Chapter VIII: Part 8

_Remarks._--The Asiatic Knot was observed and obtained by the NAMRU2 party at Peleliu in September, 1945. Flocks containing fifteen to twenty birds were noted at the tidal flats of Akarakoro Point on September 8 and 16. The birds appeared to remain apart from other shore birds in this area.

=Erolia minuta ruficollis= (Pallas)

Little Stint

_Trynga ruficollis_ Pallas, Reise versch. Prov. Russ. Reichs, 3,
1776, p. 700. (Type locality, "Circa lacus salsos Dauriae
campestris" = Kulussutai, southern Transbaikalia.)

_Tringa minuta_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); Gray, Hand-list Birds, pt. 3, 1871, p.
50 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872,
pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp.
5, 36 (Palau).

_Tringa albescens_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 316
(Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew).

_Limonites minuta_ Takatsukasa and Kudora, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62
(Pelew).

_Pisobia ruficollis_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8,
1919, p. 290 (Pelew).

_Pisobia minuta ruficollis_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 48 (Palau, Ulithi); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 192 (Palau, Ulithi).

_Calidris ruficollis ruficollis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 215 (Palau, Ulithi).

_Calidris minuta ruficollis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 45 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 54 (Rota, Peleliu).

_Geographic range._--Breeds from northeastern Siberia to
northwestern Alaska. Winters south from the Malay area to
Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Rota; Palau
Islands--Angaur, Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 16 (4 males, 12 females), as
follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Rota, 1 (Oct. 20); Palau Islands,
USNM--Peleliu, 14 (Sept. 6-14)--Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21).

_Remarks._--The Little Stint is apparently a regular visitor to the Palau Islands and a less common visitor to the Mariana Islands. At Peleliu and Angaur the NAMRU2 party found these birds in small flocks of 10 to 15 at tidal flats and at inland ponds. On tidal flats the species appeared to remain apart from other kinds of shore birds, but at inland ponds the Little Stint was found in company with other species. On shooting into a mixed flock of shore birds at an island pond at Angaur, the writer secured specimens of this species and also of _Erolia acuminata_.

=Erolia subminuta= (Middendorff)

Least Sandpiper

_Tringa subminuta_ Middendorff, Reise Nord. und Ost. Siberien, 2,
Th. 2, 1853, p. 222, pl. 19, fig. 6. (Type locality, Western slopes
of the Stanovoi Mountains and mouth of the Udá.)

_Pisobia minutilla subminuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 192 (Koror).

_Calidris minutilla subminuta_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed.,
1942, p. 215 (Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 45
(Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to
India and east to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Koror.

_Remarks._--The Least Sandpiper has been recorded in the Palau Islands by the Japanese investigators. It is probably an uncommon visitor to this area.

=Erolia melanotos= (Vieillot)

Pectoral Sandpiper

_Tringa melanotos_ Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 34, 1819, p.
462. (Type locality, Paraguay.)

_Pisobia melanota_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192
(Ponapé).

_Calidris melanotos_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
215 (Ponapé).

_Calidris melanota_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 45
(Ponapé).

_Geographic range._--Breeds on the Arctic coast of northeastern
Asia and eastward into Arctic America. Winters to South America. In
Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

_Remarks._--The Pectoral Sandpiper has been recorded from Ponapé. Bryan and Greenway (1944:114) list the species as an "accidental" visitor to the Hawaiian Islands from North America.

=Erolia acuminata= (Horsfield)

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

_Totanus acuminatus_ Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt.
1, 1821, p. 192. (Type locality, Java.)

_Tringa acuminata_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872,
pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp.
5, 35 (Palau); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 314
(Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898,
p. 65 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1,
1901, p. 33 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas);
_idem_, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam).

_Heteropygia acuminata_ Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896,
p. 566 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk,
Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 48 (Pagan,
Pelew, Ruk).

_Tringa maculata_ var. _acuminata_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus.
Hist. Nat. Paris, (3) 8, 1896, p. 44 (Pagan, Palaos).

_Pisobia acuminata_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8,
1919, p. 276 (Caroline Islands).

_Erolia acuminata_ Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 11-12, 1920, p. 1586
(Palau, Karolinen); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24
(Guam).

_Pisobia acuminatus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192
(Ponapé, Truk, Pagan, Jaluit, Koror).

_Calidris acuminata_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p.
215 (Pagan, Jaluit, Koror, Truk, Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 45 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll.,
vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Guam, Angaur).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Siberia. Winters from
the Malay Archipelago and Australia to the Southwest Pacific. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Guam, Pagan; Palau Islands--Angaur;
Caroline Islands--Truk, Ponapé; Marshall Islands--Jaluit.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 4 (2 males, 2 females), as
follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 1 (Sept. 17); Palau Islands,
USNM--Angaur, 3 (Sept. 21).

_Remarks._--The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a regular visitor to western Micronesia and an uncommon visitor to eastern Micronesia. It was first recorded from the Palau Islands in 1868, where the bird was taken by Tetens, Heinsohn, and Kubary. In 1896 and 1898, records of this bird in the Mariana and Caroline islands were published by Oustalet and Hartert.

The NAMRU2 party obtained one specimen at Guam on September 17 and three at Angaur on September 21. At Angaur several birds of this species were seen at fresh water ponds in company with _Erolia minuta ruficollis_, _Limicola falcinellus sibirica_, _Tringa glareola_, and other shore birds.

=Erolia ferruginea= (Pontoppidan)

Curlew Sandpiper

_Tringa ferrugineus_ Pontoppidan, Danske Atlas, 1, 1763, p. 624.
(No type locality = Denmark.)

_Calidris ferruginea_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Asia. Winters from Africa
east to Australia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Peleliu.

_Specimens examined._--One female from Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu
(Sept. 6).

_Remarks._--The NAMRU2 party obtained one female on September 6 at a tidal flat on Peleliu. The Curlew Sandpiper is seemingly a rare visitor to the Palau Islands from Asia. In using this specific name, I am following Mayr (in Delacour and Mayr, 1945:107).

=Limicola falcinellus sibirica= Dresser

Broad-billed Sandpiper

_Limicola sibirica_ Dresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1876, p. 674.
(Type locality, Siberia and China.)

_Limicola falcinellus sibirica_ Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol.
107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55 (Angaur).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters from
India east to Australia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Angaur.

_Specimens examined._--One male from Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur
(Sept. 21).

