Chapter V: Part 5

_Anas oustaleti_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895, p.
189 (Guaham); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8,
1896, p. 49 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam,
Saipan); Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam);
Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 25 (Guam,
Saipan); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 110, 113 (Guam,
Saipan); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Mariannas); _idem_, Amer.
Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904,
p. 267 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 990 (Mariannes);
Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, pp. 80, 126 (Guam);
Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 47, 100 (Marianen);
Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Phillips, Nat. Hist.
Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 53 (Guam, Saipan); Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 214 (Guam, Saipan); Berlioz, Bull.
Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 2d ser., 1, 1929, p. 67 (Guam); Peters,
Check-list Birds World, 1, 1931, p. 159 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 184 (Guam, Tinian,
Saipan); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam);
Kuroda, Tori, 11, 1941-42, pp. 99, 443 (Marianas); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 205 (Guam, Tinian, Saipan);
Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1237, 1943, p. 1 (Marianne); Mayr,
Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 285 (Marianas); _idem_, Audubon
Mag., 47, 1945, p. 282 (Marianas); Baker, Trans. 11th N. Amer.
Wildlife Conf., 1946, p. 208 (Guam); Stott, Auk. 64, 1947, p. 525
(Saipan); Baker, Smithson, Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p.
45 (Saipan, Tinian); Momiyama, Pacific Science, 2, 1948, p. 121
(Saipan, Tinian, Guam).

_Polionetta oustaleti_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 39 (Guam, Saipan).

_Anas superciliosa oustaleti_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 36, 1930, p.
112 (Guam, Saipan).

_Anas platyrhynchos oustaleti_ Delacour and Mayr, Wilson Bull.,
57, 1945, pp. 21, 39 (Marianas).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Tinian,
Saipan.

_Characters._--From study of a large series of specimens of _Anas
oustaleti_, Yamashina (1948) described two types of plumages: one
type resembles that of _A. platyrhynchos_ and another type
resembles that of _A. poecilorhyncha_. He based his conclusions on
both a study of prepared skins and observations of the molt of
living specimens as reported by Kuroda (1941-1942). The following
descriptions are quoted from Yamashina (1948:122).

Adult male in nuptial plumage of _A. platyrhynchos_ type: "Whole
head is dark green, except at the sides where buff feathers are
plentifully intermingled, a dark brown streak through the eye, and
faint white ring on the lower neck. Feathers on scapulars and sides
of body are as those of _Anas poecilorhyncha_. Sides of body are
vermiculated but some brown feathers are found even in the full
nuptial plumage. Upper breast is dark reddish chestnut with dusky
spots. Upper and under tail-coverts are as in _Anas platyrhynchos_.
Speculum is as that of _Anas platyrhynchos_, but the tips of the
greater coverts are buff instead of white. Central tail feathers
are more or less curled upward. Base of bill is black, tip is olive
color. Iris is dark brown. Feet, reddish-orange, webs darker."
Eclipse plumage of adult male resembles that of _A. platyrhynchos_.

Adult male in nuptial plumage of _A. poecilorhyncha_ type:
"Resembles _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_ from the Palau Islands
and Truk Island, but sides of head are browner, superciliary
stripes and ground color of cheeks are more buffy. Feathers on
upper breast and sides of body are more broadly edged with brown.
Speculum is usually violet-purple as in the _platyrhynchos_ type,
but in two specimens from Saipan and Tinian, respectively, it is
dark green as in _Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_. Tips of the
secondaries are usually white, but sometimes very faint as in
_Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis_, and in one specimen from Saipan
they are buffy. Bill is olive color with a black spot in the
center of the upper mandible. Iris, dark brown. Feet, dark orange,
darker in joints and webs." Eclipse plumage of adult male
resembles the nuptial plumage.

_Measurements._--Measurements of nine ducks from Guam and Saipan
are: wing, 238-266 (252); tail, 75-84 (81); exposed culmen, 49-53
(51); tarsus, 41-43 (42).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 9 (5 males, 2 females, 2
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Saipan, 2 (Oct. 2,
3)--Guam, 1 (June 6); AMNH--Saipan, 2 (Aug. 7, 11)--Guam, 4 (Jan.
10, April 6, Dec. 11, 16).

_Nesting._--At Guam, Seale (1901:25) found nests of the Marianas
Mallard "among the reedy swamps and streams of the island." He
obtained two downy young in June. Kuroda (1941-1942) reports
nesting at Lake Challankanoa, Saipan, in July. He writes that nests
contained 7 to 12 eggs. Ducklings and incubated eggs were obtained
in June and July, but he is of the opinion that the breeding season
may be longer. He notes that adults exhibit both nuptial plumage
and eclipse plumage at the same time, suggesting that breeding may
occur at various times in the year. A nest with seven eggs taken on
July 4, 1941, at Hagoi Lake, Tinian, is described by Kuroda as
having been found among rushes and constructed of dead leaves,
stems, and roots and lined with down. He describes the eggs as
being grayish-white with a pale greenish tinge, and measuring 61.6
by 38.9. Marshall (1949:202) saw a family of ducklings in April.

_Remarks._--The Marianas Mallard is rare; probably it never has been very abundant in the small chain of islands to which it is restricted, because fresh water marshes and swamps are not extensive. The bird was first recorded by Bonaparte as _Anas boschas a. Freycineti_ in 1865. This name was a _nomen nudum_ and later the same specimen in the Paris Museum was named by Salvadori (1894) as _Anas oustaleti_. In 1888, Marche obtained six specimens at Guam; these were reported on by Oustalet (1896:49). Later collecting showed that the duck inhabited also the islands of Saipan and Tinian. There have been no records of this duck in the more northern islands of the Marianas. According to Yamashina (1948:121) in the period from 1931 to 1940, the Japanese obtained 38 specimens of the Marianas Mallard at Tinian and Saipan. In 1940, four birds from Tinian were shipped alive to Japan and kept in an aviary by Kuroda. At Tinian in 1940, one of the collectors observed two flocks of _A. oustaleti_, each containing 50 or 60 individuals. The Japanese took specimens at a lagoon area and at fresh water lakes. Yamashina describes one of the localities, Lake Hagoi on Tinian, as "a small body of fresh water surrounded by about 40 acres of marsh." During the war, servicemen reported the presence of the Marianas Mallard at both Saipan and Tinian. Moran (1946:261) counted twelve ducks at Saipan. Stott (1947:525) saw seven birds at Lake Susupe on Saipan in December, 1945. He writes that the birds were gentle and easily approached and that they preferred winding channels in reed beds to open water. Marshall obtained two ducks at Lake Susupe in early October, 1945. These specimens are in the United States National Museum. He (1949:202) found ducks at both Saipan and Tinian; twelve was the greatest number seen at any one time. Gleise (1945:220) estimated that there were twelve birds on Tinian in 1945, remarking that their habitat was swamp area.

