'Thc o'oscrvations recorded h e r e were mainly made on t h e U.S, Geol-og- i : Survey e x p e d i t i o n s t o t h e Northern M a r s h a l l s i n 1951 and 1952, when t h e a u t h o r was a passenger on U

M O L L RESEARCH BULLEL'IN

No. 114

Northern Marshall Islands land biota: birds by

F, R. Fosberg

Issued by

THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD

National Academy of Sciences--National Research Council Washington, D, C.

March 31, 1966

Northern MarshaLL I s l a n d s Land B i o t a : Birds

F. R , Fosberg

Although o r n i t h o l o g i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n s have n o t been t h e main o b j e c t of any pliase of our work on t h e Northern Marshall I s l a n d s , numerous n o t e s on b i r d s have accumulated which a r e h e r e p l a c e d on r e c o r d , The b i r d s were i d e n t i f i e d by use of E r n s t Mayr's "Birds of t h e Southwest P a c i f i c ! ' and t h e names used h e r e a r e mostly t h o s e a c c e p t e d by Mayr i n t h a t work. Un- I o r t u n a t e l y i t was i m p r a c t i c a l t o document t h e s e r e c o r d s w i t h specin?ens.

The s i g h t o b s e r v a t i o n s p r e s e n t e d should t h e r e f o r e be acceprcd w i t h some r e s e r v a t i o n s .

'Thc o'oscrvations recorded h e r e were mainly made on t h e U.S, Geol-og- i : Survey e x p e d i t i o n s t o t h e Northern M a r s h a l l s i n 1951 and 1952, when t h e a u t h o r was a passenger on U. S. Army survey s h i p s . A d d i t i o n a l n o t e s were ~nade on Wake I s l a u d i l l 1953, 1961, and 1963, and i n t h e Northern Mar- s1:alls i n 1956, t h i s L:i.n.e c o u r t e s y of t h e U. S. Naval Radiological. Defense L a b o r a t o r y , and on s e v e r a l b r i e E e r v i s i t s .

'The a t o l l s v i s i t e d were Wake, Pokak, Bikar, Rongelap, A i l i n g i n a e , 1 l o n g ~ r i . k ~ T a k a , J i r ! : : Jemo, L i k i e p , Wotho, Ujelang, Ujae, Lae, and Kwajalcin, Dci-ails oii i-hi, i9j;-1952 t r i p s may be f o x n i a Atoll. Research B u l l e t i n 38: 1.-36, 1955, No account of t h e l a t e r v i s i t s ha!$ !:cell p;.rrp:ir.ed, though l i s t s of t h e land p l a n t s have been p u b l i s h e d as g e l ? a s ar ;::c.count of what may have been f a l l o u t damage (ARB 61: 1-11, l959)*

Here w i l l be given a very b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of each a t o l l and i'ts b i r d f a u n a , t h e n a s y s t e m a t i c l i s t by s p e c i e s , w i t h o b s e r v a t i o n on occur- r e n c e , numbers, b e h a v i o r , and a n y t h i n g e l s e of i n t e r e s t under each one.

DESCRIPTION OF UOLLS VISITED AND LISTS OF BIRDS SEEN Wake A t o l l

Wake A t o l l ( s e e ARB 66: 1-22, 1959, 67: 1-20, 1959) i s s e m i a r i d i n a s p e c t , w i t h pronounced dry s e a s o n s , and i s l a r g e l y wooded w i t h low t r e e s and shrubs. It undoubtedly s u p p o r t e d v e r y l a r g e b i r d c o l o n i e s a t one time, b u t , probably because of World War 11, i n 1951-52 t h e r e were r e l a t i v e l y few b i r d s . Rats were v e r y abundant i n t h e l a t e 1 9 4 0 ' s and e a r l y 1 9 5 0 ' s b u t were almost e l i m i n a t e d by a p o i s o n i n g campaign i n 1952 by M r . Fred S c h u l t z . Whether they have m u l t i p l i e d a g a i n I do n o t know. A typhoon i n 1952 caused widespread d e v a s t a t i o n t o t h e v e g e t a t i o n and d o u b t l e s s t o t h e animal popu-

l a t i o n . The i s l a n d was v i s i t e d October 22, 1951; A p r i l 19-21, 1952; J u l y 1 8 , 1952; October 22-23, 1953; September 8-13, 1961; and March 7-9, 1963. The f o l l o w i n g b i r d s were seen:

-2-

i

X XX XXXXXXX X X XXX

1

XXXXXX X XX XX X XX X I I i X XXXXXXX X X

i

XX XXXX XX % XX *Ex

I I XXXX XXXXX X x XXX

X X X XXX

X X X X

X XXXX X X XXX

X XX XXX XXX XX XXX X

XXX XX XXX

XXXXXX XX XX XXXXXXXX

x

x

X%S X X x xyy

X X XXX

B i k a r iitol:

B i r d s a r e t o be seen i n & r c e ubundancc-.-.i.ni.eed t h i s i s o w of t h e f i n e s - t r o o k e r i e s i n t h c ? 4 s r s h r l l s , second o n l y o Pokak. I t i s s c i i t o have b,:en p r e s e r v e d ~s a b i r d s a n c t u a r y , protec.Lfd by t a b o o s , i n p r e - . European tiines. Birris secri r r t r e :

K~ra2alei.n Ato:~l

--

T h i s i z .:n c1;ornlous a i ; o l l , oiie of .the l a r g e s - t i n bl?e world i n t o t a l a r e a . I t s l a r g e r i s l z t s a r e cr,!on:, t h e ;nost coo~ple'cely i, l . t e r e i of a l l

i s l a n d s i.ri t h e P s c i i ' i c . It ??as i h c scene o f hc?.vy f i g h t i n g i i i tiorld War 11 and h a s been i~.sc& 2s ;:n .;m?ricon bas; e v e r s i n c e . Some of t h e smGller i s l e t s a r e s t i l l r e l a t i v c L y uniislurberi, iinti have been r e ~ ~ a r l c u b l y l i t i ; l e c q l o r c d c o n s i r l e r i n g !lox c l o s e t h e y a r z t o a major s t o p p i n s p l a c e o f t r a i s - P a c i f i c p l a n s s . Sowe of -them, :is s e e n from t h e a i r , have gooti.

n a t i v e f o r e s t ; th3ugh i m s t a r e &lantc2. t o :coconu:;s o r covered by

ins4calln-tioiis of on. s o r t o r another. One i s l e i ; , Enir:etak, insicie t h e I.ayoon r a t h e r t h a n on t h e r e e f , i s covered by magnificen-t P i s o n i a f o r f s - b ,

--

perhaps t h e f i n e s t s t i l l t o be foupC. t.ny?:l;rre. Hcrf z r e g r e a t numbers of bir6.s. It i s p o b a b l e t h a t t h i s i s l e t xics reserveci a s a b i r d a n c t u a r : ] i n

p r c-European times, > r o t e c t e d by taboos, ail& through sonie r , ~ i r a c l e , perheps a i i n r i t a o f 1 taboo, has re~iiaiiiei i n a

virtu all^

p r i r c i t i v e

c o n ~ i t i o ! ; .

'ti,L , s ^. is .. ^i. d g c toil, inilalil-Lc::; b~1.L ?:it11 coucii'i;ions s o z z v c r c U l a t ^;'; 1s aboui; ^{01.: ,} i i 0 . i j s s f l : i - ~ s o j l t n l : i i t cu.l;l.rc. The l ; r t c i s l e t s i n tile sou.-i,i?c.m ijur'c, cs;)ei:i.c!.?y Rcri,r;L?;,

- .

l s i c i ; . ;YE i ~ - . - , ~ 1 ~ , i a i ; i ; e < -t o c o c o n c t e . Tlzose ic. L11e nor'ch ^5.2; m:. LA:?.?

,

.

.,ye stjl.1. I,crg::L; .:!ooucc o r porti:; ;,r;ssy rllost 0; ti,cn! n , y - . c < ^<. ,A'!&.

., : .~. .

o n l y ^L fer.7 cocon;its, m d m n y of t h e s e i n y o o r c - o n u ~ ~ - o n o r ueai..

P i n o n i a f9rcs.i; i:; s-cj.11 -.-i-i,cr L G " commolz ori ' t l ~ c s c is l ; r i ; s . T';e L;oor cor.ii::ion of ihc vege-ta'cioll of ti,is c'iol], l o in

::m

<;1: 1.11, l:.!.:' > ,'.i

.