_Remarks._--A single male bird was taken by the NAMRU2 party at a fresh water pond on Angaur Island on September 21, 1945. This is the only known record for this bird from Micronesia.

=Phalaropus lobatus= (Linnaeus)

Northern Phalarope

_Tringa lobata_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 148, in
Emendanda, p. 824. (Type locality, Hudson Bay.)

_Geographic range._--Breeds throughout Arctic region. Winters at
sea in tropical and subtropical waters.

_Remarks._--The Northern Phalarope has not been found in Micronesia. Mayr (1945a:46) records it in the pelagic areas north of the New Guinea region. The occurrence there suggests that migration is through the Micronesian area.

=Larus argentatus vegae= Palmén

Herring Gull

_Larus argentatus_ Brünn. var. _Vegae_ Palmén, in Nordenskiöld,
Vega-Exped. Vetensk. Iakttag., 5, 1887, p. 370. (Type locality,
Pidlin, northeastern Siberia.)

_Larus vegae_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8,
1896, p. 56 (Agrigan); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68
(Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p.
20 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); _idem_,
The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam?).

_Larus vegae_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62
(Marianas).

_Larus argentatus vegae_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 49 (Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
196 (Agrigan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 220
(Agrigan).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northern Siberia. Ranges east to
Alaska and south to the Philippines and the China coast. In
Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Agrihan.

_Remarks._--The Herring Gull is ascribed to Micronesia on the basis of one bird obtained by Marche in January, 1889, at Agrihan in the northern Marianas and reported on by Oustalet (1896:56). The gull is considered a straggler to the northern Marianas from the northward. Stott (1947:525) observed a gull, which was thought to be this species or _Larus ridibundus_, at Lake Susupe, Saipan, in 1945.

=Chlidonias leucopterus= (Temminck)

White-winged Black Tern

_Sterna leucoptera_ Temminck, Man. d'Ornith., 1815, p. 483. (Type
locality, Coasts of the Mediterranean.)

_Hydrochelidon leucoptera_ Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 57 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898,
p. 67 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901,
p. 20 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Marianas); _idem_, The
Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna,
13-14, 1921, p. 1686 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Guam).

_Chlidonias leucoptera_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
194 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 (Guam);
Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55
(Angaur).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in central and southern Eurasia.
Winters from Africa east to Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana
Islands--Guam; Palau Islands--Angaur.

_Measurements._--One adult male has the following measurements:
wing, 211; tail, 72; exposed culmen, 27; tarsus, 20; one adult
female: wing, 210; exposed culmen, 25.5. These specimens were
taken at the Palau Islands.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 6 (3 males, 3 females), as
follows: Palau Islands, USNM--Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21); AMNH--exact
locality not given, 5 (Oct. 13).

_Remarks._--The White-winged Black Tern was first collected at Guam in October, 1887, by Marche and reported on by Oustalet (1896:57). It was later taken at the Palau Islands by Coultas in 1931, and by the NAMRU2 party at Angaur in 1945. The bird is seemingly an uncommon winter visitor to Micronesia.

At Angaur, the NAMRU2 party obtained one of four terns seen at a small fresh water lake. Coultas took five birds at the Palau Islands. He writes (field notes) that a flock of 14 of the terns appeared at the island following a heavy typhoon. All birds examined are in winter plumage (September and October).

=Sterna hirundo longipennis= Nordmann

Black-billed Common Tern

_Sterna longipennis_ Nordmann, in Erman's Verz. Thier. Pflanz.,
1835, p. 17. (Type locality, Mouth of the Kutchui River, Sea of
Okhotsk.)

_Sterna longipennis_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 90, 112 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875,
pp. 5, 41 (Palau); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 440
(Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew); Saunders, Cat. Birds British
Mus., 25, 1896, p. 67 (Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1,
1915, p. 62 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 21 (Pelew).

_Sterna hirundo longipennis_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 195 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218,
(Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 25 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters south to
Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality unknown.

_Remarks._--Finsch (1875:41) states that Heinsohn and Kubary obtained specimens of this tern from the Palau Islands for the Godeffroy Museum. These are the only records for the occurrence of the Black-billed Common Tern in Micronesia.

=Sterna sumatrana sumatrana= Raffles

Black-naped Tern

_Sterna Sumatrana_ Raffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 2,
1822, p. 329. (Type locality, Sumatra.)

_Sterna melanauchen_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 306, 308 (Guahan, Ouleai); Hartlaub and
Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 113 (Pelew, Uap);
Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch,
Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 41 (Palau); _idem_, Ibis,
1880, pp. 220, 330, 332 (Taluit); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880,
p. 295 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577
(Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 115 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and
Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 330,
353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia,
3, 1882, p. 444 (Pelew, Mackenzie, Ruk, Ponapé, Marshalls);
Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew, Uap, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé,
Taluit); Sanders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 126
(Carolines, Pelews, Marshalls); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p.
222 (Palau); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk); Schnee,
Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa
and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ruk, Ponapé); Uchida, Annot.
Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 483, 488 (Ponapé).

_Sterna sumatrana_ Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 186 (Arhno).

_Gygisterna sumatrana_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 52 (Pelew, Mackenzie, Yap, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé,
Taluit, Arhno).

_Gygisterna sumatrana sumatrana_ Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925,
p. 192 (Carolines, Pelews).

_Sterna sumatrana sumatrana_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 410
(Aruno); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, 1932, p. 335 (Caroline,
Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Palau, Guam,
Saipan, Yap, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit, Namu, Arhno,
Majuro, Aurh); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 336
(Caroline Islands); Mayr, List New Guinea Birds, 1941, p. 36
(Micronesia); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218
(Babelthuap, Koror, Yap, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit,
Namu, Arhno, Majuro, Aurh); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 24 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu, Ulithi).

_Geographic range._--Micronesia, central Polynesia, northern
Australia, Malaysia, west to India, and north to the Riu Kiu
Islands. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu;
Caroline Islands--Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé;
Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Namu, Majuro, Aurh, Bikini.

_Characters._--Adult: A small tern with a long, forked tail and
white plumage often with pinkish cast except for mantle, back,
rump, tail, wing-coverts, and scapulars which are pale pearl-gray;
band across nape, spot in front of eye, and outer web of outer
primary black; bill and feet black.