At Guam and Rota, the NAMRU2 party failed to obtain any specimens but received reports of the presence of ducks on both islands. At Guam, reports were obtained of ducks of unknown species at a fallow rice paddy in August, 1944, and in a marsh near Agat on June 13, 1945. The presence of Japanese soldiers in the interior of Guam made it inadvisable to investigate marshes and swamps of the interior and the upper courses of streams. H. G. Hornbostel, as quoted by Phillips (1923:54), reported that ducks were found at Guam only in the Tolofofo River Valley. The NAMRU2 field parties investigated the lower reaches of this valley and found no evidence of the ducks. The upper part of this valley was used as an artillery range in 1945. Probably the firing of field guns was a disturbing influence to any birds that might have been there. If the ducks were on Guam at that time, they must have been secretive and restricted in their movements. At Rota, two ducks which might have been _A. oustaleti_ were seen by the NAMRU2 party on October 20, 1945, in a cultivated field.

These recent reports indicate that the Marianas Mallard is secure for the present on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, but thoughtful conservation practices need to be placed in operation to insure its survival in the future.

_Evolutionary history of Anas oustaleti._--In the past, most of the studies have pointed to a northern ancestry for _A. oustaleti_. Bryan (1941:187) has noted a relationship between _A. oustaleti_ and the Laysan Duck (_A. laysanensis_ Rothschild) and the Hawaiian Duck (_A. wyvilliana_ Sclater). Amadon (1943:1) suggests that these three species of ducks are rather recent derivatives of the Common Mallard (_A. platyrhynchos_) and postulates the evolution of _A. wyvilliana_ from migrants from North America. He further states that _A. laysanensis_ and _A. oustaleti_ may have been derived from _A. wyvilliana_ or may represent independent colonizations. Delacour and Mayr (1945:21) go a step further and make these forms subspecies of _A. platyrhynchos_, saying that they are "dull-colored editions" of the Common Mallard, that because of isolation they have become reduced in size and have lost many of the characteristics of their ancestors. Recently, however, Yamashina (1948) has concluded that the Marianas Mallard has evolved as the result of hybridization between the two species, _A. platyrhynchos_ and _A. poecilorhyncha_. His conclusions are based on a study of a large number of specimens, both museum skins and captive birds, in which he has been able to detect plumages of the _A. platyrhynchos_ type and of the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type (see Characters). He has noted specimens which have ninety percent of the characteristics of _A. platyrhynchos_ and ten percent of the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type. These percentages are reversed in specimens favoring the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type. In his series of skins he finds the _A. poecilorhyncha_ type of plumage most frequently, in forty-four specimens out of fifty examined, while only six specimens have the _A. platyrhynchos_ type of plumage. Yamashina cites also as evidence favoring his conclusion that hybridization has taken place the results obtained from the crossing of captive _A. platyrhynchos_ and _A. poecilorhyncha_. It is his assumption that there has been a resident form of _A. poecilorhyncha_ in the Marianas, apparently resembling closely that which occurs in the Palaus and at Truk (_A. p. pelewensis_), and that stragglers of _A. platyrhynchos_ from the north occasionally reach the Marianas where hybridization between the two species occurs. Yamashina remarks (1948:123): "The opportunity for hybridization should occur more rarely in the south, and thus more frequent back-crossing of the hybrid with the indigenous _Anas poecilorhyncha_ on Tinian and Guam explains the superabundance there of the _poecilorhyncha_ type. As the hybridization should have taken place more frequently to the north in Saipan, the ratio of the occurrence of the _platyrhynchos_ type is logically higher there." The Common Mallard (_A. p. platyrhynchos_) has not been recorded in Micronesia, but according to Yamashina (1948:123) "winters frequently just north of the Marianas in the Bonin and Volcano Islands."

This remarkable explanation for the development of the Marianas Mallard is not questioned by this author, who feels that hybridization may be found to be the cause for other unusual forms of life in island habitats whose ancestry has not been explained. As Yamashina comments, the special environments of islands together with small and restricted populations of animals are factors which could favor such development.

=Anas poecilorhyncha pelewensis= Hartlaub and Finsch

Australian Gray Duck

_Anas superciliosa_ var. _pelewensis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 108. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Anas superciliosa_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. London, 1868,
pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1869, p. 659
(Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 82 (Pelew); Salvadori,
Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 395 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl.
und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 70
(Pelew); Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895, p. 206
(Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8,
1896, p. 50 (Palaos).

_Anas superciliosa pelewensis_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 990
(Pelew); Mathews, Birds Australia, 4, 1915, p. 90 (Pelew);
Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 113 (Pelew); Mathews,
Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 215 (Pelew); Hartert,
Novit. Zool., 36, 1930, p. 112 (Pelew); Peters, Check-list Birds
World, 1, 1931, p. 160 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 184 (Palaus, Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 205 (Babelthuap, Peliliu); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no.
1237, 1943, p. 3 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
286 (Palaus, Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 45 (Peleliu, Truk).

_Anas pelewensis_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5,
40 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 407 (Palau); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg,
1898, p. 71 (Palau).

_Polionetta superciliosa pelewensis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Pelew).

_Anas superciliosa rukensis_ Kuroda, "Gan to Kamo" (Geese and
Ducks), 1939, page not numbered, description between pls. 52 and
53 (Type locality, Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 206 (Truk).

_Anas poecilorhyncha superciliosa_ Delacour and Mayr, Wilson
Bull., 57, 1945, pp. 21, 39 (no locality given); Yamashina,
Pacific Science, 2, 1948, p. 122 (Palau, Truk).

_Geographic range._--Islands of Micronesia, Polynesia, and
Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Peleliu;
Caroline Islands--Truk.