The ; . t o l l !,as v i s i t e c &bi.uar,~ ' j .'j; 1:)

.

^,

l i 2 5 ,

vcr.r 0 :f'cir bir(is ..;:ere sceil, b o t h i n s p c i c s c.nC a c t u a l numbers. Tiiose s e e n were:

v e r e move6 t h e r e f o r ⁴ sllort time i n 1546. T h i s movc wzs unsuccessfc.1, znZ. t h e ;>eo;~le were soon rei,i3vei;. Pisoilia and C o r 6 . i ~ f o r e s - t s .,re conunon,

-

b u t t h c r e h a s becn i,!uch dFstr.rbancc by c o n s t r u c t i o n c r e w i n connection v i t h rrc;pons t s s t i n , i n B i k i n i cn@. E n i w t o k . I n 1956, t h e Cordie f o r e s t ,

--

e s p c i c l l ; , shoved s e v e r e d i e b z c k c t th: t i p s of t h e b r a n c h l e t s , 2 jwers ..,*.tcr . ' be

s L cn h e a v i l y s p r i n k l e i : v i t h r a d i o a c t i v e f a l l o u t . There was v e r y l i t t l e ol?portuni'cy t o stui.y t h i s , t o l l , o n l j ⁶ s h o r t v i s i t Lo

En>ietck Isle-L on F c h r ~ a r y 11, l ~ j j ( s f e ARB 5 1 ) . The fcri b i r d s i n evidence i n c l u d e d t h e f o l l o r r i n ~ :

This i s o r a t t e r s m a l l a t o l l , u n i n h a b i t e 6 , rii'th one i s l e t , Enibuk, l a r z e l y :jlantecl t o coconuts: t h e o t h e r s a r e m o s t l y x:oodeii, s e v e r a l of them w i t h ~ i i l a l l n~mlbers of cOconU.~S :?nO nofile gi-assy l a n d r i t h s c i t t f r e Z I

t r e e s . There v a s d o u b t l e s s an cibunchice of b i r l s , b u t l i t t l e o p p o r - t ~ ~ n i t ? ~ rias a f f o r 5 e d t o observe them. One s h o r t v i s i t m e mcGc t o S i f o I s l e t

on February 10,

lc;,6.

B i r d s seen i.;re:

1.

--

Arcnuria i n t e r p r e s

- ^4. --

Anous t e n u i r o s ' c r i s

- -

2. Nuixcnius t a h i t i e n s i s _---.--

5 .

Gygis al&.

.

Anous stoliC.us

-

Tuka A t o l l

7

---

This i s a sinall a t o l l , motiei-atel; ury, bu-L a b l e t o su:sport coconuts;

rrhich a r e i;lcn.i;ecl. or! i b o u t o n e - t h i r c of th: L a r y e s t i s l e t , T a k i . The r e s t i s covered by n scrub f o r e s t , i n 1951 qxpenring q u i t e b a t t e r e d by a xcen'c -tYyhoon. The it011 i s uninhabited; hence b i r & s r e dbunCii;n-t, e s p s c i a l l y on t h , s m a l l brush.? il<.tr:erok I s l c t , which i s , i n iT;s olore open p a r t s , c v;s-L roolsery of Sooty T e r n s . L o j i r o n i s m o t h e r small i s l e t !:here t l l e r e l y r e cbundaci birG.r, c s ~ e c i i l l y

_

^{Gygis 3",} l b a n e s t i n &

i n i sinall $rove of P i z o n i a t r c e s . The o t o l l Tias v i s i - t e u Dcceiiiber

5-9, 1551.

B i r d s seen v c r e :

1. Sult! l e u c o y c s t c r _--..

5 .

-. Anous s t o l i d u s 2 . A r e n a r i a i n t e r p r f

.

^{. -. . .}

- - -- -

s

6 .

Anous t e n u i r o s t r i e

-- --

T h i s i s ^h mediuiil-sized, a i l y ;!eL e l ;;opulai;ed, snii \!iih t h e l a r g e s t i s l e t s plari-keL t o cocorlu-I;sj but i n

lsjl

some of t h e s m e l l e r i s l e t s v e r e s t i l l covered a t l e a s t p a r t i a l . l s b:! n a t w z l vegcta-Lion. P ~ s o n i a To- , . e s . ~ , O ~ I i r o s i ~ , , f o r e s t ~ aiiii mixed foz.es.i ricrf riel1 developed. Lsf ^{i,.^} .rus v i s i t e d JcinuCry

+loi

l;j2. B i r ~ s y e r e f a i r l ; cormon, i n s p i t e of t h e p - z z c n c c o f h u a ~ r n s , though nowhere abunLant. The s p e c i e s seer? !icre:

1. D e n i g r e t t a s a c r a

---~ ^5.

1ietcroscelu.s i n c ~ n m n

----

2. G L , l l u . s ;;allus ^{r c}

.

^ri l h a l a s s e u s b e r z i i P l u v l a l i s d o n i n i c a I ; .

3 . --

Anous ^-.-.- s t o l i d u s

Ujae : t o l l -. -. .

- ^- -- ^-

Ujee i s a f a i r i y r i f t a t o l l , elor.gcte ccs-t 2nd. res's, and has ::iar.y i s l e t s ; some oi' 'tiiern 1i;d c o r s i c k r c b l c n - t i v e v f g e . t a t i o n l e f t i n 1552, p a r t 1 2 r e p l s c c d by c0conr.t p l a r l t a t i o n . Mixed f o r e s t , T i s o n i a f o r e s t , anti Oriirosie f o r e s t a r e

--

~111 r r e l l r e p c s e n t e d h e r ~ . I'iccoruing -Lo ihr people h e r e , t h e y e a t a l l b i r d s the'; t h e y c . . ' , c - ' - < , L c ~ e x c e p t th't Reef Heron. One riiethoc: of c a t c h i n g b i r d s was observed. ^A f i r e r r u s b u i L t

a t t h e base of a huze P i s o n i a t r e e i c v'nich r x r c neny c c s t s of t h e

W h i t e - c a p p e ~ NocGy. T h i s smou1.derei i'or u couplc of 6.3 d- ^{9 .}

,

.tlicn t h e t r e e c r a s h e d iorrn. Young b u t f u l l : . f e z t h t r c d nofidif: w r e Ihro!.!n from

t h e i r n e s t s i n 1arOe ilUbers. They coulc' n o t y c t fl:; ,nu :.ere pertly s t u n n e d . F i v e o r si:: 2ozen b i r C s x r e . a C h ' t r e a up, t h e i r wings chopped off, 6nd t h e y irers cookf:'i. The c-ioll. . m s v i s i t e e . February

15.23

and Miarch 2-33,

1552.

The f o l l o v i n ; b i r d s ?:ere scen:

0 2'

1. . S u l a l e u c o g a s t e r ---.--

8.

Numenius t a h i t i w s i s _--.-

2 .

-

S u l a s u l a

- - -- 5.

I k t e r o s c e l u s incenum

3. -

Trcl;ata minor ^-.

- - - - ^{l a .}

S - t e r m sum? t r a n a

.

_.- Demigrei-ta s a c r a _.

- - -

11. Thalnsseus b c r g i i P l u v i a l i s 6.omini-a

j 1 2 .

-

^:;nous

-

^..

-

s t o l i h s

o . P x e n a r i a i n - t e r p r c s I

- - --

^.

13.

Anous t e n u i r o s t r i s

-

' j

.

Nwilenius phGcopus, 1 4 . G:;gis a Y o ~ _--.