Immature: Resembles adult, but black and white mottling on upper
parts.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 19.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 15 (8 males, 6 females, 1
female?), as follows: Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not
given, 4 (Oct.-Dec.); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi Atoll, 6 (Aug.
15, 16, 20, 22); AMNH--Truk, 1 (Feb. 10); Marshall Islands,
USNM--Bikini, 4 (March 26, April 30).

_Nesting._--Nehrkorn (1899:222) recorded eggs taken at the Palau
Islands. Yamashina (1932a:410) listed the finding of three nests
containing one egg each on September 26, 1931, at Arhno in the
Marshall Islands. The NAMRU2 party obtained no evidence of nesting
at Ulithi or Palau in August and September, 1945. Coultas (field
notes) obtained reports of the finding of two eggs at the Palau
Islands in the period October to December, 1931.

_Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483, 488) records the following
Mallophaga taken at Ponapé from this tern: _Docophorus
albemarlensis_, _Colpocephalum milleri_, and _Colpocephalum
impertunum_.

_Remarks._--There are no records for the Black-naped Tern from the Mariana Islands, although the species is known from the Palau, Caroline and Marshall Islands. At Ulithi Atoll, the NAMRU2 party observed these terns at the islands of Potangeras, Mangejang, Pau, and Losiep in August, 1945. They were found in groups of 4 to 15, either sitting on sandy beaches or rocky exposures or flying over the reefs. Unlike the Crested Tern, these birds appeared quite unafraid of man and would hover over a freshly killed or wounded individual of their own kind, making of themselves easy targets. The writer saw only one Black-naped Tern at the Palau Islands (Peleliu, on September 16, 1945). The birds seem to prefer the "low" atolls to the "high" volcanic islands of Micronesia.

Two subspecies of _Sterna sumatrana_ are recognized by Peters (1934:336): _Sterna sumatrana mathewsi_ known from islands of the western Indian Ocean and _Sterna s. sumatrana_ from islands of Oceania, Australia, Malaysia, and China coast. There is a considerable area separating these subspecies. For populations in the Pacific area, other names which have been proposed are _Sterna sumatrana kempi_ Mathews for birds from Torres Straits and _Gygis decorata_ Hartlaub for birds from the Fiji Islands. A study of 201 specimens of this species from various parts of its range (in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the United States National Museum) shows that there is little color variation within the species. This observation is the same as that of Mathews (1912:372).

As listed in table 19, measurements of the length of the wing show little variation. The length of the tail of birds from localities more remote from the continent of Asia (Micronesia, Phoenix, Union, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the islands of the Indian Ocean: Aldabra and Providence) is, on the average, shorter than the length of the tail of birds from islands nearer the Asiatic mainland. This shortness is reflected also in the measurement of the difference between the shortest and longest tail feather.

TABLE 19. MEASUREMENTS OF SPECIMENS OF _Sterna sumatrana_

Columb headings:

A: No.
B: Wing
C: Tail
D: Difference: Longest and shortest tail feather
E: Exposed culmen
F: Tarsus

===================+===+=========+=========+=======+==========+==========
LOCALITY | A | B | C | D | E | F
-------------------+---+---------+---------+-------+----------+----------
_S. s. sumatrana_ | | | | | |
Micronesia | 13| 221 | 127 | 65 | 37 | 20.5
| | 211-225 | 117-138 | 54-79 | 35-39 | 20.0-21.0
| | | | | |
Phoenix and Union| 5| 228 | 113 | 66 | 37 | 19.5
| | | | | 36-38 | 18.5-20.0
| | | | | |
Fiji, Samoa, | 29| 221 | 131 | 63 | 38 | 20.0
Tonga | | 218-229 | 122-142 | 51-74 | 36-41 | 18.0-21.0
| | | | | |
New Caledonia, | 8| 224 | 141 | 72 | 39 | 19.5
Loyalty, New | | 221-230 | 135-148 | 68-81 | 37-41 | 18.5-20.0
Hebrides | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Queensland, | 4| 229 | 142 | 78 | 38 | 19.5
Torres Straits | | | 139-148 | 71-83 | 36-40 | 18.5-20.0
| | | | | |
Solomons | 52| 227 | 144 | 77 | 36 | 19.0
| | 220-232 | 129-162 | 66-95 | 34.0-38.5| 18.5-20.5
| | | | | |
New Guinea, | 10| 224 | 143 | 76 | 34 | 19.5
Bismarcks | | 219-231 | 135-146 | 67-81 | 32.0-36.5| 18.5-20.0
| | | | | |
Malay area | 49| 228 | 141 | 74 | 34 | 20.0
| | 220-234 | 125-153 | 63-84 | 32.0-37.0| 19.0-20.5
| | | | | |
China coast, | 21| 223 | 144 | 77 | 35 | 19.5
Riu Kiu | | 212-234 | 130-151 | 67-85 | 31.5-38.0| 19.0-20.0
| | | | | |
_S. S.mathewsi_ | | | | | |
Indian Ocean: | 10| 220 | 125 | 71 | 38 | 19.0
Aldabra, | | | | | 35.0-40.0| 18.0-20.0
Providence | | | | | |
-------------------+---+---------+---------+-------+----------+----------

The differences in the length of the exposed culmen of these terns shows that birds from islands more remotely oceanic possess longer bills than do those from islands closer to the Asiatic continent. Murphy (1938:538) has written that this phenomenon is characteristic among some species which have both continental and insular populations (or subspecies). Figure 10 shows the southeastern part of the range of the subspecies, _Sterna s. sumatrana_, and gives the average measurements of the exposed culmen of birds from several localities. These localities are given in table 19. Terns with longer bills (37-39) were taken in Micronesia, in the Polynesian islands, and in northern Australia. Terns with shorter bills (34-36) were taken in Melanesia, Malaysia, and the coastal region of China, but there appears to be no abrupt line of demarkation between them. Further evidence of this tendency may be obtained from the literature. Kuroda (1925:191) gives the measurements of the exposed culmen of seven males and five females from the Riu Kius as averaging 35 mm. (range 31-40.5). It is also of interest to note that the length of the exposed culmen of the males averages one to two mm. longer than that of the females. The status of _Sterna sumatrana mathewsi_ may be questioned. I find no characters separating my series of mostly poor specimens. The systematic position of this subspecies from the Indian Ocean (and likewise the status of subspecies of other sea birds which range into the Indian Ocean) may not be known with certainty until additional material is obtained.

