Gallinago megalaSwinhoe

Tringa InterpresLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 148. (Type locality, Europe and North America, restricted to Gotland, Sweden.)

Tringa interpresQuoy and Gaimard, Voy. "Uranie," Zool., 1824, p. 708 (Guam).

Strepsila collarisKittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Lougounor, Guahan);idem, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 32 (Ualan).

Strepsilas interpresKittlitz, Denk. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, pp. 32, 55, 86 (Ualan); Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 117 (Mariannen); Finsch and Hartlaub, Fauna Ornith. Centralpolynesian, 1867, p. 200 (Mariannen); Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 831 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 104 (Pelew, Uap, Mackenzie); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 32 (Palau);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé);idem, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 330, 332 (Taluit);idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 306 (Ponapé, Kuschai);idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk);idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 330, 353 (Ponapé, Nukuor, Ruk); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 289 (Pelew, Mariannis); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56 (Jaluit, Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891); p. 63 (Ualan, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Mackenzie, Pelew, Marianne); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 45 (Guam, Saypan, Hogoleu, Marshalls, Mackensie, Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam);idem, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Ponapé); Uchida, Annot. Zool. Japon., 9, 1918, p. 489 (Ponapé).

Cinclus interpresGray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 48 (Ladrones).

Arenaria interpresSharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 92 (Micronesia); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 37 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas);idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 (Marshall Islands); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam), Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 316, 320 (Guam, Peleliu); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 105 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 53 (Guam, Rota, Peleliu, Truk).

Arenaria interpres oahuensisWetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 66, 1919, p. 177 (Jaluit, Rongelab, Uala); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Guam, Saipan, Pelew, Angaur, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Yap, Mackenzie, Taluit, Rongelab).

Arenaria interpres interpresRidgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 45 (Micronesia); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 194 (Guam, Saipan, Anguar, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Ruk, Yap, Mackenzie, Taluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, Wotze, Likieb); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 (Guam, Saipan, Angaur, Kusaie, Ponapé, Luganor, Ruk, Yap, Mackenzie, Taluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, Wotze, Likieb); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 8 (Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Kusaie).

Geographic range.—Breeds in northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Winters to Southern Hemisphere. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Rota, Saipan; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu, Caroline Islands—Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lugunor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands—Jaluit, Rongelab, Mille, Majuro, Wotze, Likieb, Bikini.

Specimens examined.—Total number, 36 (17 males, 16 females, 3 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands. USNM—Guam, 7 (Oct. 10-26)—Rota, 2 (Oct. 20, Nov. 2); AMNH—Guam, 4 (Mar. 22, 27, Aug. 18); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 8); AMNH—exact locality not given, 3 (Dec. 8); Caroline Islands, USNM—Truk, 1 (Dec. 22); AMNH—Ponapé, 4 (Dec. 16)—Truk, 4 (Feb. 5, 7, July 14)—Kusaie, 7 (Mar. 10-30); Marshall Islands, USNM—Bikini, 3 (Feb. 26, Mar. 4).

Weights.—The NAMRU2 party obtained the weights of four males taken at Guam and Rota as 77-99 (92) and one female from Guam as 90. These birds were obtained in October and November.

Parasites.—Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:316, 320) list the following chiggers (Acarina) from the Turnstone from Guam and Peleliu:Neoschöngastia carveriandN. strongi. Wharton (1946:174) records alsoAcariscus anousfrom the Turnstone at Guam. Uchida (1918:489) records the bird louse (Mallophaga),Colpocephalum pediculoides, from this bird at Ponapé.

Remarks.—The Turnstone is a regular visitor to Micronesia and to most other parts of Oceania. As pointed out by Stickney (1943:8), the material obtained by the Whitney South Sea Expedition yields evidence that the population which winters in Oceania is as widespread as that ofPluvialis dominica fulvabut less abundant. The writer's observations at Guam, Ulithi and the Palaus are in agreement with this evidence. Stickney suggests that the reason theTurnstone was not recorded by the Whitney South Sea Expedition in eastern Polynesia was because of "a tendency of the turnstone to hug the continental coasts more closely, avoiding extensive overseas migrations."

At Guam in 1945, the NAMRU2 party recorded the Turnstone on its northward migration as late as March 19; on its southward migration it was first seen at Guam on July 24. On its southward migration the bird was not numerous until September. Our observations indicated that in 1945, the principal waves of migration of the Turnstone appeared approximately two weeks after those of the Pacific Golden Plover and the Whimbrel. Stickney remarks that the spring migratory season in Oceania is completed in May and that the fall migratory season begins in August. Borror (1947:417) found small flocks on the beaches at Agrihan on August 10 and 11, 1945.

Bryan and Greenway (1944:112) indicate that the subspecies,Arenaria interpres morinella, which breeds in North America, east of Point Barrow, Alaska, may reach the Hawaiians. Careful examination of specimens from eastern Micronesia might reveal its presence there also. The nameAreneria interpres oahuensis(Bloxham) may apply to specimens from eastern Micronesia but Peters (1934:271) considersoahuensisto be inseparable fromArenaria interpres interpres(Linnaeus).

Gallinago megalaSwinhoe, Ibis, 1861, p. 343. (Type locality, Between Takoo and Pekin, China.

Gallinago heteroeacaFinsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 36 (Palau).

Gallinago megalaSalvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 337 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 67 (Pelew); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 624 (Pelew); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 33 (Mariannas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Mariannas);idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam);idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1665 (Palau, Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 (Guam, Palau); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Angaur).

Subspilura megalaKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 49 (Guam, Pelew).

Capella megalaHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 (Guam, Koror); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Robinson and Chasen, Birds Malay Peninsula, 3, 1936, p. 170 (Pelew, Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 316 (Guam, Koror).

