/ st (eer a Aad Pay. . Ee ee. een ee ee ror Y TO THE BIRDS OF THE HAWAIIAN GROUP. BY WILLIAM ALANSON BRYAN, CURATOR OF ORNITHOLOGY IN THE MUSEUM. HONOLULU, H, I.: BISHOP MUSEUM PRESS. IQOI. si ile ibs, 4 ‘sg Re levee | ‘ . Or Ew ORD. of the collection of birds in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, which institution now possesses the most representative collection of the Hawaiian avifauna extant. The collection at this time num- bers upwards of six hundred specimens, embracing the famous Mills collection, a series of skins colleéed by Mr. Palmer for the Rothschild museum, a valuable collection made by, Mia Re Csr. Perkins, together with collections by Messrs. W. H. Hall, F. Gay, A. F. Judd, and others. To the above collection almost daily additions are now being made through the efforts of the Museum’s skilled collector, Mr. A. Seale. By the Hawaiian possessions it is intended to include all of the chain composed of some twenty or more islands lying in the central North Pacific ocean, stretching over an area extending from about 150° West Longitude to 175° East Longitude, and from 18° to 30° North Latitude. Though following the scheme usually adopted by systematic zoologists in the making of ana- lytical keys there is some slight difference in the arrangement of the text. Since it may be necessary for persons not entirely familiar with keys to make use of the following pages, it might be well to say that the fundamental characters are used for the separation and identification of species instead of lengthy and oftentimes misleading detailed descriptions. To facilitate this, dichotomous antithesis is strictly adhered to, so that there are but two alternatives; the specimen must conform to the characters given, for example, under a, or the whole matter under a,—that is, the sub-heads b, bb, ¢, ce, etc., (if there are any) must be passed over until aa is arrived at, which is of equal value with and the only alternative of the division a. If it is settled that the specimen corresponds with the characters given under aa, the next step is to settle between the heads b and bb, then pass to ¢ and cc, and so on, taking up the characters in their natural order until finally the reference page is given, where the key will be found continued. ‘Thus the key to the higher orders will be found on the last pages of the Memoir, and will indicate the order to which the bird belongs and the page where the order is treated. Similarly the order will be broken up into families, the families into genera, and lastly the genera into species. The index letters are in bold type, and characters of equal value are placed immediately under each other, while the minor divisions are indented farther and farther to the right. Hence bb is found set in an equal distance from the left-hand margin as b; ec is still farther indented, but the same distance as ¢, while the body of the text extends the full distance across the page. The measurements are, for the most part, taken from specimens in the Bishop Museum, and are given in English inches and hundredths. The length of the wing is measured from the bend (7. e., the carpal joint) to the tip of the longest primary. The length of the tail is from the apparent base to the tip of longest feather. The length of the culmen is the distance from the base of the upper mandible on top to the tip of the same in a straight line. This measurement, as well as all of the more exact ones, are best taken with the dividers. The depth of the bill is a vertical line from [259] (4i1) iv Foreword. the base of the upper mandible through both mandibles. The length of the tarsus is measured from - the enlargement on the front outside of the tibio-tarsal (7. ¢., the ‘‘knee’’) joint to the more or less obvi- ous beginning of the middle toe. ‘The middle toe is measured in a straight line along the top from the last-mentioned point to the tip of the nail. In bringing together the key I have made free and frequent use of the catalogue of birds in the British Museum, and Ridgway’s Manual of North American Birds, together with the valuable con- tributions to our knowledge of the Hawaiian ornithology—Aves Hawaiiensis, by Messrs. Wilson and Evans, and Avifauna of Laysan, etc. I have also had at hand the published notes of Messrs. Gadow, Dole, Perkins, Stejneger, and others. In addition to the above I have had the pleasure of examining the material in the National Museum at Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Academy of Science, the British Museum, Tring Museum, and the Jardin des Plantes. To all of these sources of information I would make grateful acknowledgement of the service they have rendered. WM. ALANSON BRYAN. [ 260 | Brrps OF THE HAWAIIAN GROUP. Order LONGIPENNES.—Long-winged Swimmers. Families. With the lower mandible not longer than the upper one and only moderately compressed, while the covering of the upper mandible is made up of one solid piece (7. ¢., with the seams fused together, no “nail” at the tip, etce.), through which the nostrils are pierced. Famity LARIDAY.