-

hilulr i s ;n ilongeLe a t o l l extending n o r t h and south, with :I % r e a t number of i s l e t s along i-i;s e e s t c r n r e e f and on1.y or:? on t h e vestcirn s i i i e . Thc l z r g e s t , ;rilulr I s l e t , on t h f northerr:. end, h a s a consiclerablc-

p o ~ u l . a t i o n and i s almost e n t i r e i y p l a n t e d t o c o c o n u t s . Mo.;t o f t h e

srnZ!.ler i s l e t s t o She n o r t h h i v e a t l e a s t sorre coconuts, b u t man;/ o f them s t i l l r ~ . t a i n c t l e c s t :! s t r i p 3f n a t i v e v e g e t e t i o n alonh t h c i r e c s t e r n , secrrurd si.dcs, .ro.tc-cAcin.. t; .,.) LI?C coconut t r e e s from e x c e s s i v e wine. A few b i r d s iierc s e c n on Ailuk I s l e t , iiiarrj i n o ~ e on t h c s m a l l e r i s l e t s 'co Lhc o h . The ~ A o l l . ^Tim v i s i t e L December & - > l , !.: 51. The b i r d s s e e z Ticre :

Wotho A t o l l

-

^-.--

imorig .those o f t h z n o r t h e r r M a r s h a l l I s l a n d s v i i h f a ~ . r l y . ^' abundant r a i n f s l l , Tlotho had i n l55.c' t h e s n i a l l c s t p o p u l a t i o n an6 t h e l ^ r ~ j e s t are:!

of n a t i v c f o r e s t . I n f a c t , it xias ;,oss?'.ble h e r e t o goi!? some i d e a o f v h a t Lhe o r i h i n c l v e i ; c t a t i o n of t h e s e i s l a n d s may have been l i k e . Evcn t h e l a r g e r i s l e t s ha6 o n l y been p a r t l y c l e l i r e d and p l d n t e d t o c o c o n u t s . Ochrosia f o r e s t , ;;ossibl;r -the c l i m a x v e g e t a t i o n of a t o l l s i n t h i s r a i n - f a l l b e l t , covered a l a r g e r a r e a h a r e t h a n i n an:;. o t h i r a t o l l v i s i t e d . Sorne P i s o n i c T o r e s t anil l a r g e ;reas _-.- of (nixed f o r e s t w r e f o u c d . C x o n u t c r a b s , B i ~ d s _{% -.} -. l z t r o x75re more common h e r e t h a n any o t h e r ;;lace where ^.-9

t h e y v e r c s e e n . The ztoL1 was v i s i t e d February 12-16 anti March 1322, 1952.

BirLs observcii liere:

The v e s t e r n m o s t 02 t;hr Ivibrsh?Ll g r o q , sone'ci,r:es r e g a r c e d cs onc o f t h e C a r o l i n e I s l x c l s , U n , clo-(;ate i n an e a s t - v e s t d i r e c t i o n , h a s ^u c o n s i d e r a b l e noinber of i . s l e t s , i.iost oi' viiiicii hail sornc vest-taLion

i y.:.;>

- ,,-.

l a r g e Ujelzr:C Is:Lc-I; c,;cs i:lr;n-i;rd i;o i:oconuis dv:rin;; t h e German a i r j i i n j . s t r s t i o n . Po- o ! a y -wirrs ^J t h i s . . t o l l ha& no poj;u.lation e x c e p t i > l a n t a t i o n l a b o r e r s , b u t i n 1547 tile ;)eo:,le of Enive-Lok v e r e moved t h e r e t o m i r e way i'or t h e t e s t i n g ^3f sto!,lic u e a p o n s . Birc.s :rere,

i n 1552, genersl1:y abundant, especiall;.- on i s l e t s otklcr t,han

UJel;c(; i t , s c l f . Thr a t o l l rr;s v i s i t c i Fe. hru.' ar,

>..8 ,

l.Cs."

, .

The f o l l o v i . n b s p e c i e s n c r e o b s e r v e d on t h i s & t o l l :

1. Frega-ia i~?i!'or

- ^8.

H f t e r o s c e l u s Fnccnum 2 D e l i i i ~ r e t t a _-.

-

s z c r a ^$. _pSi;crca s u o a t r a n a _- 3 . C z i r i r ~ a moschata 10.

-

S t e r n a f u s c e t a

4.

G d l u s y e l l u s

--

^11.

---

T h a l a s s e u s b e r g i i

-

ACCOUI\IT OF 8TIII)S BY SPECIES

s h e . , L ~ . , b i i . s ..- ,..,. .- v e r ? s e e n st, v a r i o u s time,? o L s r c , b u t coulii n o t bc i d c o t i T i c d ril'ih an;; c o n f i d e n c r , Horrevcr, o n Pok&

---

A'GolL, ^{--.- i} s h o r t d i s t ! m c % i n l a n d from t h e I:-;~on si1oi.c of Sib;Lla, B r e ; ~ , Kjmofile; 2nd N o r t h Ir<lc':s,

., c i ~ e r e ⁾ i s zn. ~ > : t e n s i v e , s e r i e s of '001:er~es of v h a t stem t o be i.!ed.;e-';olle~l S h e z r ~ i ; ? t c r s , iliocgh evri? v i t h -tile biru i n herid i-t c o u l d n o t be made .l>d f i t , exac-cpy, ;11y of -ti12 c,:$,scri;~)i,ti3r!s i n tither Y I q r ' s "Birfis of i;hs S o u t h c e s - t p a c i f i c " or fgeXcr.&ert

.

^{L GG}

-

^{, -'} Ghf O C C U ~ . ^"

Phaetilon l e n t u r u s

. .- -... W h i t e . - t c i l c d T r o p i c b i r Z o r B o s ' n b i r Z Tiiis b c c u t i f u l b i r i ; i s n o t a-t u l l common i n t h e n o r t h e r n Miirshalls.

On? m s s e e n f l y i n g on ?Take 181;-b, W,ke _i . i i o l l rlea' F l i p ; ? f r Poin.i, Septe:;iber , 1 h e ) anti t v o were s e e n f l y i n s on U i l k e s I s l e t , Wake ?.eollj on M c

fij

3 One riss see!) f l y i l l s 2% s e a o n e - t h i r d ^0; t h e 1.c~ froill W..kz

--

t o Polrck :!toll on J u l j

- - - -

^.

- --

^.. l;, 1$,2. Ano-tiler v a s s e e n f l y i n s o v e r t h e s e z w a x l s i d e of S i b y l l a I s l e i ; , Polrak s e v e r a l d a y s l a t e r . One rms s e c n flyin:, o v e r t h e l a g o o n oi' W i r i k

- -

-.

-

M o l l o n December 1:' 1951. I n t h e i n - t c r i o r 0:;' B i k a r I s l ~ t , B i b a r i ' i t o l l i n opa?inc;s i n dense P i s o n i c f o r e s t _-~-.)

3

o r

4

!:err.

s e e n a t ^i. t i m e , f l y i n g round ;PC rounci, ii.;kinfj h a r s h : x o t c s t F n g n o i s c s . F i n a l l y a n e s t 11-s loca-bed a b o u t

7

m c t e r s up, ^{i r l} ; h o l c i n a 1zri;e P i s o n i a -Gre. ' .

.

T h i s c o u l d n o t be rcachei: !!ith t h e e q u i p ~ ~ n t a t h m d , b u t b i r d s v e r c secii -to e n t e r t h e h o l ? .

Re<:-'called T i , o p i c b i r d s :!ere o n l y obscrvccl on

-

trike, ^-I Pokak i:nd l3i.k-r.

On V i l k e s I s l c t , Nake A f t o l l , t v o ?!ere s e e n f l y i n g on M z c h 1963.

They riere p u r e sai;iny xhi-Le w i t h a r e d m::rB err t h e cye, and b l s c k :?ec.t v i s i b l e a l o n g body ~ i h e n fl y i n g ( S c c h c t ) .

On B

-

e

^-

1

-

^-. 1d u r i n g t h e vicelr o f August '1 -11, l4;:?, small. g r o u p s of s e v e r a l t o a dozen b i r d s piere o f t e n seen f l y i n g , e s p e c i a l l y o v e r Che nor-th end of B i k a r I s l e t . Here i;hey v o u l d f l y roun$. tncl round, makin, h a r s h n o i s e s . ?!hat t h i s was z b o u t \!as n o t eviSe!?L. P o s s i b l y t h e y r.r:inted t o use t h i s ,re: a s a ncs-tin[< si-l;e b u t were d i s t u r b e d b$ o u r camp.

Onc of t h e atcr3.c-bive f e z t u r e s of tile R e d . - t a i l e d T r o $ i c b i r i i s t h e r o s e a t e sheen t o t h e r i h i t e p a r t s o f t h e plumage t h o t czn be s e e n a s t h e y s i t on t h e i r e g g s .

S a l e d a c t y l a t r a ~. Maskcd, o r B l u e - f a c e d Booby

This pias -tile l e c s t f r e q u e n t l y o b s e r v e d booby on t h e a t o l l s v i s i t e d and xias seer. o n l j on V!ake Pokak. s n d BLkar. 1.t was s e e n inosL1:t on t i i f

--2 -,

grounz, e i t h e r n e s t i n g o r r e s - i i n z . I t s beak, here, was o d u l l y e l l o v , s h a d i n g t o 6.~111 b l u i s h o r g r e e n i s h it t h e b a s e . The young c r e v e q ; w h i t e and have d e e p down t h a t makes them l o o k l i k e a n i m a t e d b a l l s o f c o t t o n . On

-

L k c ... --, k t o l l O c t o b e r 22-23,

1953,

a very few were s e e n il;,in(; v i - ~ h

?:ear Polrai; F h o l i on Mcrcii 29, l$;Y%, l a r i ; e numbers o f Bror.!n Boobics folio!rcd t h e sku,, iiivj.n;; ^u a t t r a i i i n ; f i s h l u r c s , S e v e r a l i.!cre caugh-f,.