Geographic range.—Breeds in east-central Asia. Winters south to Malaysia, Australia, and parts of Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Koror, Angaur.

Specimens examined.—One female from Palau Islands, USNM—Angaur (Sept. 21).

Remarks.—The Marsh Snipe is a regular visitor to western Micronesia, being recorded from the Mariana and Palau islands. At Angaur on September 21, 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed four birds at the edge of a brackish water swamp, which was margined with reeds and other vegetation. Birds were not seen on tidal beaches at Peleliu. Strophlet (1946:537) records the Marsh Snipe at Guam on October 21 and December 3, 1945.

Scolopax GallinagoLinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 147. (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.)

Capella gallinago roddeiTakatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 224 (Saipan).

Capella gallinago gallinagoHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 (Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 216 (Saipan).

Gallinago gallinagoMayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 (Saipan).

Geographic range.—Breeds in northern Eurasia. Winters in southern part of breeding range and south to Africa and east to Malaysia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Saipan.

Remarks.—From Micronesia there is a single record of the taking of this bird at Saipan, apparently by Japanese collectors. It is probably an occasional straggler to the area, but owing to its similarity toGallinago megalait may not often be recognized in the field.

Trynga albaPallas, in Vroeg's Cat., 1764, Adumbr., p. 7. (Type locality, Coast of the North Sea.)

Calidris arenariaFinsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 331, 332 (Taluit);idem, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 56 (Jaluit); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 33 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes);idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln).

Tringa arenariaWiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Taluit); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, pp. 65, 69 (Guam).

Calidris albaRidgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 308 (Marshall Islands).

Crocethia albaKuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 48 (Taluit, Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 (Taluit, Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Jaluit, Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 9 (Guam, Jaluit); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 44 (Marianas, Marshalls); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Ulithi).

Geographic range.—Breeds in Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Winters to Southern Hemisphere. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Caroline Islands—Ulithi; Marshall Islands—Jaluit.

Specimens examined.—Total number, 5 (2 males, 3 females), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH—Guam, 4 (Dec. 2-4); Caroline Islands, USNM, 1 (Aug. 21).

Remarks.—Stickney (1943:8, 9) summarizes the available information concerning the Sanderling in Oceania. The bird may beclassed as a regular visitor in eastern Micronesia; the most western record is from Ulithi in the western Carolines. It has been recorded also at Guam and Jaluit.

The NAMRU2 party secured one Sanderling from a flock of approximately thirty birds containing this species andCharadrius mongolus stegmanniat Pau Island, Ulithi Atoll, on August 21, 1945.

Totanus tenuirostrisHorsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 1, 1821, p. 192. (Type locality, Java.)

Calidris tenuirostrisBaker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 54 (Peleliu).

Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Siberia. Winters from India east to Malaysia and Australia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—Peleliu.

Specimens examined.—Four males from Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu (Sept. 16).

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.

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

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

Limonites minutaTakatsukasa and Kudora, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Pelew).

Pisobia ruficollisRidgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 290 (Pelew).

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

Calidris ruficollis ruficollisHand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Palau, Ulithi).

Calidris minuta ruficollisMayr, 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 smallflocks 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 ofErolia acuminata.

Tringa subminutaMiddendorff, 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 subminutaHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Koror).

Calidris minutilla subminutaHand-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.

Tringa melanotosVieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 34, 1819, p. 462. (Type locality, Paraguay.)

Pisobia melanotaHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Ponapé).

Calidris melanotosHand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Ponapé).

Calidris melanotaMayr, 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.

Totanus acuminatusHorsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 1, 1821, p. 192. (Type locality, Java.)

Tringa acuminataHartlaub 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 acuminataSharpe, 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 maculatavar.acuminataOustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3) 8, 1896, p. 44 (Pagan, Palaos).

Pisobia acuminataRidgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 276 (Caroline Islands).

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

Pisobia acuminatusHand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Ponapé, Truk, Pagan, Jaluit, Koror).

Calidris acuminataHand-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 withErolia minuta ruficollis,Limicola falcinellus sibirica,Tringa glareola, and other shore birds.

Tringa ferrugineusPontoppidan, Danske Atlas, 1, 1763, p. 624. (No type locality = Denmark.)

Calidris ferrugineaBaker, 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 sibiricaDresser, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1876, p. 674. (Type locality, Siberia and China.)

Limicola falcinellus sibiricaBaker, 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.

Tringa lobataLinnaeus, 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 argentatusBrünn. var.VegaePalmén, in Nordenskiöld, Vega-Exped. Vetensk. Iakttag., 5, 1887, p. 370. (Type locality, Pidlin, northeastern Siberia.)

Larus vegaeOustalet, 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 vegaeTakatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas).

Larus argentatus vegaeKuroda, 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 orLarus ridibundus, at Lake Susupe, Saipan, in 1945.

Sterna leucopteraTemminck, Man. d'Ornith., 1815, p. 483. (Type locality, Coasts of the Mediterranean.)

Hydrochelidon leucopteraOustalet, 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 leucopteraHand-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 longipennisNordmann, in Erman's Verz. Thier. Pflanz., 1835, p. 17. (Type locality, Mouth of the Kutchui River, Sea of Okhotsk.)

Sterna longipennisHartlaub 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 longipennisHand-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 theGodeffroy Museum. These are the only records for the occurrence of the Black-billed Common Tern in Micronesia.

Sterna SumatranaRaffles, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 13, pt. 2, 1822, p. 329. (Type locality, Sumatra.)

Sterna melanauchenKittlitz, 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 sumatranaWetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 186 (Arhno).

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

Gygisterna sumatrana sumatranaKuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 192 (Carolines, Pelews).

Sterna sumatrana sumatranaYamashina, 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 intable 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).

Back to Index Next