=Sterna lunata= Peale

Spectacled Tern

_Sterna lunata_ Peale, U. S. Expl. Exped., 8, 1848, p. 277. (Type
locality, Vincennes Island, Paumotu Group.)

_Sterna lunata_ Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p.
831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868,
pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90,
113 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 41
(Palau); Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 100
(Pelew); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ruk, Pelew);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Palau); Hand-list
Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau); Mayr, Birds
Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 26 (Micronesia).

_Onychoprion lunatus_ Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 451
(Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1891 (1891), p. 76 (Pelew).

_Melanosterna lunata_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922,
p. 52 (Pelew).

_Geographic range._--Breeds in Oceania from the Hawaiian Group
south to Fiji and the Tuamotus and west to the Moluccas. In
Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known.

_Remarks._--Finsch (1875:41) recorded specimens taken by Tetens, Peters and Kubary at the Palau Islands. Coultas obtained one immature male at sea south of the eastern Caroline Islands at 1° 25´ N and 159° E on October 19, 1930. The Spectacled Tern ranges throughout the tropical Pacific, spending considerable time at sea, and probably reaches most parts of Micronesia in its travels.

=Sterna anaetheta anaetheta= Scopoli

Bridled Tern

_Sterna Anaethetus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun., Insubr., fasc. 2,
1786, p. 92. (Type locality, "In Guinea" = Panay, Philippine
Islands, _ex._ Sonnerat.)

_Sterna anaestheta_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62
(Pelew).

_Melanosterna anaestheta anaestheta_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 52 (Pelew).

_Sterna anaethetus anaethetus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 195 (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Bikar);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau, Bikar).

_Sterna anaetheta anaetheta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 26 (Palau).

_Geographic range._--Breeds from Malaysia to Australia and Oceania
and north to Formosa. Ranges west to Ceylon and north to Japan. In
Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known; Marshall
Islands--Bikar.

_Measurements._--Four adult males from the Palau Islands have the
following measurements: wing 246-254, longest tail feather
147-177, shortest tail feather 71-72, exposed culmen 40-44, tarsus
21-23; one adult female: wing 266, exposed culmen 40.5, tarsus
22.5.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 3 females) from
Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (Dec. 20).

_Remarks._--The Bridled Tern is known from the Palau Islands and from Bikar in the Marshall Islands. In Micronesia, the species apparently reaches the northeastern extent of its range. In the Palaus, Coultas found the terns on small outlying islands. He observed them to fly to sea early in the day and to return to the islands in the evening. Of the seven specimens obtained by him, two males and one female had enlarged gonads (Dec. 20).

=Sterna fuscata oahuensis= Bloxham

Sooty Tern

_Sterna Oahuensis_ Bloxham, Voy. "Blonde," 1826, p. 251. (Type
locality, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands.)

_Sterna fuliginosa_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp.
18, 39 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p.
781 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 295 (Ponapé);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ponapé).

_Onychoprion fuscata infuscata_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Ponapé).

_Sterna fuscata nibilosa_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
195 (Ponapé); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Helen Reef);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Ponapé, Helen
Reef).

_Sterna fuscata oahuensis_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p.
25 (Micronesia).

_Geographic range._--Breeds from the Hawaiian, Marcus, and Bonin
islands south to the Phoenix Islands and Micronesia. In Micronesia:
Mariana Islands--Asuncion; Palau Islands--Helen Reef; Caroline
Islands--Ponapé.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 1 unsexed from Mariana
Islands, AMNH--Asuncion (Jan. 18).

_Remarks._--The systematic position of the Sooty Tern in Micronesia is uncertain; in using this name I am following Peters (1934:338), who comments that the species "is badly in need of revision." Coultas obtained one immature female at O° 90´ S and 159° 50´ E, a position south of the eastern Caroline Islands. The bird is tentatively placed in the subspecies _S. f. oahuensis_. The Sooty Tern probably does not breed in large numbers in Micronesia, unless it be in the northern Marianas. Bryan (1903:97) reports that this species is very abundant at Marcus Island, which is north and east of the Marianas.

=Sterna albifrons sinensis= Gmelin

Least Tern

_Sterna sinensis_ Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 608. (Type
locality, China, ex Latham.)

_Sterna albifrons_ Marshall, Condor, 51, 1949, p. 221 (Saipan).

_Geographic range._--Found on coastal areas from Korea and China
south to New Guinea. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan.

_Specimens examined._--One female from Mariana Islands,
USNM--Saipan (Sept. 26).

_Remarks._--Marshall (1949:221) took one of two Least Terns at Lake Susupe on Saipan on September 26, 1945. The specimen taken, a female, is in post juvenal molt.

=Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides= (King)

Crested Tern

_Sterna pelecanoides_ King, Surv. Intertrop. and Western Coasts
Australia, 2, 1827, p. 422. (Type locality, Torres Strait, northern
Queensland.)

_Sterna bergii_ Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 50
(Palau); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781
(Ponapé); _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 330, 332 (Ratak Chain); _idem_,
Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 295 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 115
(Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, pp. 281, 299, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Nukuor, Ruk);
Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 434 (Ruk, Ponapé,
Marshalls); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 51
(Jaluit); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no.
6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 74 (Pelew, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Ponapé,
Marshall Islands); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 10 (Ruk);
Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 89 (Ponapé,
Marshalls); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 52 (Ponapé);
Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 483, 488 (Ponapé).

_Sterna bergeri_ Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390
(Marschall-Inseln).

_Sterna bergii cristata_ Stresemann, Novit. Zool., 21, 1914, p. 58
(Truk).

_Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides_ Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat.
Mus., 49, 1915, p. 523 (Marshall Islands); Kuroda, in Momiyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Ponapé,
Marshall Islands); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 188
(Marshall Islands); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 194
(Palau, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Jaluit, Mille,
Aurh, Maloelab, Ailuk); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Helen
Reef, Babelthuap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218,
(Babelthuap, Helen Reef, Faraulep, Truk, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé,
Jaluit, Mille, Aurh, Maloelab, Ailuk).

_Thalasseus bergii cristatus_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2,
1934, p. 342 (Carolines, Marshalls); Mayr, Birds Southwest
Pacific, 1945, p. 26 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll.,
vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 55 (Peleliu, Ngajangel [Kayangel],
Truk).

_Geographic range._--Malaysia and east coast of Australia south to
Tasmania, east to Melanesia and Polynesia, north to Phoenix Islands
and Micronesia (see figure 11). In Micronesia: Palau Islands--Helen
Reef, Peleliu, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk,
Faraulep, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé; Marshall Islands--Jaluit,
Mille, Aurh, Moloelab, Ailuk, Bikini.