_Characters._--Adult: A medium-sized duck with upper parts dark
brown, feathers edged with buff; top of head blackish merging into
gray on hind neck with narrow buff line below; eye-stripe broad
and blackish; lower parts uniformly dark brown to gray brown,
feathers edged with buff; face, chin and throat light buff with
some dark streakings; under wing white; speculum green; bill
plumbeous with nail black; legs yellow-brown to yellowish, webs
dusky. _A. p. pelewensis_ resembles _A. p. rogersi_ Mathews, but is
smaller with a wing length averaging as much as 20 mm. shorter.

_Measurements._--As given by Amadon (1943:4) seven unsexed skins
from the Palaus, studied by Finsch (1875:40), have wing lengths of
207, 212, 212, 214, 223, 235, 230. For an adult male taken by
Coultas at Palau, the exposed culmen measures 45 and the tarsus 37.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 3 males from Palau Islands,
AMNH--exact locality not given (Oct. 26, Nov. 25).

_Remarks._--_A. p. pelewensis_ is apparently rare in the Palau Islands. Coultas, who visited the Palaus in October to December, 1931, writes (field notes) that he received reports that the birds were present and nested in numbers on fresh water lakes. He took specimens in taro patches and comments that the ducks probably feed at night and have retiring habits during the day. At Peleliu in 1945, the NAMRU2 party received several reports of ducks but failed to find the birds. At Truk, in December, 1945, McElroy of the NAMRU2 party found ducks to be fairly numerous in rice paddies, marshes, and swamps. He observed that the birds roosted at Moen Island at night but that they apparently flew to outlying islands to spend the day. Richards observed ducks on Moen Island on August 28 and 29, 1947, and again in the period from January 19 to February 10, 1948. He saw several flocks of ducks including one containing "about a dozen ducks" at ponds along a roadway and at an airstrip. Kuroda named the population at Truk as distinct in 1939. I have not been able to examine his description and no specimens are available for study, but if the birds at Truk represent an independent colonization (different from that of the birds at Palau) they might exhibit recognizable variation. Amadon (1943:5) has already pointed out that the shortness of the wing of specimens in the Palaus may merit subspecific status for the population. Delacour and Mayr (1945:21) propose that the Palau Gray Duck is a subspecies of _A. poecilorhyncha_; this treatment is followed in the present work.

_Evolutionary history._--_A. p. pelewensis_, as Amadon (1943:1) has stated, represents a population of mallards which became separated from the ancestral stock in the Australian or Malayan area and when once differentiated, invaded New Zealand and other parts of Polynesia, Melanesia, and southwestern Micronesia. Amadon points out that its range in the Pacific islands is more or less complimentary to that of _A. oustaleti_ in the Marianas and the Philippine Mallard (_A. poecilorhyncha luzonica_ Fraser), as well as to the Hawaiian forms (_A. wyvilliana_ Sclater and _A. laysanensis_ Rothschild). The range of _A. p. pelewensis_ gives one the impression that its present distribution may be only a stage in a gradual spreading of the species, for it certainly has not yet occupied all habitats suitable for it in southern Micronesia nor elsewhere in Oceania. As in the case of _A. oustaleti_, _A. p. pelewensis_ appears to prefer areas of fresh, and possibly brackish, water on the larger islands.

_A. p. luzonica_ is a near relative of _A. p. pelewensis_ but has rufous-brown instead of buffy-brown coloring on the chin, throat, sides of head, and superciliary region. The underparts of the Philippine Mallard are much less mottled. The specula are similar. Both of these forms were probably derived from a mallard of the _A. p. poecilorhyncha_ type.

=Anas querquedula= Linnaeus

Garganey Teal

_Anas Querquedula_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126.
(Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

_Anas querquedula_ Marshall, Condor, 51, 1949, p. 221 (Tinian).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Europe and Asia. Winters from
northern Africa to New Guinea. In Micronesia: Mariana
Islands--Tinian.

_Remarks._--Marshall (1949:221) obtained one of a pair of these ducks which he observed "daily in April on Lake Hagoi" at Tinian.

=Anas crecca crecca= Linnaeus

European Teal

_Anas Crecca_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type
locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

_Querquedula crecca crecca_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 185 (Pagan).

_Anas crecca crecca_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
206 (Pagan).

_Anas crecca_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302
(Micronesia).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe, Asia, and
Aleutians. Winters south to northern Africa, Asia and Philippines.
In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan.

_Remarks._--The European Teal has been recorded by the Japanese at Pagan in the northern Marianas. It appears to be an uncommon winter visitor to Micronesia.

=Anas crecca carolinensis= Gmelin

Green-winged Teal

_Anas carolinensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 533.
(Type locality, Carolina to Hudson Bay.)

_Anas carolinensis_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17
(Jaluit); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls);
_idem_, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln);
Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 235 (Marshall Islands).

_Querquedula crecca carolinensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 185 (Marshall Islands).

_Anas crecca carolinensis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 206 (Marshall Islands).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North
America. Winters to West Indies, Central America and Mexico. In
Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit.

_Remarks._--_Reichenow_ (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) record the Green-wing Teal in the Marshall Islands. It is the only record known for Micronesia. Bryan and Greenway (1944:104) record the teal as a migrant to the Hawaiian Islands.

=Anas acuta acuta= Linnaeus

Pintail

_Anas acuta_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type
locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

_Dafila acuta acuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185
(Pagan).

_Anas acuta acuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206
(Pagan).

_Anas acuta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302
(Micronesia).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe and Asia.
Winters south to northern Africa, Asia and Philippines. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Guam; Palau Islands--exact
locality unknown.

_Remarks._--The Pintail has been recorded from Pagan and Guam in the northern Marianas and from the Palau Islands and is thought to be an uncommon visitor to Micronesia. At Guam, Flavin (field notes) recorded one female on October 27, 1945, and three females and two drakes on January 19, 1946. Marshall (1949:221) saw a flock of fifteen Pintails at Saipan on February 7, 1945.

=Anas acuta tzitzihoa= Vieillot

Pintail

_Anas tzitzihoa_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 5, 1816, p. 163.
(Type locality, Mexico, _ex_ Hernandez.)

_Anas acuta americana_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17
(Jaluit); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall
Inseln).

_Anas acuta_ Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls);
Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 316 (Jaluit).