They ;+ere seen f i s h i u i ; vi-ill Mcsked Boobies. In J u l y a l s o m m ; i Brorin Boobies i z r e s c c n . IL rizs harc! t o ge-t an iGea o f t h e i r numbers and behavior a s t h e i r h u b i - t s sefmer? aln~osi; th e o p p o s i t e of t h o s e of t h e E;ed-.foo%ed Booby. D u r i n ~ -the C e y most of the:!? r.ic-re seen f l y i n , - r! , c:s!,eciall.y o v e r secr.ai.?. beaches and r e e l s . They seeme& Lo be t h e f x o r . i . t e v i c t i m s ~f n i r a c y by f r i & a t e \ > i r t i s . W e n s f en s i t - i i i g , -they were p r a c t i c a l l y al.?:ays on Llie Lrounu o r on r o c k s .

On Bikar AtoLl, March _--. 24, 1.752, t h e y rrere sicin cnmmonly, f l . y i n g about, e s ~ ; e c i a l l y around searmud beaches, m c i f i s h i n g i n cor;~$aris- ~ i t h both o t h c r boobies a s ?!ell 2s n o u d i e s a d F . . i r y T e r n s . Threc of tileem made :?asses a t t h e f l a g

flutter in^

a t t h e maslhead. On August 7 - - 1 1 , many :?ere s e e n f l j i n c - ^i;i and r e s t i n k on i x f e s on low bronches anti s t u b s , a s well. a s on the ground, For,c- were s s e n nestin;;, althou;:+ ^o - s e v s r a l t i m e s t i r d . s behcved a s though !;rying t o draii atzent:on o f i.ntruclers ai,!ay from r i e s t s . One b i r i , 772s f r i ~ h t c n e i , . o f f a n e s t about

4

meters q:i n a

P i s o n t a t r e e , b u t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n was n o t c e r t a i n , and it inay ?:cL!. h w e

--

b e a ~d a r k phase of t i Red-footed Booby. ~ The c o l o r o f t h e backs o f t h e s e b i r d s i s a & a r k s o o t y - b r o m , r a t h e r t i i t n chocolate-browu a s d e s c r i b e d by M a p .

On Jemo I s l a n d one Brow> Booby lvas posi-LiveLy. i i i e n t i f i c t i . f l y i n g ,

--

^-__)

Deccmber 20,

1551.

On Kwa;jalein,

-

a l s o , one was s e e n f l y i n g with fri;atc-.

b i r d s on Jsnuary 23, 1552. Three were s e e n f l y i n g o-V-er t h e icgoon a t T..:ta. a t

8: 3

a.m., December '1 l y l j l . lit Wotho w t o l l one Tias s c i n n t

-

^-.--9

Biken I s l e t , one a t Ombeliw I s l e t , anii ;;n iri:matu;e one a t s e a i n &torch,

2 On Ujse, about O) viere seen on t h e evenir,g o f March 1, 1952, r e t u r n i n g -Lo Bokerok I s l e - L a f t e r a clay's f i s h i n g . One each was seen on Biken:izr

and U;ae i s l e t s (bj T. .4rno~!).

On 'l.!;ke I s l d n e ; O c t o b z r 22-22, l5>,3, 2 fey, r r f r e s e e n f l y i n g i!itb

_^_--i

f r i g a t e b i r c . ~ on Pe:ilc I s l e t . On March $, 1\63; ;bout 23 psii-s o f B r o m B o o b i e s ricre n e s t i n g a l o n g t h e l a & o o n siric of ICuku Poi.nt, on t h e ground j u s t bac'r o f t h e silore i n t h ~ lor.! v e g e t a t i o n . A l l had young, e i t h e r i n t h e doliilny coiidi-cion 3r w i t h riings ~ o i n c v h a t i"ea.kherci. o u t . Thc a6u.l'~

rlurnage ?res Garlr r e d d i s h - s o o t y b r o w on bhe bacir.

R-'i--"oo-;;cd ^{CL I}

-

^Boobies ~ , * r c s e e n nur(.bcrs o n t h e u n i n h a b i b e a n o r t h e m a t o l l s , : m t scarc.;'!y a t a l l on t h e i n h a b i t e d a n c . T h i s i s t o be expected, a s t h e i r n e s t s r r c c o m o n l y i n l o ? ? t r e e s , r e a d i l y a c c e s s i b l e t o t h e

M a r s h a l l e s e , ?k.o e c t se; Lix3.s 9 2 dl s o r t s . Th-, r i h i t e plu.ritaGf, b r i g h t - r e d f e e t , and b l u e beair r e a d i l y i d e n t i f y ?-.hisf bi.rds i n t h e s d i l l t s t - : e & i b u t i w n t i . f i c o t i o n of imrmkme o n e s i s much l e s s c c r t a i n .

On o u r f i r s t v i s i - i ; t o Polczk on Novemhfr

-

^25, l 3 5 1 , many b o o b i e s were s e e n , b u t n o t c l i s t i n g v i s l ~ e d a s t o spccic::. O?I Mcrch 25, 1552, REG-:footed B o o b i f s t i e r e d . e f i n i t e l y seen, iis:?in;, o f f s i ? o r e i n c o n p m y vi-Lh Broxm anL.

Masked B o o b i e s . ^{1 1 1} J u l y ( 2 0 - 2 7 ) ) 1552, 1.orge numbers Vere secin on P o B A . The Reo.-footec s e e m e i t o be t h e a o e t coomon b o o b i e s on t h e a t o l l , a-L

1~;:st &ri.ng tkic ,'=+time, Ti,cy -,,:ere foun6. sc,.'~i;cied, ruos-Ling i n 'cle t r e e s i n a l l p d r t s of .the i , s l e t , s !.here Tou?ne:?or';ra o r i j i ~ o n i a _-- 'crees o c c u r ,

b u t were l e s s c o m 0 a Sn j?Olri:k I s l e t t h i i l e l s e ~ : h e ~ ' e . Durinp; t h e day , cney

.

'irere s f e n mu.& n o r e o f t e n si.-;;tin; i n Lhe <;ri-~s t h a n fl:yin;, s o it

m,,i 'be th.. ^'-

Uu u~ t h e ~ J it3 -- m0s.L of their f i s h i n g a t nigii'i. Juc:giEi: from ti?:: guano a c c u m u l a t i o i l s , caeh b i r C must h a v e e y a r t i c ~ ~ l a i b r a n c h t h a t i s h i s >:avorite r o a s t i n g p l a c e ' . They d o n o t seem t o be & r c y a r i o u s i n t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e y c o n g r e g a t e i n ;roups. They ma:. be uyproached c l o s e l y , o n l y sI;temp;;ing t o f l y hen s c t u a i l y m o l e s t e d o r , sooie- time^, rcben a pei-son i s v i t h i n a few i e c t . One, ?:hen d i s t u r b e d , d i s h o r g e d h a l f ; iiozen f c i r . . s i z e d squici. :: v e r y f e ~ : young b i r d s w r e seen, and one b i r d Tias incubating a n egg on a. n c s t i n a t r e e .

On our. f i r s t v i s i - t t o B i h r . on Noveaiiber 26, l 5 5 i , sevsri;il R&-iooixc;

Boolxies viere s c e n f l j i i r i g . On i4,rLh rit, 1552, c o n s i u e r a b l e numbers !.!ere s e e n ne,r t h e , t o l l , ;'iskin,, v i t h boLk O-the? s p e c j . i s o r b o o b i e s ; rio(:dies, i n i . Fail.? T e r n s . M;.ny i:cre r o o s - t i n o i n t r e e s . D u r i n g -the FerioC.

14u.gust

7-.l1,

1 - r ~ e n u ~ n b c r s ti e r e -Lo be seci? ^ti; ,lmost ^{U I ? ~} t i m c ^0;' day, r o o s t i n s . n P i s o n i e %r.k-s, _--. o r i'12ing a b o u t ?:hen d i s + ; u r b e d . ^I1 few n e s t s l w r c spoLted, u s u t i l l y h ~ g h i n P i s o n l a t r e e s , , : i t k i o l o b i r d s s j . t L i n g on them, o r w i t h a l m o s t mature young.