_Characters._--Adult: A large, white tern with back, rump, tail,
wing-coverts, wing, and axillaries pearl gray; outer edges of
primaries pearly grayish-black; crown black with crest; bill
greenish-yellow with blackish base; feet black. Crown black,
mottled with white and mantle paler in postnuptial plumage.

Immature: Resembles adult, but crown and back dark, mottled with
white and crest small.

_Measurements._--Measurements of Crested Terns of the Pacific area
are listed in table 20.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 10 (6 males, 4 females), as
follows: Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 21); AMNH--Truk, 2
(May 7, Dec. 5)--Ponapé, 3 (Nov. 1, 7); Marshall Islands,
USNM--Bikini, 4 (March 4, 11, 12).

_Parasites._--Uchida (1918:483, 488) obtained the following species
of bird lice (Mallophaga) from the Crested Tern at Ponapé:
_Docophorus albemarlensis_ and _Colpocephalum importunum_.

_Remarks._--Oberholser (1915:520-526, pl. 66) lists five subspecies (_T. b. cristatus_, _T. b. halodramus_, _T. b. pelecanoides_, _T. b. rectirostris_, and _T. b. poliocercus_) in the region including the coast of China, the Riu Kiu Islands, Malaysia, Melanesia, eastern Australia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Only one subspecies, _T. b. cristatus_, is recognized in this area by Stresemann (1914:58), Hartert (1921:1695-1696), and Peters (1934:341-342), who mention that there is much variation in size and coloring.

TABLE 20. MEASUREMENTS OF _Thalasseus bergii_ IN THE PACIFIC AREA

Column headings:

A: No.
B: Wing
C: Longest tail feather
D: Shortest tail feather
E: Exposed culmen
F: Tarsus

=========================+====+=========+=========+=======+=======+======
LOCATION | A | B | C | D | E | F
-------------------------+----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------
_Thalasseus bergii pelecanoides_ | | | |
Palaus, Carolines, | 6 | 343 | 168 | 82 | 60 |
Marshalls | | 334-352 | 153-184 | 80-85 | 58-65 |
| | | | | |
Christmas, Phoenix, | | | | | |
Tuamotus, Society, | 48 | 344 | 170 | 83 | 58 | 27
Fiji, Loyalty, | | 329-362 | 145-198 | 77-92 | 54-64 | 25-29
New Hebrides | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Eastern Australia | 14 | 345 | 165 | 88 | 58 | 27
| | 338-349 | 152-174 | 84-92 | 55-63 | 26-29
| | | | | |
New Guinea, Bismarck, | 18 | 342 | 168 | 81 | 59 | 27
Archipelago, Moluccas| | 332-361 | 144-194 | 75-87 | 53-64 | 26-28
+----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------
Totals | 86 | 344 | 169 | 83 | 58 | 27
| | 329-362 | 144-198 | 75-92 | 53-65 | 25-29
| | | | | |
_Thalasseus bergii cristatus_ | | | | |
Philippines, China, | 18 | 332 | 162 | 81 | 58 | 28
ormosa, Riu Kius | | 324-342 | 149-182 | 78-87 | 55-64 | 26-30
| | | | | |
_Thalasseus bergii gwendolenae_ | | | |
Western Australia | 14 | 354 | 171 | 86 | 58 | 27
| | 339-369 | 162-182 | 81-91 | 53-65 | 25-29
-------------------------+----+---------+---------+-------+-------+------

Measurements, as shown in table 20, indicate a wide range of sizes but, in most series, the averages are nearly the same. Nevertheless, it is evident that birds from the coast of China, the Riu Kius, Formosa, and the Philippines have a distinctly shorter wing than birds from the Moluccas, Melanesia, eastern Australia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Further evidence of this is presented by Kuroda (1925:186) who lists the measurements of the wing of eight Crested Terns from the Riu Kiu Islands as 322 to 340 (average 330). The occurrence of populations with shorter wings has already been pointed out in the work of Oberholser (1915:520-526), who divided the short-winged birds into two subspecies. It seems advisable to recognize but one subspecies, _T. b. cristatus_, for the birds with short wings and another subspecies, _T. b. pelecanoides_, to include the birds with the longer wings (see figure 11). The average measurements of the length of wings of these two subspecies, 332, and 344, differ significantly, although there is some overlap in measurements. A few specimens at hand from the western part of Malaysia are in poor condition and not measurable.

Most specimens of _T. b. cristatus_ and _T. b. pelecanoides_ have lighter-colored upper parts than specimens of _T. b. velox_, but not so light-colored as specimens of _T. b. gwendolenae_. Size probably is a better character than color to use in separating these groups.

In Micronesia, the NAMRU2 party observed Crested Terns at Ulithi, Peleliu and Truk, in August, September, and December, 1945, respectively. Birds were seen as singles or in small groups flying over the reefs. The birds were wary and difficult to approach, but they were conspicuous and easily identified.

=Procelsterna cerulea saxatilis= W. K. Fisher

Blue-gray Tern

_Procelsterna saxatilis_ W. K. Fisher, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 26,
1903, p. 559. (Type locality, Necker Island, Hawaiian Islands.)

_Procelsterna cerulea saxatilis_ Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678
(Bikar); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Bikar);
Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 27 (Micronesia).

_Geographic range._--Known from Marcus Island and the western
Hawaiian Islands. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands--Bikar.

_Remarks._--Yamashina (1940:678) recorded the taking of eight of these terns (5 adult males, 3 adult females) on July 10, 1932, at Bikar in the Marshall Islands. He gives the following measurements: wing, 180.5-188; tail, 104-113.5; exposed culmen, 24-26.5. This is the only known record for the species in Micronesia.

=Anous stolidus pileatus= (Scopoli)

Common Noddy

_Sterna pileata_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. 2,
1786, p. 92. (No type locality = Philippines, _ex._ Sonnerat.)

_Sterna stolida_ Chamisso, in Kotzebue's Voy. "Rurick," 3, 1821,
pp. 150, 157 (Marshall Islands); Kittlitz, Kupfertaf. Naturgesch.
Vögel, 3, 1833, p. 27, pl. 36, fig. 1 (Mordloks-Inseln); _idem_,
Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286,
299, 308, 309 (Ualan, Lougounor, Ouleai); _idem_, Denkw. Reise
russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 364, 2, pp. 77, 86
(Ualan); Wiglesworth, Ibis, 1893, p. 212 (Marshalls).