_Anas acuta tzitzihoa_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
206 (Marshall Islands).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North
America. Winters south to West Indies, Panamá, and west to Hawaiian
Islands. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit.

_Remarks._--Reichenow (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) reported that flocks of ducks belonging to this and other American species were observed in the Marshall Islands in October, 1899, and May, 1900. This species may winter in the Hawaiian Islands, according to Peters (1931:167). If so it is not surprising that occasional visitors reach eastern Micronesia.

=Anas penelope= Linnaeus

Widgeon

_Anas penelope_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126.
(Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

_Anas penelope_ Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 332, 333 (Taluit); Schnee,
Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln); Phillips,
Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 175 (Taluit); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Tinian, Yap, Jaluit); Mayr, Birds
Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia).

_Mareca penelope_ Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56
(Jaluit); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 71 (Taluit); Finsch, Deut. Ver. zum Schultze
der Vogelwelt, 18, 1893, p. 458 (Marshalls); Kuroda, in Momoyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Taluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 185 (Tinian, Yap, Jaluit).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, northern Europe and Asia.
Winters south to Africa, southern Asia and Philippines; casual to
eastern North America. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Tinian;
Caroline Islands--Yap; Marshall Islands--Jaluit.

_Remarks._--The Widgeon may be an occasional winter visitor to Micronesia. The record at Jaluit in the Marshall Islands may be questioned.

=Anas clypeata= Linnaeus

Shoveller

_Anas clypeata_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 124.
(Type locality, Coasts of Europe, restricted to southern Sweden.)

_Spatula clypeata_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185
(Pagan); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 676 (Pingelap); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Pagan, Pingelap).

_Anas clypeata_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302
(Micronesia).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Europe, Asia, North America
and adjacent islands. Winters to northern Africa, southern Asia,
Philippines, Hawaiians, southern United States to Central America.
In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Tinian; Caroline
Islands--Ponapé, Pingelap.

_Specimens examined._--One female from Mariana Islands,
USNM--Tinian (Oct. 12).

_Remarks._--The Shoveller is known from localities in the Marianas and in the Carolines. In the collections of the American Museum of Natural History there is a female taken by Rollo Beck at Kauehi, Tuamotu Archipelago, on March 6, 1923. A specimen examined from Tinian was taken there by Joe T. Marshall, Jr., at Lake Hogoya on October 12, 1945. Richards obtained two Shovellers (one immature male and one immature female) at Ponapé on December 21, 1947, and January 6, 1948, respectively. He found them in a pond in a bomb crater. This duck appears to be a casual winter visitor to Micronesia and other parts of Oceania.

=Aythya fuligula= (Linnaeus)

Tufted Duck

_Anas fuligula_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 128.
(Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

_Fuligula cristata_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872,
p. 90 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 40
(Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 71 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 50 (Mariannes, Palaos).

_Fuligula fuligula_ Salvadori, Cat. Birds British Mus., 27, 1895,
p. 363 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne);
Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 26
(Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); _idem_,
The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 38 (Mariane, Pelew, Yap); _idem_,
Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 143 (Pelew, Marianne).

_Marila fuligula_ McGregor, Man. Philippine Birds, 1909, p. 199
(Marianne, Pelew).

_Nyroca fuligula_ Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 3, 1925, p. 234
(Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Pagan,
Saipan, Palau, Yap); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15
(Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia).

_Aytha fuligula_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 207
(Pagan, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Yap, Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Iceland, Europe, northern Asia.
Winters in Europe, Africa, Asia, Malaysia, and parts of Oceana. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Pagan, Saipan, Tinian, Guam;
Palau--exact locality unknown; Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Remarks._--The Tufted Duck is a winter migrant to western Micronesia. It has been recorded only a few times and may be an irregular visitor. Flavin observed a duck, which he thought to be of this species, at Guam on January 19, 1946. Marshall (1949:221) reports that two Tufted Ducks were seen at Lake Hagoi in April 1945.

=Aythya valisineria= (Wilson)

Canvasback

_Anas valisineria_ Wilson, Amer. Ornith., 8, 1814, p. 103, pl. 70,
f. 5. (Type locality, Eastern United States.)

_Nyroca valilisineria_ Reichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17
(Jaluit); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls);
_idem_, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln).

_Nyroca valisineria_ Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 3, 1923, p. 124
(Marshall Islands).

_Aythya valisineria_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
207 (Marshall Islands).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northwestern and northcentral North
America. Winters south to Gulf States, Florida and Mexico. In
Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Jaluit.

_Remarks._--Reichenow (1901:17) and Schnee (1901:131) reported three species of American ducks (_Aythya valisineria_, _Anas acuta tzitzihoa_ and _Anas crecca carolinensis_) in the Marshalls in October, 1899, and May, 1900. These species may be stragglers to eastern Micronesia.

=Accipiter soloënsis= (Horsfield)

Chinese Goshawk

_Falco Soloënsis_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, 1821, p.
137. (Type locality, Java.)

_Accipiter soloënsis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 182
(Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 203 (Yap, Rota);
Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Yap).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northern China south to Kwangtung.
Winters to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota; Caroline
Islands--Yap.

_Remarks._--The Chinese Goshawk is a winter visitor to Micronesia and has been recorded at Rota and Yap. The NAMRU2 party saw several unidentified hawks in Micronesia in 1945. At Mt. Tenjo, Guam, Muennink saw a small hawk, resembling an accipiter, darting at swiftlets on June 8, 1945. At Angaur, the writer saw a small hawk flying through heavy vegetation along the rugged coast line on September 21, 1945. A hawk "_Butio_(?)" was reported at Saipan in 1945 by Moran (1946:262); this hawk may have been _Butastur indicus_ (Gmelin). Marshall (1949:221) reports seeing "three kinds of hawks" on Palau in November, 1945. Obviously, further observations and collecting will increase our knowledge of the known number of kinds of hawks which visit Micronesia.

=Accipiter virgatus gularis= (Temminck and Schlegel)

Asiatic Sparrow Hawk

_Astur (Nisus) gularis_ Temminck and Schlegel, in Siebold, Fauna
Japon., Aves, 1845, p. 5, pl. 2. (Type locality, Japan.)

_Accipiter nisoides_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris,
(3), 7, 1895, p. 166 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 51
(Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p.
44 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas).