On Jcmo

B,

Reci.footeci Boobies w r e n z s t i n g i n niiinbers i n t h e P i s o n i c t r e e s , c o n t r i b u t i n g g r e a t l n t o t h c _{--.-- J} :ormati.on o:i' p h o s ~ h r i - t e r o c k b e n e a t h .

On U j d i : _{_}Iito1.l _{. i}a s i n g l f cieii; R x i - f o o i e d Booby was s f e n on t h e o u i e r b c c c h Of Rua I s l e t on F c b r u u r y 23, !.;>2, On h'ske I s l a n C _-.-- -.-- a fev:-irc; s f e n n e s t i n g on P e a l ~ I s i c t , i!!;ril 21; dnti on: f l j ~ n g on ~ u p ~

18.

F r c g a t a minor

--

G r e a t F r i g a - t e b i r e o r MLn-o ' ^. V!cr B i r ? T h i s i s one of t h e mos-t i n a g c i f i c e n t of s e a bircis arid a c h c r a c - t e r i s t i c s i g h t i n t h ? , i r o v e r many i i o l l s . They so;r f o r hours, o f - t e n i n one

iilace; ;pparentLj i'or thc s h c e r joy ,af i - t , DurinC; storms ti1ei.r soi;rill;, a b i l i - t y j.s sho7;in o i f i;o i;h: b e s t auvantage, !,hen t h e y sefui Lo bc p l a y i n g

i n t h c . % i n d .

On November 25, 1 many f r i , a t c b i r G s ?-ere seen fyyin; crounci 'pokz;< ,yLoll s s rh;ny ,s 2tj .-'c ^; ii.

~ -..-,

.

On Nmch 25, I;>>,

8

or 1 0 f o l l o ~ ~ c d

t h e shii, iinfi f i s h e e v i t h t h e b o o b i c s . I n J ~ 1 . y ( 2 0 . - 2 7 ) t n cno:rmous g o y u l n t i o n of f r i ~ a - t c b i r d s x ; ' e ncstin:; h:.-re. Thc n e s t s a r c i 11

T o u r n e f o r t i c t r e e - ;nb ,;re siila1:L f o r t h e s i z e of t h e b i r d s , u.su;ll."

-

^{-. --}

-

^{-. - 3}

n o t laore t h a n 2 cim h < r o s s . O n ^i; fo~mti.atioC of D few i;lvitis, t i l t n e s t . i s b u i l t e n t i r e l y o f t h e d r i e d stems o f Ipomoea tu-ba.

-

I t i s soon cemented i n t o a s t u r d y f l a t t i s h s t r u c t u r e by t h e accumul.ation o f guano a f t f r t h e yourig b i r d h a t c h e s . A t t h e bime of o u r v i s i t t h e r e w r e ::ggs and young i n a l l s t a g e s of Gcvelopment. The p a r L l y grown ycmng have b l a c k i s h f e a t h e r s on wings and beck and v h i t e downy b r e a s t , ncck, and head. Thc heads of immature b i r d s v:wy frow d e f i n j . t e l y r u s t c o l o r e d t o w h i i e . Both inales and :remale,? s i t on -the e e : . ; ~ _,a&.

R c s t s a r e ~ c a t t e r f d . o v c r a l l e x c e p t Soil-th I s l e t b u t a r e !nost numerous on S i b y i l a and E r e j e I s l e t s , ~ ! i t h many a l s o on t h e woode6. p a r t o f ICamome.

Thc;r seen: n o t t o be c s g e c i c l l y c ~ n c c n t ~ a t e d i n any onc o r ferr r e s t r i c t e d s p c t s , b u t t o be f a i r l y g e n e r a l l y d i s t r i b u t e d Gnere t h e r e a r c s u i t z b l e ,. Lrees. khen approached t h e young r o t t i e t h e i r b i l l c f u r i o u s l y znd scream a t t h e i n t w c i e r . Older b i r d s u s u a l l y f l y n::ay when ail i n t r u d e r g e t s t o

~ : i i h i n a f m fee-t, b u t occasionall;, t h e y will d i s g o r g e f i s h f i r s t .

When a s m l l boa-t c r o s s e d t h e lagoon and made a landin:; on S i b y l l a I s l e t hundreds o f t h e s e b i r d s were i n t h e a i r a-L once c i r c l i n g over i t . Normally a-t any t,ime of t h e dzy t h ; r e were a few i n t h e a i r . O c c a s i o n a l l y

t h e y would sn&tc!? f i s h from t h e s u r f a c e of t h e water, and nor? and then, e s p e c i a l l y tor,aru euening, i l v a s p o s s i b l e t o :latch them p u r s u i n g boobies t o p i r a t e t h e i r d a y ' s c a t c h of f i s h . I'L i s a r a r e s i g h t t o va'cch t h e s e supcrb f l i e r s i n an z c r i a l c o l i t e s t . C o n t r a r y t o 'the g e n c r a i opi.nion, i t !ras observed t h a t t h e boobies o f t e n cscaped v i t h m ~ t d i s g o r g i n g t h e i r f i s h .

On ^---.) iiiluir Decenlber 26-27, 1991, a s i n g l e f r i g a t e b i r d Tias s e e n f l y i n g between Eneuo and Micnrra I s l e t s , t ~ ; o o v e r Bcojen I s l e t , an$. one o v e r

Enenkonge 1 , s l e t .

On Jemo, December 12, 1451, a t ].east 1 5 were s e c n f l y i n g a t one

--

t i m e .

On November 26, w h i l e s p r o a c h i n g Biirar a t o l l we w r c met by

-

^-9

"

f r i g a t c b i r d s , On lfiarch 24, 1352, many ~ a ~ e r e r o o s t i n g i n thc t r e e s , s t a r e d ug; i n g r e a t swarms by b l a s t s of t h c s h i p ' s w h i s t l e . D u r i n i t h e i > e r i o d August 7-1.1, t h e y v e r e s e e n i n l a r g e nu!nbers, r o o s t i n g i n t r e e s anil f l y i n g o v e r t h e a t o l l . A few immature ories were s e e n i n ir'is0nj.a t r e e s .

On January lc,? 1952, one f r i g a t e b i r d was s e e n s o a r i n g o v e r K m , j a l e i n K ! j a J a l e i u A t o l l ; many dozens on J a n u a r y 23, 1952, and two on

I s l e t ,

F e b r u a r y 2,

19%.

On U j c l a n g , February 7-8, 1952, v e r y f e n were seer! durirlf: .the 6 . q . I! f c w ,were s e e n o v e r -the s m a l l e r i s l e t s o c c a s i o n a l l y , e s p e c i a l l y l a - &

i n t h e a f t e r n o o n . On Kalo I s l e t , one a f t e r n o o n a t a b o u t

5

p.m., d u r i n g a storm, f o u r were s e c n c a l m l y r i d i n g o u t t h e si;orm h i & h i n t h e a i r . Thcy !!Ere j o i n e d by t v o , t h c n t ~ o o t h e r s , t h e n trro more coming i n from

the soucn. They s a i l c 6 i n one ijosi-Lion above t h s i s l e t f o r soroe time, P y p a r e n t l y e n j o y i n s . ^e t h c s i t u a t j . o n , t h e n g l i d e d o f f t o tile e a s t . T h c i r

? l a c e s v e r e -taken a few rninutes l a t e r by f o u r more. One d.ay j u s t b e f o r e ciark,

40-50

Irere x e n on Pyokin I s l e t ?:here t h e y a p p a r e n t l y r o o s t .

A colony of a t l c a s - t 75. f r i g a t e b i r d s ?.ived on Bokerok, a t i n y i s l e t ~ o u i ; h of Bock Channel, Ujae A t o l l l i n February and March 1552,

?-here some c o u l d be s e e n i n t h e P i s o n i a t r e e s a t a l m o s t a n j t i n e . ^{A t} s u n e c t t h e y s o a r i n g r e a t numbrrs o v e r Bock Channel.

On I r ~ t h ~

---.,

a c o l o n y o f well. o v e r 1 0 0 r o o s t e d on Ombelirn I s l e - t i n F e b r u a r y I:%. D u r i n g t h e h o t p a r t o f t h e day t h e y u s u n l l y r e s t e d . TovarC e v e n i n g t h e y s o a r e d i n g r c t numbers o v e r Lhio and o t h e r i s l e t s , e s p e c i a l l y BiBcn, and o u t over t h e s e a .