_Anous stolidus_ Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 18, 1852, p. 137
(Mortlock); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 168 (Carolinen);
Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 59 (Carolines);
Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Centralpolynesiens, 1867, p. 236
(Mordlocks, Puynipet = Ponapé); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool.
Soc. London, 1868, pp. 9, 118 (Pelew); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, 1872, pp. 90, 112 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy,
8, 1875, pp. 6, 42 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12,
1876, pp. 18, 40 (Ponapé); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877
(1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295,
307 (Ponapé, Ruck, Kuschai); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1880, p. 577 (Ruk, Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105,
109, 115, 246, 247 (Kuschai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause,
Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330, 353 (Mortlock,
Nukuor, Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 455
(Pelews, Carolines, Marshalls); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien,
1884, p. 51 (Jaluit, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool.
Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 76 (Pelew, Mortlock,
Ruk, Nukuor, Ponapé, Ualan, Marshalls); Saunders, Cat. Birds
British Museum, 25, 1896, p. 136 (Pelew, Carolines, Marshalls);
Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 59
(Saypan, Guam, Rota, Agrigan, Hogoleu = Truk, Kushai, Ponapi,
Marshalls); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Guam); Seale,
Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 21 (Guam);
Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Mariannas); Bryan, Occ. Papers
Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 2, 1903, p. 101 (Guam); Schnee, Zool.
Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marshall-Inseln); Safford, The Plant
World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); _idem_, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9,
1905, p. 80 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 100
(Marianen); Takastukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Ponapé,
Ruk); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Uchida, Annot.
Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, pp. 484, 488 (Palau, Ponapé); Wharton,
Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle,
Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 292, 296, 306 (Guam, Ulithi).

_Anous pileatus_ Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, pp. 155,
162 (Puynipet = Ponapé).

_Anous stolidus pileatus_ Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9
(Ruk); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl.,
63, 1919, p. 183 (Kusaie); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia,
1922, p. 49 (Guam, Saipan, Pelew, Mortlock, Ruk, Wolea, Nukuoro,
Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932,
p. 195 (Koror, Urukthapel, Angaur, Saipan, Guam, Wolea, Truk,
Mortlock, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Mille, Aurh,
Wotze); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam);
Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong, Babelthuap);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Saipan,
Assongsong, Guam, Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, Peliliu, Angaur,
Wolea, Truk, Mortlock, Lukunor, Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie, Taluit,
Mille, Aurh, Wotze); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Baker,
Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 56 (Rota, Guam,
Peleliu, Ngabad, Ulithi, Truk).

_Anous stolidus unicolor?_ Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt.
8, 1919, p. 547 (Guam).

TABLE 21. MEASUREMENTS OF _Anoüs stolidus_ OF THE PACIFIC AREA

======================================+=====+=========+=========+========
| | | | Exposed
LOCATION | No. | Wing | Tail | culmen
--------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+--------
_Anoüs stolidus ridgwayi_ | 18 | 278 | 158 | 41
Isabella, Cocos, Clipperton Islands | | 260-295 | 147-166 | 38-42
| | | |
_Anoüs stolidus galapagensis_ | 11 | 277 | 151 | 40
Galapagos Islands | | 274-282 | 142-160 | 38-42
| | | |
_Anoüs stolidus pileatus_ | 35 | 281 | 162 | 42
Hawaiian Islands: Nihoa to Midway | | 268-299 | 149-176 | 38-40
| | | |
Wake Islands | 8 | 278 | 159 | 41
| | 273-285 | 152-170 | 39-43
| | | |
Mariana Islands: Guam, Rota | 12 | 280 | 167 | 41
| | 275-288 | 159-187 | 39-43
| | | |
Palau Islands | 9 | 278 | 161 | 41
| | 268-283 | 155-166 | 39-42
| | | |
Caroline Islands | 41 | 282 | 164 | 42
| | 270-291 | 150-173 | 39-45
| | | |
Marshall Islands | 3 | 282 | 164 | 42
| | 270-289 | 154-174 | 41-43
| | | |
Ellice, Phoenix, Danger, Suvarov | 27 | 284 | 162 | 41
Islands | | 265-295 | 152-174 | 39-44
| | | |
Christmas Island | 13 | 287 | 162 | 43
| | 280-292 | 152-174 | 40-46
| | | |
Marquesas Islands | 19 | 282 | 163 | 42
| | 275-291 | 155-170 | 40-43
| | | |
Tuamotu Archipelago | 38 | 287 | 165 | 42
| | 277-299 | 154-173 | 39-46
| | | |
Society, Austral, Cook, Rapa | 16 | 290 | 290 | 43
Islands | | 280-301 | 155-173 | 40-45
| | | |
Oeno, Henderson, Ducie, Easter | 6 | 293 | 164 | 44
Islands | | 154-175 | 154-175 | 41-45
| | | |
Samoa, Fiji, Tonga | 19 | 285 | 164 | 42
| | 153-173 | 153-173 | 39-44
| | | |
Kermadecs, Norfolk | 23 | 276 | 158 | 41
| | 269-289 | 148-173 | 38-43
| | | |
New Hebrides, Solomons, New Guinea | 31 | 278 | 158 | 41
area | | 265-287 | 150-172 | 3 -44
| | | |
Northwest Australia | 9 | 263 | 145 | 40
| | 258-267 | 138-152 | 38-42
| | | |
South China Sea area, Strait of | 4 | 271 | 153 | 39
Malacca | | 262-278 | 148-257 | 37-40
| | | |
Riu Kius, Japan | 5 | 268 | 148 | 39
| | 259-275 | 143-155 | 37-40
| | | |
Indian Ocean area: Seychelles, | 20 | 276 | 154 | 41
Aldebra, Providence, Somaliland | | 270-286 | 146-164 | 39-42
--------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+--------

_Geographic range._--Islands in the Indian Ocean east to tropical
parts of western and central Pacific. In Micronesia: Mariana
Islands--Agrihan, Asuncion, Saipan, Rota, Guam; Palau
Islands--Kayangel, Babelthuap, Koror, Urukthapel, Ngabad, Peleliu,
Angaur; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk, Wolea, Mortlock, Lukunor,
Nukuoro, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands--Jaluit, Mille, Aurh,
Wotze, Bikini, Kwajalein.