_Accipiter gularis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 39 (Guam).

_Accipiter virgatus gularis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 182 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 203
(Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Micronesia).

_Accipiter virgatus nisoides_ Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. 13, no. 2,
1936, p. 15 (Guam).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Japan and northern China. Winters
south to Philippines and Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana
Islands--Guam.

_Remarks._--Oustalet (1895:166) records a male bird shot by Marche at Guam in October, 1887. Seale (1901:44) records a specimen taken at Guam by Owston's Japanese collectors. These are the only records found for Micronesia, and the hawk may be classed as a casual winter visitor. Strophlet (1946:535) observed "a small light-throated" falcon at Guam on November 7, 1945, which may have been of this species.

=Pandion haliaetus melvillensis= Mathews

Osprey

_Pandion haliaëtus melvillensis_ Mathews, Australian Avium Rec., 1,
1912, p. 34. (Type locality, Melville Island.)

_Pandion leucocephalus_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p.
49 (Palau).

_Pandion haliaetus leucocephalus_ Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber.
Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 1 (Pelew).

_Pandion haliaëtus cristatus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 182 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
203 (Palau).

_Pandion haliaëtus melvillensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific,
1945, pp. 55, 286 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107,
no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Guam, Palau).

_Geographic range._--Malaysia, northern Australia, Melanesia. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Peleliu.

_Remarks._--The Osprey was first recorded at Palau by Finsch (1875:49). The author (1948:46) cites records obtained by C. K. Dorsey at Peleliu in 1944 and 1945. Dorsey saw the Osprey on several occasions; the NAMRU2 party did not find the bird while on their stay there in August and September, 1945. B. V. Travis of NAMRU2 saw an Osprey at Agaña Bay, Guam, in December, 1945. He observed the bird to be carrying a fish in its talons. Flavin observed the Osprey at Guam on January 28, 1945, and on December 23, 1945. Mayr (1945a:286) says that the Osprey apparently breeds at Palau. The bird seen in the Marianas may have been _P. h. haliaetus_ (Linnaeus), a visitor from Asia, which is known to winter in the Philippines and adjacent areas.

The Osprey is the only resident member of the order Falconiformes, and it is principally a fish eater. The few records of mammal and bird eating hawks in Micronesia indicate that predation on insular vertebrate populations from this source is at a minimum. The absence of this predation may have a pronounced effect on the resident land birds, particularly from the standpoint of the perpetuation of nonadaptive mutations, which might be "weeded out" under what might be considered as normal predatory pressure in continental bird populations.

=Falco peregrinus japonensis= Gmelin

Peregrine Falcon

_Falco japonensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 1, 1788, p. 257.
(Type locality, Off the coast of Japan.)

_Falco peregrinus_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 89, 90 (Mackenzie); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2,
1873, p. 122 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4,
8 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 391 (Yap); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus.
Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 1 (Yap, Pelew); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, rev. 1932, p. 182 (Yap, Palau); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Yap, Palau); Mayr, Birds
Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Yap, Palau); Baker, Smithson.
Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Guam).

_?Falco peregrinus calidus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 40 (Yap, Pelew).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Asia. Winters to southern
Asia, Malaysia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam;
Palau Islands--exact locality unknown; Caroline Islands--Yap.

_Remarks._--The Peregrine Falcon may be classed as a casual winter visitor to Micronesia. It has been recorded by Hartlaub and Finsch at Yap and Palau. A specimen from Yap was taken by Kubary in November, 1870. On November 2, 1945, at Guam as previously recorded (Baker, 1948:46) Irvin O. Buss saw a falcon alight on the superstructure of his ship. He watched it catch and eat a Common Noddy (_Anous stolidus_). As the ship approached the island, the bird flew to the rugged cliffs near Facpi Point. Strophlet (1946:535) saw a large falcon, "presumed to be a Duck Hawk," at Guam on November 16, 1945. Possibly these two observers saw the same bird. In July, 1945, Flavin observed a Peregrine Falcon at Guam. _F. p. fruitii_ Momiyama, which is known from the Volcano Islands, may occur in Micronesia.

=Megapodius lapérouse senex= Hartlaub

Micronesian Megapode

_Megapodius senex_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868),
p. 820. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

_Megapodius senex_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 7, 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 256
(Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp.
89, 103 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5,
29, pl. 5, fig. 2, 3 (Palau); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p.
547 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 407 (Palau); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat., (6), art. 2, 1881,
pp. 63, 140, 145, 171, 175 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p.
30 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no.
6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 58 (Pelew); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat.
Zool., 11, 1891, p. 196 (Peleu); _idem_, Nouv. Arch Mus. Hist.
Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 30 (Palaos); Ogilvie-Grant, Hand-book
Game-birds, 2, 1897, p. 182 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5,
1898, p. 62 (Pelew); Bolau, Mitteil, Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg,
1898, p. 69 (Palau); Finsch, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14
ser., 1900, p. 659 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p.
113 (Palau); Lister, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1911, p. 757
(Pelew).

_Megapodius laperousii_ Ogilvie-Grant (part), Cat. Birds British
Mus., 22, 1893, p. 460 (Pelew); Takastukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1,
1915, p. 51 (Pelew); Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 27, 1915, p. 390
(Pelew); _idem_, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 28, 1916, p. 69 (Pelew).

_Megapodius laperousi_ Seale (part), Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop
Mus., 1, 1901, p. 39 (Pelew); Safford (part), The Plant World, 7,
1904, p. 265 (Pelew); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp.
486, 487 (Palau).

_Megapodius laperousii_ var. _senex_ Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904,
p. 787 (Pelew).

_M[egapodius] lapeyrousei_ Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913,
p. 273 (Palauinseln).

_Megapodius laperousei senex_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Pelew).

_Megapodius lapérouse senex_ Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum,
1, 1927, p. 14 (Pelew); Takastukasa, Birds Nippon, vol. 1, pt. 1,
1932, p. 13, pl. 4, 5 (Pelew); Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 412
(Ngesebus, Auror, Peliliu); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 198 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 6
(Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 679 (Gayangas, Arumidin);
Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, 1942, p. 9 (Palau); Mayr,
Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 286 (Palau); Baker, Smithson.
Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 46 (Garakayo, Peleliu,
Ngabad).

_Megapodius la pérouse senex_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 223 (Babelthuap, Koror, Auror, Ngesebus, Peliliu,
Gayangas, Arumidin).