On i:a!re A t o l l , Woke I s l e t s u p p o r t s a c o l o n y o f c o n s i d e r a b l e s i z e .

-

I n A p r i l

m~r23~

1972, many r.!ere seer. mostly r o o s t i n g on t h e r e m a i n s of a n o l d p i e r on P c a l e I s l e t , and q u i t e a number were s e e n f l y i n g on

J u l y

18.

On O c t o b e r 22-25, h u n d r e i s were s e e n f l y i n & 3nd r o o s t i n g on a g r e a t s t e e l f r a n e x o r k of a bombed-out J s p a n e s c b u i l d i n z on Pea1.e I s l e t and a l s o on power l i n e s . Thcy i i e r e s e e n i n n w b c r s i n September

1951

i n t h e t r e e s a t t h e b a s e of F l i p p e r P o i n t , P e a 1 ~ I s l e t (SacP.e'c). They r i e r r n e s t i n g i n - t r e e s on Wilkes I s l e t , j u s t back 3f Kulru P o i n t , i n March

1553.

Perhaps 1 0 o r 1'2 p a i r s were s e e n w i t h eggs o r s o a r i n g v i t h r e d 3oucbes i n f l a - L e d . Some w r e c a r r y i n g t w i g s f o r n e s t s .

Dc.c.lig-a s a c r a

-- -

R e d Iicron

-.

-

. .

The Reef Heron, tilough n o t 6bunLn-L, i s common slgri'c t l ~ r o u c h o u i ; t h ? n w t h e r n N a r s i i 6 l l I s l . s n i i s ; i t ~ i - s n o t s,en on Wzlse I s l a r d . T h i s -. . .~ i s c. ncciivril. s i z e d heron, ,+c; may be s e e n a l m o s t snyi.i?here, i n t h e r m d s o r i.l;:nti>tions, in o p c r l i n ~ s , Zit .'-L I

,.

. ^{. ‘!s} = of the i o r 2 s t L : ~ C ) V C ih:? b ~ i c h , irounrl j0r;d.s a n t u c p r c s s i o n s , and o u t on t h e reeini s t a n c , i n g v e r y e t i l l o r s-i;;,ikj~u& L t r , trey. It i s c ; l l c d b:. M c r s h e l l e s e ").saga" o r . ' ..;>" ~ 7 '

( ~ , ~ l ~ . : ~ ~ ) or ^: y-, 1 .-. 3,:, o r ' . k o v i j " ( U j a e ) , cnct., t!ccor&i!;g -i;o E n t i , C h i e f o f U j , . z , i s t h e only b i r d ; l o t e s t e r : by them. C.21en ,:ski%. t l ? c r e t i s o n f o r

. , L- he i - l t f . . . < A 1;,: >. s ^' I t a!ds n 3 ~ ; ; l e a r ;ihethei. t h i s h a b i t maie A c b i r d u r p c . l a t a b l e , o r w h e t h e r t h i s viss regardeci cis a b e n e f i c i a l s i r v i c e :Tor r.thic:h i t v a s s i i a r e d . Tio c o l o r $base:: c r e alrilovt e q ~ ~ : . l l y cornmu,

;I G m k b l u e . L r a y oris a d a ifhice o r c , r r i t h v a r i o u s i n t e r n i e d i a L c s , .the most co!mon b c i r i , r ! h i t e v n r i o u s l y n o t i l e d w i t h brc;,

.

ii s i n s l c l ? . g t i t c r g r a y ( n o t bluisi!) one 116s s c c n or:; Lc:c one of t h i s c o l o r b u t ; ? i t h ci.s.L:tl t h i r d oi' t.i!!cs ~ h i t e , on U j c l u n g ; an;: , 7,:hite uric r:i-th d i s L a l h a l f o f r ? i n ~ s & r k o r I(-:;j.,l,in. A:: tklis s,,:cies sc.cms t o i n h i b i t i s l a n u s

. .-(_-

t h e y e a r :.rour!i: t h c r e scems t o be no re;son f o r d k t s i l i n : : sigh-iini,s b;

<.:ate. The, ;.rc ;jrcsent;eCi j.n Tiible 11 by' d t o l l s crld : : s l e t s ;!ild a r r a n g e 2 by c o l o r p h a s c ^. G ~ ~ l : r s sccri.

C a i r i n u inoscliata _{- --} 1~IusCov.j Duck

1: :;cr: coi:,estic c'uclts, -11 of t h e muscovy t y p e ; v i r e s e e n , c i t h ~ r tei;hercd o r -;:rze i r y c r & ~ { i t h t h e c h i c k c i i s . The; ?!ere r f c o r t i ~ d i'rciil

UJ;:lmg,

-_ _

U'iirik ^-__-I 2nd 1.k-i;ho.

-

C h i c k e n s a r e foiinci on e l l or. most inhzbi-Led isim:c i n t h e M z r s h a l l s , and even on sornc ;:t l e a s t t ~ i l i p o r a r i l ; . unirli-,abi.tcci o n e s . D u r i n g t h e

$resen-L s u r v e y s t h i y :;;re i;cl'ii:itsly frm Ailuli --.. Jeino 1 L i e j L i B i e n , Rongel.rp. U,,clang, U'tirf!<, ail2 I,-.'-

_ . _,

_

_..-2 ^{..- ~ h o r?&} 'lrere Cloubtless y e s c n t

on (;t l e o s i ; -tr.;o of t h e o t h e ? s . j~ios-L srer: rrere o f a ra-bker nopciejcrip'c

o r mongrel t y p ~ ; , sorni:.:hat rescmblir;;: ::il? .jungle fovrl, b u t soole r e s e n l l l i n ~ ; Plymouth Rock and o t h e r d o m e s t i c breccis were a l s o s e e n . They a r e generally s l l c i : e d -Lo r u n T r e e . I t i s of i n k e r e s t t h a t c h i c k c c s were i n t h e

M a r s h a l l s i n :,re-European tirfles, b u t wii-e j r i z e c i by tile ~ l u r s ~ ~ a ~ ~ e s e f o r t h c i r f e a t h e r s zr23 v e r y r e r c l y u s e d a s food ( C h a m i s ~ o , ^A. Toni Rci,iarlis

and Q j i n i o n s , p .

157,

1821; Grunderiiacn, D.) D e u t s c h c Kolon. Z c i - t .

4

^:

4

_{1687 )}

.

18

^-.

TABLE 11: Color phases of t h e Reef Iicron i n t h e n o r t h e r n iviarshall Ielancls.

ii'coll Blue :Gray :Gray W t h :hfot.tled :White w i t h :White

I s l e t : Date

. - ,

. u ~ s t a l iiing: :wing t i p s :

: t i . p s v h i k : : d a r k

--

.--

!.iLu.k

Akulrie ( l 2 / 2 6 / 5 1 ) J a b b v i

Encnkong E n e l j a r U l i k a

I . n o r t h o f Baojen K ~ r a j a l e i n

L o j J a i r o e g (1/15/52) Loj j a i r c l r

Enebuoj ( l / l 3 / 5 2 )

~ b e y - ( 1 / 2 6 / ~ 2 ) Kviajo1e;e (1/27/52)

(1/15/52) Enelakken (8/;/52) Loe (1/5-10/Y2)

Lae z o j B i k e c a j B v i J ~ ~ i c - 1 ^j ap E n e j e l t o Rama 1 , i k i e p

Laclo

Po!ralr (7120-27/52) Lce,,;rur< r.?"." ^-.I (:*,k,/y2) Ujze (2113. 23/52

( 5 / & l j / ; 2 ) Bock

Ujac Ebe,ju V!o j i , Ene?.aino j B i k Bikenlrar

U j e l a n g (2/3-.8/5r) K i l o k e n

Uje!.anz Moiica L l o

TWo-bho A-boll (2/15/;:2)

X

-

P r s s c n t b u t nuuibers not rccor<.cr:.

P l u v i a l i s doininica

-~

Golden P l o v e r

The Golden P l o v e r oizy undoubtedly be seen a t tj.!nes on any i s l a n d i n t h e c e n t r a l P a c i f i c , e s p e c i i l l y i n w i n t e r when i t m i g r a t e s s o u t h from i t s A r c t i c o r S u b a r c t i c b r e e d i n g grounds. It seems probable, horiever, t h a t some i n d i v i d u a l s f a i l -to go n o r t h , 2,s a'c l e a s t a f c v bi.rds may be s e e n i n t h e M a r s h a l l s even i n August. T k y a r e vislking o r s t a n t l i n g on r e e f s , beaches, v i l l a g e s t r e e t s , a i r p o r t runriays, i n g r a s s y opei?ings, an6 even under coconut t r e e s . They a r e o f t m observed :!allring anu feedfinz v i t h 8.omestic c h i - k e n s . and a r e t h e n more e s s i l v aonroechcd t h a n u s u e l . "

,~.