_Characters._--Adult: A large, dark-brown tern with grayish crown
and whitish forehead; line above eye white; crescent of white on
lower eyelid; lores blackish; bill black; feet brownish, iris
dark.

Immature: Resembles adult, but lighter and browner and top of head
grayish-brown.

_A. s. pileatus_ resembles _A. s. ridgwayi_, but darker and less
brownish, although not so dark as _A. s. galapagensis_; forehead
and crown usually duller; length of wing and tail average larger
(282 and 161) than in _A. s. ridgwayi_ (278 and 158) and _A. s.
galapagensis_ (277 and 151).

_Measurements._--Measurements of the Common Noddy of the Pacific
area are listed in table 21.

_Weights._--In 1948 (1948:56) I listed the weights of specimens
from Guam and Rota as follows: four adult males 187-204 (197);
three adult females 177-203 (189).

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 92 (43 males, 39 females, 10
unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM--Guam, 7 (May 24, June
15, July 6, 21)--Rota, 3 (Oct. 18, 24); AMNH--Guam, 4 (April 21,
27, Aug. 18)--Asuncion, 1 (Jan. 18); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu,
2 (Sept. 1)--Ngabad, 1 (Sept. 11); AMNH--exact locality not given,
6 (Nov. 3, 8); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 3 (Aug. 15)--Kusaie,
1 (Feb. 8); AMNH--Truk, 15 (Feb. 1, 8, 25, March 10, May 6, June
12, 13, Nov. 25, Dec. 25)--Ponapé, 20 (Dec. 3, 5, 8, 12,
15)--Kusaie, 24 (Jan., March 10-30, April 1-10); Marshall Islands,
USNM--Bikini, 5 (Feb. 28, March 2, 19).

_Nesting._--Murphy (1936:1152) writes that the Atlantic subspecies,
_A. s. stolidus_, breeds in tropical localities every month of the
year, although there may be a part of the resident population away
at sea at any given time. In the Pacific area, Kirby (1925:187)
found nests "on platforms of sticks built on tufts of grass" at
Christmas Island in August. In Micronesia, Coultas obtained young
birds at Kusaie in January and April and commented (field notes)
that they probably nest "spasmodically at all times of the year."
At Ponapé, Coultas observed nests in high trees in December, and
birds obtained by him in that month had enlarged gonads. At Bikini,
Morrison obtained eggs on March 2 and 19, and young on March 19. At
Palau, Coultas took one female tern in postnatal molt on November
8. Adults obtained by him in that month had enlarged gonads. At
Ulithi, the NAMRU2 party recorded one nest containing a single egg
on August 21. At the same atoll the NAMRU2 party received reports
of a large colony of nesting noddys in May to July, 1945. In the
following August few noddies were seen by the NAMRU2 party. McElroy
found nests on cliffs and in coconut trees at Truk in December,
1945. Hartert (1900:10) reports on eggs taken at Truk in the period
from March to July 1. The NAMRU2 party observed birds carrying nest
materials at Peleliu on August 28 but failed to find the nests. At
Guam, the writer found terns in numbers varying from 4 to 75 in May
to July, 1945, along the rocky cliffs but no evidence of nesting
activity was obtained. Strophlet (1946:537) reports that nests may
have been present on Orote Peninsula at Guam on December 13, 1945.
Coultas (field notes) is of the opinion that the birds do not nest
at Guam but do nest farther north in the Marianas. Borror
(1947:417) found two colonies at Agrihan on August 10, 1945. Thus,
there are records of nesting in nine months of the year in
Micronesia; although I suspect that the larger flocks of terns have
more regular breeding habits correlated with their pelagic feeding
activities. "Stragglers" probably nest irregularly.

_Food habits._--The author (1948:56) records small fish and
crustaceans in stomachs of terns taken at Ulithi and Peleliu. At
Ypao Point, Guam, birds were seen to fly back and forth in the day
from their roosts on the sea-cliffs. On one occasion I saw these
birds feeding approximately a half mile from shore.

_Parasites._--Wharton (1946:174) and Wharton and Hardcastle
(1946:292, 296, 306) list the following species of chiggers
(Acarina) from the Common Noddy from Guam and Ulithi:
_Neoschöngastia bougainvillensis_, _N. americana solomonis_, _N.
egretta_, _Acariscus pluvius_, and _A. anous_. Uchida (1918:484,
488) found the bird louse (Mallophaga), _Nirmus separatus_, on
terms at Palau and at Ponapé he found _Colpocephalum milleri_ on
the bird. Bequaert (_in litt._) has identified a fly
(Hippoboscidae) as _Olfersia aenescens_ from a tern from Rota.

_Remarks._--Of the Common Noddy Tern of the Pacific area, three subspecies are recognized by Peters (1934:346-347). _Anoüs stolidus ridgwayi_ is known from islands off the western coast of Mexico and Central America; _A. s. galapagensis_ is recorded from the Galapagos Archipelago; and _A. s. pileatus_ is found on tropical islands throughout the Pacific and west to Madagascar and the African coast in the Indian Ocean. These subspecies differ from one another principally in color, as noted by Ridgway (1919:545); _A. s. galapagensis_ is the darkest form, _A. s. ridgwayi_ is less blackish and more brownish in color of body, and _A. s. pileatus_ is between the two in coloring. _A. s. pileatus_ averages larger in length of wing and tail, but these measurements do not appear to be significant from a taxonomic standpoint.

As shown in table 21, measurements of length of wing for specimens from throughout most of the Pacific area are almost the same. Length of tail is correspondingly uniform. There is a gradual increase in size of birds in the Tuamotus and Societies and east to Easter Island. In this region the average measurement for length of wing is 293 millimeters. The lengths of wing and tails are shorter in specimens from the Kermadecs and Norfolk Island, which may indicate relationships with the smaller birds of the Australian area, Western Melanesia and possibly Malaysia and the Riu Kiu Islands. I am unable to determine the subspecific status of the birds from the Kermadecs and Norfolk Island, because of the lack of sufficient material from the Australian region and Malaysia. Possibly Mathews' name, _A. s. gilberti_, is valid for the noddys of Australia and also for the birds at Norfolk and the Kermadecs. The small-sized birds of the Riu Kiu Islands have been designated as _A. s. pullus_ by Bangs. When specimens from the type locality of _A. s. pileatus_ in the Philippine Islands are available, the true relationships of the populations from Micronesia and the other areas in the Pacific can be ascertained.