—GuLis AnD TERNS. Genera. a. Bill rather short, and deeper at the angle than at the nasal openings; the upper mandible longer and bent down over the lower one; tail usually even (Sub- family Zarzv@); tarsus not roughened nor serrate behind; hind toe moderately well developed; culmen more than two-thirds the length of tarsus; nostrils linear or linear Sere NE en aes corte Ga Rea ET ee ES (Page 6.) Larus. aa. Bill slender with both mandibles about equal in length; tail slightly or de- cidedly forked; angle of the lower mandible not prominent. (Sub-family Svernzne.) b. Tail more or less deeply forked; head without plumes at the gape; tar- sus shorter than the middle toe and claw; outer tail feathers the longest, and pointed; tail generally more than half the length of the wing; bill compressed and slender; tarsus never exceeding and generally shorter than the middle toe and claw; depth of bill at base less than one-third the exposed culmen......------: (Page 7.) Stertia. bb. Tail graduated, pointed; outer pair shorter than the next pair; middle toe shorter than the exposed culmen; distance from the angle of the gonys to the tip of the bill less than to the gape. c. Tail feathers not all pure white. d. Fourth pair of tail feathers from the outside the longest; mie te EMAtl ©, 50.0.5 += - 6 os eee bs He Sn eee eee eee sees (Page 9.) Arrotis. dd. Third pair of tail feathers from the outside the longest; “CE TLESS Ito (6) ee e (Page 9.) Microan’ots. cc. Tail feathers all pure white....,.-.++:s+ree- (Page 9g.) Gygis. (5) I For the Key to the Higher Orders see last pages of the Memoir, [261] 6 BIRDS OF THE HAWAIIAN GROUP. Genus LA'RUS Linnaus. a. Head entirely white in the summer adults. b. Primaries uniform pale grey, with no black, and fading gradually into white at the tips (larger, wing more than 16.00). Head, neck, tail and under parts white; mantle grey; the scapulars and secondaries white at their tips. Female smaller, often considerably so. Adult in winter: Mottled and streaked with pale brown on the head and neck; back and under parts also mottled. /mmature: The mottling on the upper surface gradually disappears and for a short time the bird ap- pears to be a creamy white. Young: Both the upper and under surface streaked and mottled with ash-brown on a paler ground color; the feathers of the mantle margined with buffish white which produces a creamy appearance; upper and under coverts rather boldly marked with brown (Saunders). Length about 25.00-28.00, wing 16.25— 18.00 (17.12), tail 7.00-7.50, culmen 2.30-2.70, tarsus 2.40-2.78 (2.57), middle toe with claw 2.35-2.75 (2.55). Had. Bering Sea and adjacent waters northward to Point Barrow; southward in winter to Japan (Ridgway). Kauai,’ Maui. I. VL. barrovianus' Ripcw. Point Barrow Gull. bb. Primaries marked with distinct white tips and dark (black) subtermi- nal spaces; the two outer primaries with a distinct grey wedge on the inner web in the summer adults; depth of bill through the angle .50 or more; mantle blue-grey or dark pearl-grey in adults. c. Larger, length 20.00-23.00, culmen 1.65-2.15, mantle darker grey than in the following species; scapulars and secondaries broadly tipped with white; the outer primary with a large portion of black; the first, chiefly black with about 2.00 of the terminal portion white: the second, with a small grey wedge basally; the third, fourth and fifth, black with white tips and increasing grey wedges; bill, bright yellow with an irregularly shaped spot of intense carmine near the tip of the lower mandible, and a dark spot or bar usually anterior to this on one or both mandi- bles. Female smaller and duller in color. Adult in wenter- Like the above but head and neck streaked with greyish brown. /mmature: Autumn birds of the second year show grey on the mantle: upper tail coverts begin to show grey at their bases; tail feathers more uniform umber brown than before, though the coverts are whiter; under parts whitish brown without distinct spots; bill yellower at the base. Young: Much darker brown throughout; no signs of grey on the secondaries nor the basal portion of the inner primaries, the paler inner webs being nearly dull brown; tail coverts ) ? The single specimen in the Museum collection is one of two taken on the island of Kauai by Mr. Francis Gay. Both specimens were taken late in the autumn months. While neither s pecimen agrees as closely with the descriptions at hand as would be desirable, I have seen fit to refer them to barvovianus, believing them to be immature birds of that form. his is probably the undetermined species mentioned by Kittlitz. The following measurements are taken from the Museum specimen No. 9305: Length 25.50, culmen 2.00, tail 6.50, tarsus 2.85, toe 2.75; locality, Kauai, H. I.; date, 1899, autumn. There is also a specimen in the cabinet of St. Louis College, Honolulu, taken on Maui by Brother Matthias. 