The Mmshzll.ese naiw i s " k ~ l e , ~ " ( i l k ^ii- Lae.

--

Ujelang,

----

&!otho), a p p a r e n t l y a cognate 02 t h e Har!aiian " k o k o .

On &u& &Lo& Dece~nber 24-21,

1951,

& o v e r s vrcre s e e n on a l m o s t n l l i s l c t s v i s i t e d , common i n open coconut groves, i n openings, and a t low t i d e on r e e f s . They liere r e l a t i v e l y t a m , e a s i l y w ~ p r o a c h e d t o :!ithin

1 5

meters, even c l o s e r vhen t h e y r i m e walking w i t h c h i c k e n s . On Jemo I s l s n d , December 18-22, l y l j l , o n l y 2 :!ere seen, p o s s i b l y 2 s i g h t i n g s of t h e s a r x i n d i v i u u a l . One was seen on Gejen Islc-6, g o n g f l a p

i\i;oll.,

on

F f b r u a r y 1'5,

15>6.

On Lilriep, December

I > - l 6 , 1951,

t h e y r?cre o e c a e i o n a l l ~ ~ s e e n ; a f l o c k of

4

!:as on t h e r e e f f l a t ai; lox! t i d e . On U t i r i l c _--.9

Decembcr

4,

& > l j they v e r c secn general?.>, on al.1 i s l e t s . They riere v e r y tame h e r e j running ,!ith chic!rens, 0111:;. f l y i n g up on c l o s e approach

,.. r ^r-

of a p e r s o n . H number were a l s o s e e n on U-tiri!r I s l e t on February 13, . L ~ ) o . P l o v e r s were e r i j e c i a l l y common on K\!a.jalcin, on Kiiajalein I s l e - t ,

vihere t h e y may p r a c t i c a l l y al'ciays be s e e n r e s t i n g on t h e a s ~ h a i t of t h e a i r s t r i p s i n Clocks of ui? t o 20, or' even niore. They seem v e r y cccustomed t o ~ e o ~ l e . Tiielve rrere sccn on J a n u w y

15,

1952, on e lugoon d e b r i s f l a t ; on Jmul;'y

15,

a number riere on b o t h ou.tcr r e e f f l a t anti irincr beach; an8 on J..numy 23; -, Februar:. 1;! cind 29, enti. i,ugust 3, the;. v e r c seen i n some numbers on t h e a i r s t r i : , . Even i n August,

5

Yere s e e n t o g e t h e r t h e r e . On OcLober 10, 1;50, t h e y .;;;ere colrn!ori gencre1l;i on K r a J s l e i n I s l c t , an& ;: nwnber 1 ~ r e r e s t i n g on '<he i , i r s t r i p .

On Lze, Jcnuary ^{3 .} LC, 1 ;? l o v e r s w r e s e e n gcner;?ll:; i n s m a l l n u i ~ b i r s ; up t o 4 a t a tioie, on beaches and 'eei's a t lo?: - t i d e , i n openin{,s i n ~ m o d s , anti i n open coconut g r o v e s . They w r e l e s s coinrtlon on Ujelac, t h a n on most o t h e r a t o i l s . Four riers f ~ s e ~ on -the seanerd. r c c ' oP _Bokcn I s l e t and f o u r on Lh: lagoon s i d e o f UAelan; I s l e t , F e b r u a q 3.-8, 1552.

On Wotho !.toll,

--

F-bruary ' I j , 1952, s e v e r a l ? l o v e r s irere s e m with t u r n s t o n e s on beaches, Ln smal.1 openin@ i n coconut groves, and around t h e v i l l a 6 e . During t v o - v i s i t s , Febzuary 1 2 - 1 6 anti Mircil 18-22, 1552, ,they vrcre seen i n s m a l l n~u,;?bers ^{O i l} i n n e r end o u t e r beaches and i n

t h e i n L e r i o r of most i s l e t s wherever c o n d i t i o n s were a-t a l l ogert, o f . t e n v i - t h tu:rnstones, t a t t l e r s , an?. cu-rl.t:v!s,

On Bi.i<ar, i i u g u s t

-

^-.

--

^-. j..ll, 1952, s i n g l e i n d i v i d u z l s , cn6. r z r e l y * sm811 f l o c k s o:? u? t o -i b i r c h , +!:.re coinr,~only s e c n on '11 Lhe i s l e t s , especially arouncL ?he edges, c n b c s c h e s Jn.Ci. r e e f f l . a t s . On

_ P s

J u l y d0-.2'i, ~ 1 o V e r s

,

wrf s c e n norr ,n& t h e n ; m e t o t h r e e a t a Lirce, on zny o p n s p a c e . Tliey :.iere mainly i n !!inter p1wiiaf:e; ino-ttled g o l d e n anC d a r k above, v!hi.te 'oene. ^, I . F i v e i n c i i v i d u z l s ,;ere s e e n horrever, 3 d t one .ti,nc (by C . G.

~ o h c s o n ) i n ti:- hnndsomc " s p r i n g plumage," d a r k brown 'xnen-th, r - i t h promiiieni v h i t e eyebrows an6 a r r h i t c l i n e runnii;;, a l o n g t h e s i d e s bclor!

t h e r!ir:.gs.

A r e n a r i a i n t e r p r e s

-.

-

^---.

-

R ~ ~ d d y T u r n s t o n e

The Rud6.y Turns-tone is, nc:c-t -to t h e F c i r y Tcrn, t h c most universally p"'esrr!-t b i r & i r i t h e n o r t h e r r i.larsh:~~ll.r. It :?as see9 on 2,l.L t h e is1.il1C.s v i s i t e d e x c e p t on Jcino and Ron(;crilr, an6 on t h e l n t - t e r t h c r e would have

--

been l i t t ; l e ~ > ~ ~ o r t u n i t y t o s e c ik _cven hsd it been t h e r e . I-t :!as found

* i r r p r

. o r r m i ~ o f t e n i n s r m l l f l o c k s o f r -to s dozen o r more i n d i v i d u a l s , usv,ally b u s i l ; , s e a r c l l i n z -,Ionl; the beaches o r r e e f f l a t s ; ~ t 1.01: -ticif. j ! ~

sci,ri i n .the M ~ r s h a l l n , it; d o e s no?" rt!crit t h e od,ec-tive ruduy s t c: 11, a s it shorrs b l z c k b r a y and whi-te, w i t h a c o n s p i c u o u s r r h i t e rumi? and wingbars vhcn i t f l i c r . !.!hell q?~roacl?cc?. i t u s u e l i y f l i e s u-p ;nLi niong tilt beach 1 0 0 m e t e r s o r s o and s e t t l e s 6or.n. T h . M s r s h a l l e s e rime j s

" k a t k u t " o r "Bu-tekut' ( U j a e . UjeLank).

On il,:.lce i i t o i l one was s e e n oi; October

--

_ _ _ > 23,

1;,>3,

cad on March L,

l$3t

c: f l o c k of l:, 'LO 20 7:~s s f e n oii t h e s h o r ; ~ of t h e i;onc i n .the btrigle of tilt: ru.mi;>s. On Polcak ;Loll J u l y 2 0 - 8 , 1$Yd9 & Crr! wcr? s e e n . l o n g sez.;:ur:i beaches, usun1.l;. i n t!;os o r Lhrccs, sometiatcs i r : . . s s o c i ; l t i o r r r i t h t ; t t l e r s ..nc! p l o v e z s

.

S i n g l e i u d i v i c h i u l s , ;sir-, c.nd s m a l l f l o c k "

of ^ilp Lo h a l f ^L. 6ozen ~ c r e o c c , s i o n a l l i seem on b c a c h c s , r c c f f l s t s ,

anL r o c k f l a t s on Biltar A t o l l i i u ~ u s t >.-11. One Ticis s e e n i n o t i n y

I

- -_

^-3

o?ening, v::ll i i i t h i i i t h e Pi:sonra f o r e s t on B i k i z 1 s l e . i . One ^?!CIS seen f l y i r i g a b o u t ii0 m i l e s soutilri;sL o r B i k a a t 11:1> ; ~ . m . , :,ugust

13.

