches around the larger end. A 
few pale-brown splotches are found on the 
blunt end and the sides of the egg, less often 
at the apex. Small brown specks and dark 
scrawlings may overlie the brown and purple 
splotches, especially at the blunt end. 
Weights and measurements of eggs from 
two clutches are given below. The weights 
were taken 3 days before the eggs hatched. 
WEIGHT LENGTH 
DIAMETER 
gm. 
mm. 
mm. 
Clutch 1 
eggl • . . . 
2.4 
20.9 
16.5 
e gg 2 • ■ • - 
2.4 
20.3 
16.4 
e gg 3 • • • • 
3.0 
21.3 
16.5 
Clutch 2 
eggl . . . . 
20.4 
15.4 
egg 2 . . . . 
20.3 
15.5 
egg 3 • • • • 
20.0 
15.4 
egg 4 . . . . 
20.9 
15.6 
The number of 
eggs 
observed in 
a clutch 
varied between two and four, with an average 
of about three (two nests with two eggs, two 
with three eggs, and three with four eggs). 
HATCHING 
The earliest hatching observed on Hawaii 
was on March 14, and the latest was on June 
16. On Oahu these dates were March 10 and 
May 15. 
Cracks were found in all three eggs of a 
clutch at 3:00 p.m. on May 22. The cracks 
appeared to have resulted from activity in¬ 
side the egg. In one egg the cracks were just 
distal to the largest diameter. A second egg 
had cracks in various places around its great¬ 
est circumference, while the third had only 
one small hole immediately distal to the 
greatest diameter. By 5:00 p.m. two of the 
eggs had hatched. The shells had been re¬ 
moved from the nest and could not be found 
on the ground; apparently they were carried 
away by the parent. By 5:35 p.m. the third 
egg had broken open. The shell was broken 
in a ring just proximal to the largest diame¬ 
ter. The crown of the embryo was pressed 
against the cap of the shell. The hatching 
bird flexed its neck and then extended it, 
shoving the shell cap forward and freeing 
its head. After resting a few moments it 
worked its legs back and forth twice, simul¬ 
taneously kicking its body forward and the 
shell backward. 
DESCRIPTION AND DEVELOPMENT 
OF THE YOUNG 
When the nestlings were 1 hour old they 
appeared as follows: skin, rich reddish apri¬ 
cot, except where feather follicles caused gray 
color as in humeral tract, dorsal surface of 
neck, upper part of wing, and mid-dorsal 
region, and over eye; bill, reddish apricot, 
except upper mandible (gray between nares 
and tip); egg tooth, whitish yellow; rictus, 
light yellowish apricot; legs and feet, apricot; 
claws, yellow. Down feathers were present 
above eye, along occiput and mid-dorsal line 
from interscapular region to posterior edge 
of oil gland. 
When the young were 24 hours old the 
skin color was less reddish, and the gray 
feather tracts were more pronounced and ex¬ 
tensive; plumules, absent in ventral tract; 
eyes, still closed and gray; legs, yellow-apri¬ 
cot; skin, loose in tibiofibular region and on 
neck, tight over belly; belly, more prominent 
and bulging than at hatching. 
When the birds were 7 days of age the 
first primary feather was 15.5 mm. long and 
still within its sheath; bill, orange at edges, 
gray on ridge and side; rictus, whitish; legs, 
salmon. 
When they were 11 days old the first 
primary was 33.5 mm. long and two thirds 
out of its sheath; central rectrices extended 
3 mm. and 1 mm. out of their sheaths; plu- 