3 Larus glaucus, Briinn, from Laysan (Dr. Schauinsland); Hawaii (Henshaw, in Auk, Vol. XVIL., p. 201) [262] LARID A: 7 broadly and closely barred; tail feathers umber brown with dull white tips; bill brownish basally, black terminally; tarsi and toes brown; wing 15.00-16.75, depth of bill at the angle .60-.75, tarsus 2.00-2.60, middle toe and claw about 2.10. //ad. Western North America, wintering on the Pacific coast. Hawaiian Islands (accidental; one specimen in St. Louis College cabinet). 2. VL. californ'icus Lawr. California Gull. ec. Smaller, length 18.co-20.00; mantle lighter grey; bill with a black band in adult. Adult: Bill greenish yellow, crossed near the end by a distinct black band; tip sometimes orange; feet pale yellow. /mmature: Head slightly streaked; mantle grey with a few brown feathers about the bend of the wing; outer primary without indication of a white spot; tail feathers white with the remains of the broad dark subter- minal band. Young: Above brownish dusky varied with dull buffish white; quills black- ish, the shorter ones greyish basally with white tips; bill blackish, paler at the base; wing 13.25-15.25, culmen 1.55-1.75, depth of bill at angle .50-.65. HZab. Whole of North America. Hawaiian Islands (accidental; one specimen in St. Louis College cabinet). 3. LL. delawaren'sis Orp. Ring-billed Gu'l. aa. Head uniform black or dusky in summer adults; lower parts, rump ard tail pure white; mantle grey; tarsus not longer than the middle toe and claw; wing more than 10.00 (culmen more than 1.00); bill reddish brown, with a darker subterminal band; head and upper part of the neck plumbeous black with a conspicu- ous elongated white patch both above and below the eye; lower parts white with a rosy blush in freshly killed birds; the secondaries broadly edged with white; primaries all tipped with white and all bluish grey next the shafts on the upper part, except the outermost which has the outer web black and some white on the inner web, with a black subterminal bar. Female similar. Adult winter: Like above with the head white, spotted and mottled with blackish on the upper surface. /mmature: Similar, but with a larger proportion of black in the primaries. Length 13.50, tail 4.25, tarsus 1.47, toe with claw 1.50, culmen 1.25, depth of bill at gonys .32, wing 11.25. //ab. Interior of North America from Iowa northward, breeding; south to Middle America and Western South America to Peru. Maui.! 4. VL. franklin'ii Sw. & Ricu. Franklin’s Gull. Genus STERNA LInNN&zUS. a. Crown black in the breeding plumage (more or less varied with white in winter); wings rarely over 12.00; both webs of the outer tail feathers white at the base. b. Mantle, back of neck, rump, upper tail coverts and all the tail feathers except the outer ones (streamers) uniform sooty black; forehead and superciliary stripe white; superciliary stripe not reaching back over the eye; under parts white with a greyish tinge on the abdomen; bill and feet black. Wernter adult: Like above except 4The above description and measurements are based on the single wzufer specimen in the cabinet of St. Louis College, Oahu. The specimen was taken by Brother Matthias on Maui, and is the first record of the species being taken here, [263 8 BIRDS OF THE HAWAITAN GROUP. with white flecked through the black of lores and crown. Youngs’ Brownish black above, darkest on the upper wing coverts; outer tail feathers almost as sooty black as middle ones, except towards their tips. /alf-fledged birds: Feathers of the mantle are blackish with broad white tips. Length 15.00-17.00, wings 11.75—12.00, tail 7.00- 7.50 (forked for more than 3.00), tarsus .g5-1.00, toe .gg—1.05, culmen 1.80-1.85, depth of bill .45-.48, gonys .85. //ab. Tropical and juxta-tropical seas. Hawaiian Islands. Pl, XVAE, omssnon55: 5. S. fuligino'sa Gmer. Sooty Tern. bb. Back, rump, tail coverts, wing coverts, outer edge of secondaries and tail feathers, except the outer pair, dark sooty grey; crown, lores and nape black; primaries chiefly smoky grey with the white wedges on the inner webs; wings never less than 10.00; under parts and forehead, white; whzle superciliary stripe extending back over the eye. Wenter adult: Similar to the above, but showing more white in the forehead. Young: Mantle with more brownish tinge of grey; head mottled black and white; wing 10.75, culmen 1.60, tarsus .85, toe 1.15. 