_Megapodius laperouse_ Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ.
Parasitology, 32, 1946, p. 294 (Garakayo).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror,
Auror, Kayangel, Garakayo, Ngesebus, Peleliu, Ngabad, Gayangas,
Arumidin.

_Characters._--Adult: A small megapode with top of head near
"mouse gray"; forehead, sides of face and neck, chin, and throat
thinly covered with feathers of the same color; mantle and upper
breast grayish-black becoming dark olive-brown on wings; lower
back, rump and upper tail-coverts dark brown; tail blackish-brown;
underparts grayish-brown, lighter on midline of belly; under wings
dark brown; exposed skin of head reddish to yellowish-red; bill
yellowish, basally blackish; legs yellowish; feet and claws black;
iris tan.

_Measurements._--Measurements of three adult males: wing, 178,
182, 188; tail, 55, 63; culmen, 22.7, 23.3; tarsus, 55, 56, 57; of
seven adult females: wing, 171-189 (182); tail, 46-68 (58);
culmen, 25-30 (27); tarsus, 45-60 (55). Takatsukasa (1932:14)
lists the following measurements: males--wing, 176-181; tail,
59-67; culmen, 25.5-26.0; tarsus, 58-61; females--wing, 177-187;
tail, 62-68; culmen, 24.0-26.0; tarsus, 55-58.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 23 (11 males, 8 females, 4
unsexed), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Koror, 1 (Nov.
28)--Garakayo, 5 (Sept. 17, 18, 19)--Peleliu, 2 (Aug. 31, Sept.
1)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH--Palau, 16 (Nov., Dec., not dated).

_Nesting._--The megapodes do not incubate their eggs, but the
female deposits them in a moundlike structure of sand, volcanic
ash, and forest litter or some other type of soil in which there is
warmth sufficient to hatch the eggs after an extended period
(perhaps 40 days or more) without further attention from the parent
bird. The young dig out and lead an independent existence. Several
megapodes may utilize one nest site, which ordinarily is at a low
elevation near a beach or lagoon.

The NAMRU2 party obtained two downy chicks at Gayakayo Island on
September 18 and 19, 1945. A female taken on September 1 at
Peleliu contained large eggs. Coultas obtained two chicks (one in
postnatal molt) in November and December, 1931. Kubary, as quoted
by Takatsukasa (1932:15), says that eggs may be found in the
mounds throughout the year at Palau but are found most numerously
in the south-east monsoon (April to November). Yamashina
(1932a:412) reports on eggs taken in 1932 as follows: eight eggs
from Auror Island on January 15; one egg from Ngesebus Island on
January 16; and four eggs from Peleliu Island on January 16.
Takatsukasa (1932:15) states that eggs are most numerous in the
mounds in the months of May and June. The chicks obtained by
NAMRU2 in September were of such a size as to suggest that they
too had been laid in June.

Takatsukasa (1932:15) comments, "Whilst Dr. Yaichir[=o] Okada was
in the Pelew Group, he found two nests on Kajangel Island, which
is an uninhabited island about twelve sea-miles southeast of the
island of Malacal. He says that he found two nests, one of which
was obsolete and the other was in use.

The first one was oval in shape; the diameter of the largest part
was twenty-four feet, and the smallest part was twenty feet, and it
had a height of four feet. The second one was fan-shaped, as an
obstacle existed at one side of the nest, and its diameter was
twelve feet and the height was a little more than four feet, and
the native whom he asked to dig out the eggs got three. One of the
eggs contained a well-advanced embryo and the others were not so
advanced as the first one. This distance from the top of the mound
to the spot where the eggs were laid was about two and a half feet,
and the natives made a great deal of effort to get these eggs.
These nests were found in the bush by the natives." The NAMRU2
party observed a mound on Ngabad Island, a small islet near
Peleliu, on September 11. It was much like those described by
Takatsukasa, being approximately six feet high and some twelve or
fifteen feet across. It was not excavated.

_Molt._--Birds taken in August, September and November were molting
body feathers. Birds taken in December were molting wing feathers.

_Food habits._--Takatsukasa (1932:16) comments, "My collector
reports to me that this bird diets on insects and tender shoots
which it gets from under the soil by scratching with its large and
powerful feet." According to Captain Tetens, as noted by
Takatsukasa, the food of the bird consists of insects and berries.
Birds taken by the NAMRU2 party had the following food items in
their stomachs: adult female--2 cc. seeds, grit; adult female--3
cc. crab parts, grit; adult female--2 cc. seeds, sand; male
chick--1 cc. ground food, grit; female chick--1 cc. ground food,
grit, in crop 3 cc. small wood roaches (Blattidae).

_Parasites._--Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:294) obtained the
chigger (Acarina), _Neoschöngastia yeomansi_, from the megapode at
Palau. Uchida (1918:486, 487) found the bird lice (Mallophaga),
_Goniocotes minor_ and _Lipeurus sinuatus_, on megapodes from the
Palaus.

_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party arrived at the Palau Islands on August 23, 1945, with little notion that the megapode would be found on the war-torn island of Peleliu. As reported by the author (1946b:209 and 1948:46) we found birds in small numbers in the relatively undisturbed areas of rough coral covered by jungle and a few birds in the heavy matting of viny and brushy vegetation which was rapidly covering the battlefields. The finding of a higher population on the more isolated and relatively undisturbed offshore islets (Ngabad, Garakayo) by the NAMRU2 party was an observation similar to those of Takatsukasa (1932:15, 16) and Coultas (field notes). Takatsukasa (1932:16) remarks, "Dr. Finsch said that this Megapode frequents nearly all the islands of the Pelew Group ... but it is very noticeable that this bird has either disappeared, or only very rarely exists in the following islands: Koror, Ngarekobasanga, and especially the main island of Babelthuap." He quotes Otto Finsch as remarking that, "It seems that the bird occasionally moves from one island to another, as the bird is a good flier." Takatsukasa continues, "According to Tetens, this Megapode runs very swiftly among the bushes, and when it is startled it takes to the nearest tree.... Captain Wilson says nothing about the Megapode, but Dr. Finsch wrote that Captain Wilson is probably referring to the egg of this bird under 'Wild Fowls,' when he said that the natives of the Palaus do not eat the flesh of the birds, but they go to the woods and bring back the eggs; they do not appreciate the newly laid eggs, but they consider it as a delicacy to swallow the well advanced embryo."

