Anas crecca creccaLinnaeus

Anas QuerquedulaLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

Anas querquedulaMarshall, 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 CreccaLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

Querquedula crecca creccaHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Pagan).

Anas crecca creccaHand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Pagan).

Anas creccaMayr, 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 carolinensisGmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 533. (Type locality, Carolina to Hudson Bay.)

Anas carolinensisReichenow, 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 carolinensisHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Marshall Islands).

Anas crecca carolinensisHand-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 acutaLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

Dafila acuta acutaHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 185 (Pagan).

Anas acuta acutaHand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 206 (Pagan).

Anas acutaMayr, 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 tzitzihoaVieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 5, 1816, p. 163. (Type locality, Mexico,exHernandez.)

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

Anas acutaSchnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls); Phillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 2, 1923, p. 316 (Jaluit).

Anas acuta tzitzihoaHand-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 penelopeLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 126. (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

Anas penelopeFinsch, 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 penelopeFinsch, 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 clypeataLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 124. (Type locality, Coasts of Europe, restricted to southern Sweden.)

Spatula clypeataHand-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 clypeataMayr, 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.

Anas fuligulaLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 128. (Type locality, Europe, restricted to Sweden.)

Fuligula cristataHartlaub 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 fuligulaSalvadori, 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 fuligulaMcGregor, Man. Philippine Birds, 1909, p. 199 (Marianne, Pelew).

Nyroca fuligulaPhillips, 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 fuligulaHand-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.

Anas valisineriaWilson, Amer. Ornith., 8, 1814, p. 103, pl. 70, f. 5. (Type locality, Eastern United States.)

Nyroca valilisineriaReichenow, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 17 (Jaluit); Schnee, Ornith. Monatsber., 1901, p. 131 (Marshalls);idem, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall Inseln).

Nyroca valisineriaPhillips, Nat. Hist. Ducks, 3, 1923, p. 124 (Marshall Islands).

Aythya valisineriaHand-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 tzitzihoaandAnas crecca carolinensis) in the Marshalls in October, 1899, and May, 1900. These species may be stragglers to eastern Micronesia.

Falco SoloënsisHorsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, 1821, p. 137. (Type locality, Java.)

Accipiter soloënsisHand-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 beenButastur 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.

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

Accipiter nisoidesOustalet, 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 gularisKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 39 (Guam).

Accipiter virgatus gularisHand-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 nisoidesBryan, 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 haliaëtus melvillensisMathews, Australian Avium Rec., 1, 1912, p. 34. (Type locality, Melville Island.)

Pandion leucocephalusFinsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 49 (Palau).

Pandion haliaetus leucocephalusWiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 1 (Pelew).

Pandion haliaëtus cristatusKuroda, 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 melvillensisMayr, 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 beenP. 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 japonensisGmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 1, 1788, p. 257. (Type locality, Off the coast of Japan.)

Falco peregrinusHartlaub 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 calidusKuroda, 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. fruitiiMomiyama, which is known from the Volcano Islands, may occur in Micronesia.

Megapodius senexHartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 820. (Type locality, Pelew Islands.)

Megapodius senexHartlaub 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 laperousiiOgilvie-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 laperousiSeale (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 laperousiivar.senexDubois, Syn. Avium, 2, 1904, p. 787 (Pelew).

M[egapodius] lapeyrouseiReichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 273 (Palauinseln).

Megapodius laperousei senexKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Pelew).

Megapodius lapérouse senexMathews, 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 senexHand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 223 (Babelthuap, Koror, Auror, Ngesebus, Peliliu, Gayangas, Arumidin).

Megapodius laperouseWharton 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 minorandLipeurus 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." Takatsukasacontinues, "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 La PérouseGaimard, Bull. Gén. Univ. Annon. Nouv. Sci., 2, 1823, 451. (Type locality, Tinian, Archipel des Mariannes.)

Megapodius La PérouseQuoy 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 PérousiiQuoy 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 PeyrouseLesson, Man. d'Ornith., 2, 1828, p. 221 (Tinian);idem, Compl. de Buffon, 2d ed., 2, Ois., 1838, p. 255 and accompanying plate (Tinian).

Megapodius laperousiiLesson, 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 LapeyrousiiHartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen).

Megapodius La PeyrousiiReichenbach, Tauben, 1861, p. 5 (Marianen).

Megapodius la-perousiGray, 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 perouseiFinsch, 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 laperousiiOgilvie-Grant (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 22, 1893, p. 460 (Marianne).

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

Megapodius laperouseHartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 61 (Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Guam).

Megapodius laperouseiFinsch, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 ser., 1900, p. 660 (Marianen); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 87 (Marianen).

Megapodius lapeyrouseMatschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 113 (Guam, Saipan).

M[egapodius] lapeyrouseiReichenow (part), Die Vögel, 1, 1913, p. 273 (Mariannen).

Megapodius laperousei laperouseiKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 40 (Guam, Saipan, Rota, Tinian, Pagan, Agrigan).

Megapodius lapérouse lapérouseMathews, 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 laperousiBryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 15 (Guam).

Megapodius la pérouse la pérouseHand-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: ResemblesM. 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. senexandM. 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 genusMegapodiusconsists, 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. pritchardiiGray of Niuafou Island andM. lapérouseof Micronesia are remarkably distinct which may indicate their early arrival at these islands and subsequent change from their ancestral stocks.

LikeM. 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 ofM. pritchardiiare lightly constructed. In comparing these birds with the species of megapode found in the Philippines, Celebes and Melanesia, it seems that bothM. pritchardiiandM. Lapérouseare closely related to the widespread species,M. freycinet, which may have been ancestral to both. The differences betweenM. prichardiiandM. lapérouseindicate 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. lapérousediffers fromM. freycinetof 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; possiblyM.lapérouserepresents 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 ofMegapodiusas belonging to one polytypic species, exceptM. lapérouseandM. pritchardii, which are allopatric species.

Back to Index Next