7ab. Central Pacific Ocean. Laysan, etc. 6. S. luna'ta (PEALE). Grey-backed Tern. aa. Crown always white, sometimes with a brownish tinge; nape, orbit and ear coverts black; mantle pale grey; in front of the eye a black triangular patch, the point of which does not reach to the base of the bill; from the eyes a black band ex- tending about the back of the head; band broadened and more or less prolonged down the back of the neck; neck and under parts white; mantle and rump pearl grey; shafts of the primaries white; outer primary with the outer web blackish, streak next the shaft on the inner web blackish or greyish black. W7znter adult:’ Similar, with less black about the head. /mmature: Similar to the above, but there is a brownish tinge to the back of the nape, the wing coverts are ash-grey, and a dark line runs along the carpal joint (Saunders). Young: Forehead and crown buffish white with a black streak which becomes confluent on the nape; feathers of the mantle and tail grey, barred with ash-brown and tipped with buff. Length about 13.25-13.50, wing g.50-10.00, tail 3.90-4.40, bill 1.25-1.40, tarsus .75-.80, toe .g5-1.00. Aad. Southern and Western Pacific Ocean, north through Polynesia generally, the Philippine Islands and China. Its range appears to depend in a great measure upon the existence of coral islands of a certain size, and is probably still more extensive (Saunders). Kauai; accidental. 7. §. melanau'chen TEmm. 5 A September bird from Laysan Island has the head and neck dark sooty brown; lighter sooty brown below, extending back to the abdomen and over the flanks; belly white; tail uniform blackish brown, both inner and outer webs tipped with dirty white; upper tail coverts, rump, and greater wing coverts uniform with the tail; lesser wing coverts darker, edged with fulvous or whitish; edge of wing white, under wing coverts stone-grey. Length about 14.75, wing 10.25, tail 5.25, tarsus .90, toe.1.05, bill 1.25, gonys .45, depth of bill .35. As may be seen by the above the bill pattern is totally different from adult /u/ig/nosa as well as some slight variation in all of the other measure- ments. It was with difficulty that the specimen was made out /u/iginosa. 6’‘The two specimens in the Museum were taken at Mana, Kauai, by Mr. A. F. Judd during the winter of 1892-3. Both have the white foreheads assumed by this species, while the remainder of the plumage is badly worn. This seems to be the first record of this species being taken in the Hawaiian Islands. The above measurements are taken from these specimens. The 5S. derg7i of Dole has never been noted from Hawaii since his early reference to it, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1869, p. 306. Bergi? is, in general appearance, somewhat similar to melanauchen, though the former is much the larger (length .20-.21, wing 14.25, bill 2.05). [264 | LARIDA. 9 Genus ANOUS LeEacu. Plumage uniform sooty brown, becoming hoary on the forehead and top of the head (larger, wing 10.30-11.00); crown and forehead lavender-grey. Sawmmer adult: Forehead nearly white at the base of bill, passing to lavender-grey, which becomes lav- ender on the hind neck; primaries and tail feathers nearly black. Adult female: Simi- lar, but a trifle smaller and with a weaker bill. Young similar. Length 13.00-16.25, wing 10.30-11.00, culmen 1.70-1.75, tarsus .go-.93, tail 5.90-6.25, toe 1.52-1.55, depth of beak .40. Hab. Tropical and juxta-tropical seas, wide-ranging. Hawaiian Islands. Pl. XVI., 7903, 9157; XVII., 7900. 8. A. stollidus? (Linn.). Noddy. Genus MICROANOUS Saunpe_Ers. Middle toe and claw shorter than the exposed culmen, bill slender and long; the distance from the angle of the gonys to the tip of the bill greater than to that of the gape; lores deep black; cheeks decided plumbeous; nape, shoulders and tail, dull lav- ender grey; lower parts dark sooty brown; forehead and crown dull greyish white in- clined to a silvery white. Young: Similar but browner. Length about 13.00, wing 8.75-9.00, tail 5.25, tarsus .80, middle toe 1.30, culmen 1.50-1.85 (Laysan specimen with darker lores), depth of bill .32. A7aé. Hawaiian Islands. Pl. XVII., 9164, 9165. 9. M. hawaiien'sis Rorus. Hawaiian Tern, Noi'o. Genus GYGIS (Ji'jis) WAGLER. Middle toe and claw shorter than the exposed culmen; bill black, stout at the base and sharply pointed; pure white except a narrow ring about the eye which is black; toes slender, middle toe abnormally long, webs deeply excised (stouter, tail more pointed); shafts usually brownish. Young like above. Length 12.00-13.00, depth of bill .40, wing 9.50, tail 4.25-5.00, tarsus .45-.50, middle toe with claw 1.10, culmen 1.80. Hab. Central Pacific generally. Laysan, etc. Pl. XVII., 7892. to. G. alba kittlitz’i Hart. White Tern. 7A specimen of s/olidus in the Museum series (Coll. No. 1309), which varies somewhat from the typical form, is minutely described by Mr. Seale in his *‘Field Notes on the Birds of Oahu, H. I.,’’ Occasional Papers of the B. P. Bishop Museum, Vol. 1., No. 2, p. 35. [265] be) BIRDS OF THE HAWAIIAN GROUP. Order TUBINARES.—Tube-nosed Swimmers. Families. Nostrils opening from the anterior end of horizontal nasal tubes. a. Tubes widely separated by the intervening culmen; wings narrow and long; bitds of Jaree dimensions: + eee ter nee ae eee (Page 10.) Diomedeide. aa. Both nasal tubes united; no intervening culmen; birds of medium or Small size.