The NAMRU2 party found the birds to prefer rough, coral jungle where there was considerable heavy undergrowth and ground litter. The birds were located by their loud screeches and cackles but were difficult to stalk. It was best to remain quiet and let them approach within shooting distance. Young chicks were extremely active and wild. One of the two chicks taken at Garakayo was obtained by a fortunate shot as the bird was flying rapidly through the brush. The natives use them as food, and I learned of one serviceman who had worked out a technique for trapping the birds. He traded the live birds to the natives for island souvenirs. As Wilson and Takatsukasa note, the natives apparently prefer the eggs to the adults as food, and in normal times of food abundance they probably do not molest the adults but hunt for their eggs. This seems logical, since if a determined trapping program were in operation by the natives, it should not take many decades to eliminate completely the entire population. On four islands visited by the NAMRU2 party in August and September, 1945, I estimated the following populations: Garakayo--20 to 30; Ngabad--5 to 10; Peleliu--10 to 20; Angaur--less than 10.

=Megapodius lapérouse lapérouse= Gaimard

Micronesian Megapode

_Megapodius La Pérouse_ Gaimard, Bull. Gén. Univ. Annon. Nouv.
Sci., 2, 1823, 451. (Type locality, Tinian, Archipel des
Mariannes.)

_Megapodius La Pérouse_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool.,
1824, pp. 127, 693, Atlas, pl. 33 (Tinian); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat.
Paris, 6, 1825, p. 149 (Tinian).

_Megapodius La Pérousii_ Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool.,
1824, p. 127, pl. 33 (Tinian); Wagler, Isis, 1829, p. 735 (Tinian,
Guam, Rota); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 46
(Tinian); Oustalet, Ann. Sci. Nat., (6), art. 2, 1881, pp. 63,
138, 140, 143, 171, 175, 176, 177 (Tinian); _idem_, Le Nat., 1889,
p. 261 (Mariannes); _idem_, Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool., 11, 1891, p.
196 (Tinian, Seypan, Pagon).

_Megapodius La Peyrouse_ Lesson, Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, p. 221
(Tinian); _idem_, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Ois., 1838, p. 255
and accompanying plate (Tinian).

_Megapodius laperousii_ Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 478
(Mariannes); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 256 (Marian);
Ogilvie-Grant, Hand-book Game-birds, 2, 1897, p. 183 (Marianne);
Dubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 787 (Mariannes); Lister, Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1911, p. 757 (Marianne).

_Megapodius Lapeyrousii_ Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167
(Mariannen).

_Megapodius La Peyrousii_ Reichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 5
(Marianen).

_Megapodius la-perousi_ Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, p. 43
(Guam, Botta, Tinian).

_Megapodius laperousi Giebel_, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 547
(Marianae); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p.
39 (Marianas); Safford; Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Tinian); _idem_, The
Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 265 (Tinian); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat.
Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78 (Rota, Saipan, Pagan, Agrigan); Schnee,
Zeitschr, f. Naturwisch., 82, 1912, p. 467 (Marianen); Prowazek,
Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 47, 101 (Marianen); Linsley,
Guam, Rec., vol. 12, no. 8, 1935, p. 249 (Rota, Saipan, Pagan,
Agrigan).

_Megapodius perousei_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p.
30 (Marianen); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden,
no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 58 (Guam, Botta, Tinian, Pagon).

_Megapodius laperousii_ Ogilvie-Grant (part), Cat. Birds British
Mus., 22, 1893, p. 460 (Marianne).

_Megapodius la perousei_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 26 (Saypan, Pagan, Rota, Agrigan, Tinian).

_Megapodius laperouse_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61
(Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam).

_Megapodius laperousei_ Finsch, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14
ser., 1900, p. 660 (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen,
1913, p. 87 (Marianen).

_Megapodius lapeyrouse_ Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113
(Guam, Saipan).

_M[egapodius] lapeyrousei_ Reichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913,
p. 273 (Mariannen).

_Megapodius laperousei laperousei_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Guam, Saipan, Rota, Tinian, Pagan,
Agrigan).

_Megapodius lapérouse lapérouse_ Mathews, Syst. Avium
Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 16 (Marianas); Takatsukasa, Birds
Nippon, vol. 1, pt. 1, 1932, p. 6, pl. 4, 5 (Marianne); Yamashina,
Tori, 7, 1932, p. 411 (Pagan Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds,
rev., 1932, p. 198 (Marianas); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2,
1934, p. 7 (Marianne Islands); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 679
(Assongsong); Amadon, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1175, 1942, p. 9
(Asuncion, Saipan, Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
286 (Marianas).

_Megapodius laperousi laperousi_ Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2,
1936, p. 15 (Guam).

_Megapodius la pérouse la pérouse_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d
ed., 1942, p. 223 (Assongsong, Agrigan, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan,
Tinian, Agiguan, Rota, Guam).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion,
Agrihan, Pagan, Almagan, Saipan, Tinian, Agiguan, Rota, Guam.
Probably extinct on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam.

_Characters._--Adult: Resembles _M. l. senex_, but crown slightly
darker gray; back, wing-coverts and scapulars more heavily washed
with olivaceous-brown; mantle less slate; underparts paler and
more brownish, especially belly. (Note--The specimens examined
from the Marianas are old and rather worn in appearance.)

_Measurements._--Two males measure: wing 180?, 182?; tail 62, 63;
tarsus 55, 55; three females: wing 181?, 181?; tail 55, 59, 62;
tarsus 54, 54, 56. Takatsukasa (1932: 10) lists the following
measurements: males--wing, 155-169; tail, 54-62; culmen, 22.5-24;
tarsus, 51-54; females--wing, 158-170; tail, 56-65; culmen, 23-25;
tarsus, 50-55.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (3 males, 4 females, 3
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Guam, 1 (June
6)--Saipan, 6 (1895)--Asuncion, 3 (1904).

