67 
On the Migration of Phalaropes in Montana. 
were not nesting. Their principal occupation seemed to be 
robbing the Boobies and Gannets of their food. The natives 
said they nested in November, but I had no opportunity of 
proving this. 
On June 24th, 1898, I visited Beacon Island, a small rock 
in the heart of the S.E. trade-wind, about five miles from 
Port Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles group. The landing was 
very difficult, the swell being heavy, but I managed to jump 
ashore. Generally this island is inaccessible, as the sea 
breaks all round it, except in the finest weather, and there 
is always a swell. Here I found Sterna ancestheta and 
S. fuliginosa in fair numbers, though not nearly so numerous 
as at Goelet Island. The former is a small replica of 
S. fuliginosa , but is not quite so black on the neck and 
back, and the inner web of the middle toe does not reach 
to the end of it, as in S. fuliginosa. S. fuliginosa had mostly 
fresh eggs, and S. ancestheta generally hard-set or young. 
S. fuliginosa always nested in the open, S. ancestheta, more 
often than not, under stones, rocks, or hidden under tufts 
of grass. Both these species bred all over the island. 
This to a certain extent was true of Anous stolidus, 
which was fairly plentiful, but seemed to keep together more 
than the other two. There was a fair-sized colony of 
S. dougalli here also, but they were most exclusive, keeping 
quite by themselves, and were much wilder than any of the 
others. I could not catch S. dougalli by hand, all the others 
I could. These were the only birds on the island, but there 
were immense numbers of beautiful copper-coloured lizards, 
which must have taken a heavy toll of the eggs. If I broke 
one, the lizards found and ate it at once; they were not large 
enough to take the young birds. 
VI.— On the Migration of Phalaropes in Montana . 
By Ewen Somerled Cameron, F.Z.S. 
Previously to the spring of 1899 I had looked upon Pha¬ 
laropes as quite rare in North-eastern Montana, having seen 
the Bed-necked Phalarope only once, and Wilson's Phalarope 
e 2 