A c m ~ l l f l o c k w:s s e c n on t h e :.€st enc o f Watwerok I s l e t ,

gks

i i - t o l l , ^3ri Decenher

5,

l:>l On ;!ilukj

--

December 2Li-,l, 2 were s e e n on ::kul:.~e I s l e t on Lhe o u t e r beach; a f l o c k of

1 5

on t h c l a g o o n r e e f f l a t , Ailu!c

I s l e . L j c ; t lo'.i t i d e , 2n3 2, few on each o f ML.rib and Bar;jen I s l e t s . On L I Lilciep A t o l l , s e v e r i l srilbil f l o c k s , one

-

of ihem oi' 2 1 b i r i s , were seer. on December

TI.$>!. .

On K v s j a L c i n I s l e t , K m i ' ~ ~ l e i i ? _-.d2-.- i.';oLl.

Ociobcr

15;

1930, a c o n c i d e r a b l e :Tloclc o f t u x s t o n e s ?:as s e c n s n t h e ..ir- s t r i ~ s . On L?e A t o l l , J....nuary 7 . - 1 0 , 1952,

--

2 rrere s i e n on tine ou-ter bench

These l a r g e s h o r e h i r d s m e f a i r k ) common i n t h e n o r t h e r n M a r s h a l l s m d v e r e scier

,

^on most or t h e a t o l l s v i s i t e d . T h e i r nobe when f l y i n &

i s "lri~iee, biviec." Tkiley a r e s c e c in the i n t e r i o r of b r u s h y i s l e t s

a s riel1 a s on t h e s h o r e s and r e e f s , and -they inu-st e a t Scsevo& f r u i t s , m o n g o t k r -thin!?s, s s t h e i r drmoini:s o r e o f t e n seer; - , .* ,

.~

to be ~ a c l i ~ d : i i t h

Fcaevola s-tones. They a r e c a l l e d by t h e Marshal.lese "Xomir" (Ujae)

--

^-.

--

o r "ICuvak" ( U j e k n g , two i n f o r m a n t s ) .

'p2 i i l r 12 (; , 1 y , irilite be(iebtng sesn on c a r , ,.;lands b u t seldom more t h a n

4

at a time, a l m o s t always on t h e r e e f f l a t s o r beaches, m o s t l y on t h e sear.iard s i d e s o f t h e i s l e t s . They a r e scmewhat more wary t h a n t h e o t h e r shore b i r d s , f l y i n g up r.!hen approached, c i r c l i n g

o u t o v e r t h e w a t e r o r r e e f f l a t a t low a l t i t u d e and back, a l i g h t i n g 100 m e t e r s o r more away a l o n g t h e s h o r e . When t h e y f l y up, t h e y sound a r a t h e r r a p i d h i g h n o t e "dee dee dee d e e . .

.."

The M a r s h a l l e s e name i s " k i r i j " (*). Which s u b s p e c i e s was s e e n was never determined.

A l l looked v e r y uniform, e x c e p t one srnalier b i r d on Pokak A t o l l .

... On Kwajalein, January 15,

-

l s e v e r a l were s e e n on t h e o u t e r r e e f f l a t ; January 19,

8

were s e e n a t once; and. o t h e r s b e f o r e anti a f t e r , 61:

Lov t i d e on Lke cu:ier' beach, trro \:ere s e e n n e a r 'cAe o u i a beach on

Feisrucry 2,

l>>6.

011

A%,

J;:nul;ry 6.-10 1')52, _I o f e ~ ; .?!. r e seen, no I?ore t h a n 2 on an i s l e t , u s u a l l y o r t h e o u t s r b i a c h o r r e e f f l i - t . They wcre r e e n on a nurobe? of i s l e t s on Ujac ).toll --- F c b r u a r j

1"-23

all6 M~.r.ch 2-11, 2 , u s u a l l y on exposed r e e f o r r u b b l e f l a t s on t h e se&vrzrd s i d e .

~ o c k ls].ckj l; ,.<ere s c e n i n a i1oc;k on Lhci ou-ier r e e f i ' l s t ,

r

t o c e t h c - r on a r u b b l e f l a t on t h e lagoon s~.ci.c; . . and one t o

3

?!ere seen on each of IJjae, nusi EbeJu, A l l e , Bilcer~iiar, rlnd En?la!noj I s l e t s . On Er:rLsmoj, i;kLe,;t ?rere i n a f l o c k i!ii,h turi?ston;ls. Ti1e.y u.suall; fle:; lo>! 3 V C r tki- r e e ? o r t h e s e ? j u s t outside i t . Or: i b t h o & t o l l ? Februsry 12.-1.b .- and

1 - 1 1 . 1552, one o r - ~ ? T O v e r e seer; a t a t l l i . ~ ~ ~ ! ~ ~ a l l y on o u t e r h::~i:hes, r e e f fLa-is, o r j p s s a a e beaches, on most i s 1 e . i ~ ; oP;;e:: i n Co!q>any r . f i t t

p l o v e r s o r ' i u r n s i o ? ~ c s , o r , more r u r e l y , curP?r!s. Scvfn T.!frc s e e n in a floclr oil February 1 or! o ~ i t e r r e e f f l a t s h-t U;jel:ng

---

l i t o l ~ .

On Biicar

- -

^{J , .} -- olj.

-

1 t o 3 on r a r e l y ^1; k'zniiericg T ; A t l e r s i.iere o c c a s i o n a l l y s e e n on beochcs m d r s c f f l a t s , ~ s p i : c i a l l ~ 3n cezward

s i f i f s of i s l e t s . They were com~mnly seen, a s olzn;. a s

4

a t s tiix:, J u l ; 20-27, l:.j'i, i r t h e p a s s a g e s end r e s f : f l a t s of Polruk . ; t o l l . _-.

- - - - -

On Wc.ke I s l a n d .

onc was on t h e lakoon bea h 1:jiri.l 201

15

j2) one Iias seen O-:tob:j:. 22,

l>;5

y.,'7

arid s e v e r a l on M&rch

9,

^>J,, Lhfse ~r.our!d t h e

:?and

i n t h e in-ter,sccLi.on of -tile runways. They i!e:.e v e r y -ir;xy ~ n i i h;:rd -to reco@;nize ?:i-ih

c e r 5 a i n t i r . even w i t h b i n o c u l a r s . _{" ,} T!:, v c r e s e e n on Eniiie"ia% I s l e t . Roni.;erik, on 11, l(:jd. One ~1c.s on a r u b b l e - x a c t a l o n g i h f s p i i ex-tendit:, from -the v e s t end o f U4;iri.k I s l e t , Utiri!< ^-2 l ' , t o l : ~ February

13, 15

^ji.

S - t e r m sumatrana

-- --

Black-napcd Tern

T h i s i s a delic&x l i t t l e e n found i n smz.11 numbers on most o f h c n o r t h e r n M a r s h a l l I s i a n d s . They v e r e most!.y s e e n on

.2

r-ravel o r sscCbars and kor.r.s on t h e inr.en o r , marc r a r e l y ; ou.terj co:ne~s of i s l f b s . T h c i r e g ~ s ; r e l a i d on p z v e l a t -the b a s e s of t h e s e h o r n s o r s p i i s , x i t h no

s , t ~ 1 . 1 , -the eggs b l e n d i n g i n i , ; r ~ ~ e c ~ t l y 7,rith ck?f :,ri;vcl oil rrhicil th<:y e r e plcce0..

Si.err.8 !.t!nata

-

^{-. .}

- -

^.

- -

^.. B ~ i d i e d Tern o r Grey-bucked Tern On< L i r d s e e n f l y i n g o v e r t h z n o r t h cnC. o f GS.lcar I s l e t , B i k a r

-

^.-

~ t o l l , k u ~ u s t j l l , 1952, <:as i i c n ' c j f i c c i a s t h i s s p e c i e s . On Pokali, smcill niwiiers 3f B r i d l e 6 Tcrns :,:ere s e e n j o n l y on For;-,h I s l c t , where cb-ejr e ,..-

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f l a s h e d rri.til soiae ! ; e l ~ ~ . c t a n c e from - t h e i r r e s t i n g j:,laccs on t h e Lroiinii i n t h e i n k e l - i o r o:.? t h i s b a r r e n rock-. i s l e t . They circie:' around., & % t e s - t i c g v i o l e n t l y , rrith h a r s h n o i s e s , a t t h e in-Lrt!sion. TIx{

were rmc.i.uili s i z e & , Gray above, i i i t i l a b l a c k cr7!n, b l a c k f e e t , and a tor!ceti t a i l .