The tern found in the Hawaiians has the palest body and the most chalky-white forehead of any of the birds of the Pacific. Bryan (1903:101) found terns from Marcus Island to agree with specimens from Guam and to be "slightly darker" than birds from Midway and Laysan in the Hawaiian chain. The birds from the Riu Kius are darker and thus similar to the few specimens seen from Malaysia. Birds from Polynesia and Melanesia possess the most sooty underparts while those from Micronesia are only slightly less pale. This condition also seems to be true for the birds in the Australian area and for specimens seen from islands in the Indian Ocean. With fading, or wear, or both, there is a change from dusky black to dusky brown in the plumage; effort was made by me to compare specimens with relatively similar conditions of plumage. In summary, the systematic position of the Common Noddy Terns of the Pacific seemingly depends on the characteristics of specimens from the type locality in the Philippines. When topotypes are available for study, they may be found to be nearer the darker forms of Malaysia or may tend toward the paler, oceanic forms. The Hawaiian population probably is distinct.

In Micronesia the Common Noddy Tern is not a conspicuous bird except during its breeding period. Probably it spends most of its life at sea, being unlike _Gygis alba_ in this respect. Large flocks seem less wary of man than are small groups and singles, which are often easily disturbed. Birds of this species appear to prefer the low atolls and offshore islets where both tall vegetation and bare ground are utilized for nesting or roosting. At Ponapé, Coultas (field notes) observed the birds to fly to sea at daybreak and to begin to return to their roosts by 4:00 pm. Wallace (field notes) observed similar activities at Kwajalein in May, 1944, where he saw approximately forty individuals in a flock with _Gygis alba_.

_Anoüs stolidus_ is divided naturally into an Atlantic subspecies, which is distinguished by its browner color, and into several subspecies which are distinguished by their blacker color in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Whether the genus and species evolved in the Atlantic or in the Pacific region is not known. If it were the Pacific region, the center of differentiation may very well have been the islands of Oceania. There, relatively little variation is observable within populations covering a large area. To the eastward, birds along the American coast are darker or lighter, to the northward, the birds of Hawaii are paler, to the southward and southwestward, the birds are smaller and to the westward, the birds are smaller and darker. The virtual absence of ground-living, predatory animals which might prey on nesting colonies has probably been a reason for the lack of discrimination by this tern in selecting breeding sites. This is probably true of other birds which nest in colonies.

=Anous tenuirostris marcusi= (Bryan)

White-capped Noddy

_Micranous marcusi_ Bryan, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 2,
1903, p. 101. (Type locality, Marcus Island.)

_Sterna tenuirostris_ Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le
Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, 308 (Ualan, Ouleai); _idem_, Denkw.
Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 64 (Ualan).

_Anous tenuirostris_ Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
1872, pp. 90, 113 (Pelew, Carolines); Finsch, Journ. Mus.
Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 6, 42 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause,
Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330 (Mortlock,
Nukuor); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan).

_Anous melanogenys_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878),
p. 781 (Palau); _idem_, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295, 308
(Ponapé, Kuschai); _idem_, Ibis, 1880, pp. 219, 220, 332 (Taluit,
Arno); _idem_, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); _idem_,
Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponape); Salvadori, Ornith.
Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 456 (Pelew, Ponapé, Marshalls); Finsch,
Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Jaluit, Arno, Kuschai);
Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6,
1890-1901 (1891), p. 77 (Pelew, Ualan, Ponapé, Nukuor, Luganor,
Ruk); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 238 (Ualan);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ruk); Kuroda, in
Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Pelew, Ruk, Wolea,
Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls).

_Anous leucocapillus_ Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877
(1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 410
(Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy,
1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p.
52 (Jaluit); Tristram, Cat. Coll. Birds, 1889, p. 10 (Pelew);
Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 457 (Pelew); Wiglesworth,
Abhandl. und Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p.
77 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8,
1896, p. 60 (Saypan, Palaos, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé,
Kuschai, Bonham); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68
(Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p.
20 (Saipan?); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Marianas); _idem_, The
Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20,
1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.,
9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam).

_Micranous leucocapillus_ Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25,
1896, p. 145 (Pelew, Caroline Islands); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers.,
1899, p. 222 (Kusai); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk);
Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Pelew).

_Megalopterus minutus marcusi_ Mathews, Birds Australia, 2, 1912,
p. 423 (Marianas?); Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8,
1919, p. 553 (Mariannes?); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum,
1, 1927, p. 146 (Mariannes); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2,
1932, p. 343 (Mariannes).

_Megalopterus tenuirostris leucocapillus_ Kuroda, in Momiyama,
Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Saipan, Pelew, Ruk, Ponapé,
Kusaie).

_Megalopterus minutus minutus_ Fisher and Wetmore, Proc. U. S.
Nat. Mus., 79, 1931, p. 45 (Caroline Islands).

_Anous minutus worcesteri_ Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 409
(Coror, Namo, Iringlab); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p.
195 (Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon,
Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk); Yamashina,
Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong, Saipan); Hand-list Japanese
Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Assongsong, Saipan, Babelthuap,
Koror, Peliliu, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon, Namorik, Jaluit,
Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk).

_Anous minutus marcusi_ Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934,
p. 347 (Caroline Islands).

_Anous minutus_ Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 82 (Ponapé); _idem_,
Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 253 (Ponapé,
Palau).

_Anous tenuirostris marcusi_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 27 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no.
15, 1948, p. 56 (Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk).

_Geographic range._--Marcus, Wake, and Micronesia. In Micronesia:
Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Saipan, Guam?; Palau
Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi,
Truk, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Wolea; Marshall Islands--Ebon,
Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk.

_Characters._--Adult: A small tern with sooty-black plumage,
grayer on rump and tail; forehead and crown white becoming grayer
on nape to merge with blackish on shoulder; narrow, black
superciliary stripe; lores black, lower eyelid with white streak,
upper eyelid with white spot. Resembles _A. t. melanogenys_ but
wing and tail longer and superciliary stripe narrower. Resembles
_A. t. minutus_ but with narrower, black superciliary stripe.

Immature: Resembles adult, but crown more whitish, this coloration
ending abruptly at nape, with mottling in some birds; plumage of
body with brownish wash.

_Measurements._--Measurements are listed in table 22.