_Nesting._--Concerning the nest of the Micronesian Megapode in the
Marianas, Takatsukasa (1932:10) writes: "The nest is a large mound
of sand mixed with grass and is made in the wooded land along the
seashore. The mound is over one hundred feet in circumference and a
few yards in height, and is built by the united efforts of the male
and female, by scratching sand and grass with their large feet. The
eggs are laid in this mound and they are hatched by the heat of the
sun and that produced by the fermentation of the grass, and they
are never hatched by the parent birds. The egg is of a pale brown,
but always stained by nesting materials."

Takatsukasa (1932:11) quotes Oustalet as follows: "Specimens
collected by Mr. Marche have proved that the breeding season of La
Pérouse's Megapode is rather long, like the other species of the
same family, it begins to breed in January or February and ends in
June. Accordingly, in this period the eggs just laid, the chicks,
the young and adult can be seen at one place, but Mr. Marche did
not obtain any egg." Hartert (1898:61) records a chick taken on
July 17. Yamashina (1932a: 411) records eggs taken in 1931 as
follows: two eggs from Pagan, February 17; three eggs from Pagan,
May 15; four eggs from Agrihan, June 24. The breeding season for
both of the incubator birds, _M. l. senex_ and _M. l. lapérouse_,
is apparently from about January to August.

_Remarks._--The Micronesian Megapode was first taken in the Marianas by the expedition of the Uranie. Bérard, a member of the expedition, obtained the bird at Tinian in December, 1820. Quoy and Gaimard (1824:27), who studied the birds of this expedition, reported that according to native tradition the species was in former times widely distributed in the Marianas and domesticated by the ancient people of the islands, but that in 1819 and 1820 the birds were not numerous on Tinian and not found on Guam and Rota. Marche (in Oustalet, 1896:27) obtained twenty-three birds at Saipan, one from Rota, two from Agrihan, and five from Pagan in 1887, 1888, and 1889; it is apparent that Quoy and Gaimard missed the bird at Rota. Marche was of the opinion that the megapodes were never domesticated and that they would probably not last much longer at Saipan and Rota owing to the incessant hunting for them by the natives. As in the Palaus, the natives apparently prefer the eggs to the adults. The latest collections of these birds in the Marianas were made by the Japanese. Yamashina (1932:411) obtained eggs in 1931 at Pagan and Agrihan, and again in 1940. He (1940:679) reported birds at Assongsong (Asuncion). Takatsukasa (1932:12) says, "A collector, working for Marquis Yamashina and myself, lately procured many specimens in Saipan and Pagan." Linsley (1935:249, 250) in searching for the megapode at Guam found little evidence of the birds. He interviewed people between the ages of forty-five and eighty and only two or three remembered seeing the bird. He said he saw one or two cross the road; but I suspect that they might have been rails (_Rallus owstoni_). Service personnel stationed at various islands in the Marianas during the late war have not reported the birds. The NAMRU2 party found no trace of the bird at Guam or Rota. Joe T. Marshall, Jr. (1949:203), did not find the bird at Saipan, Tinian, or Guam in 1945. Its status on Agiguan is unknown; isolated Japanese troops present on this small island from the time of the American invasion (1944) until the armistice (1945) may have used the birds for food and depleted the population seriously. At present the birds apparently still occur on islands in the northern Marianas. It seems that if these birds are to survive, they must be given some protection.

_Evolutionary history._--The genus _Megapodius_ consists, according to Peters (1934:1-7), of nine species which are distributed through the islands from the Philippines and Borneo to Australia and Melanesia. These have been redesignated under three specific names by Mayr (1938). Outlying forms occur in the Nicobar Group to the west and in Tonga (Niuafou Island) in the east and in the Palaus and Marianas to the extreme northeast. Lister (1911:757) is of the opinion that the megapodes may have reached these outlying islands by having been transported by the natives, by whom the eggs were highly valued as food. This idea is also maintained by Rutland (1896:29-30) and Christian (1926:260). Possibility and not factual evidence support this hypothesis. From their seeming ancestral stocks, _M. pritchardii_ Gray of Niuafou Island and _M. lapérouse_ of Micronesia are remarkably distinct which may indicate their early arrival at these islands and subsequent change from their ancestral stocks.

Like _M. pritchardii_, the Micronesian species is smaller than its relatives to the southwest and has short, rather rounded wings, although its feet are heavily built whereas those of _M. pritchardii_ are lightly constructed. In comparing these birds with the species of megapode found in the Philippines, Celebes and Melanesia, it seems that both _M. pritchardii_ and _M. Lapérouse_ are closely related to the widespread species, _M. freycinet_, which may have been ancestral to both. The differences between _M. prichardii_ and _M. lapérouse_ indicate that they represent independent invasions. Nevertheless these megapodes may have had a wider range in Oceania in former times; man may have eliminated the birds from some islands by using their eggs. The eggs are laid in conspicuous mounds which are easily found by man.

_M. lapérouse_ differs from _M. freycinet_ of New Guinea and other parts of Melanesia and the Philippines; its small size, short wing and pearl gray head are distinctive characters. It shows greatest resemblance to the subspecies in Celebes (_M. f. gilberti_) in size and to the subspecies in the Moluccas (_M. f. freycinet_) in coloring; possibly _M._ _lapérouse_ represents stock from one of these regions. Apparently the group as a whole evolved from a center of dispersal in the New Guinea area. Mayr (1942b:167) regarded all the species of _Megapodius_ as belonging to one polytypic species, except _M. lapérouse_ and _M. pritchardii_, which are allopatric species.

=Coturnix chinensis lineata= (Scopoli)

Painted Quail

_Oriolus lineatus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. 2,
1786, p. 87. (Type locality, Luzon, _ex_ Sonnerat.)

_Excalfactoria sinensis_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61
(Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 37
(Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Guam); _idem_, Amer.
Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); _idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904,
p. 265 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 78
(Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Nelson, Proc. 1st
Pan-Pacific Sci. Conf., 1921, p. 273 (Guam).

_Excalfactoria chinensis lineata_ Wetmore, in Townsend and
Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 176 (Guam); Kuroda,
in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 41 (Guam); Mathews, Syst.
Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 20 (Marianne); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 198 (Guam); Peters, Check-list
Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 96 (Guam); Bryan, Guam. Rec., vol. 13,
no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942,
p. 223 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 287 (Guam).

_Excalfactoria chinensis_ Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 536 (Guam).

_Coturnix chinensis lineata_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 47 (Guam).

_Geographic range._--Philippines and parts of Malaysia. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam (introduced).