Table 29. Measurements of Trichoglossus rubiginosus

Table 29. Measurements of Trichoglossus rubiginosus

SexNo.WingTailCulmenybr />from
cere
Tarsus
Adult males181471052016
(143-153)(100-110)(19-20)(15-17)
Adult females131421011916
(141-146)(98-104)(18-19)(15-17)

Otus brachyotus Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 18 (Mariannen?).

Asio accipitrinus Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Marianne); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 168 (Mariannes); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 51 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 44 (Mariannes); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Marianas); idem, Amer. Anthro., 4, 1902, p. 711 (Guam); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Tinian); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Tinian); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 88 (Marianen).

Asi accipitrimus Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 12 (Guam).

Asio flammeus sandwichensis Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 182 (Marianas).

Asio flammeus ponapensis Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Pagan).

Asio flammeus flammeus Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Marianas).

Geographic range.—Breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. Winters to tropics. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Pagan, Tinian.

Remarks.—The Short-eared Owl was taken at Tinian by Quoy and Gaimard (1824:680, 696) and in recent years has been recorded at Pagan. The committee which prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka et al., 1942:202) writes that the bird taken at Pagan has a short wing (288) and indicates that it belongs to A. f. ponapensis. In the present work this bird is considered to be A. f. flammeus, a migrant from Asia; possibly, however, there is an unrecorded resident population of the Short-eared Owl in the northern Marianas, which may be closely related to A. f. ponapensis of Ponapé. Owls may have at one time been resident in the southern Marianas. At Guam, for instance, owls are well known to the native peoples, and there is suitable habitat for the owl in the extensive grassland areas of the island. Perhaps an owl was resident at Guam and at other islands but has been eliminated partly by the overgrazing and burning of the grassy habitats preferred by the owl.

Asio flammeus ponapensis Mayr

Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeus ponapensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 609, 1933, p. 1. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

Otus brachyotus Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 18 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 283 (Ponapé); idem, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 47 (Ponapé); idem, Sammlung wissensch. Vorträge, 14 ser., 1900, p. 659 (Ponapé).

Asio brachyotus Finsch, Ibis, 1881, pp. 113, 114 (Ponapé).

Asio accipitrinus Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 4, 1882, p. 367 (Strong's Island = Kusaie); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 3 (Ponapé); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 169 (Ponapi).

Asio flammeus sandwichensis Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 182 (Ponapé).

Asio flammeus ponapensis Kelso, Oölogist, 1938, p. 183 (Kusaie); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 170 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), 3d ed., 1942, p. 202 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 291 (Ponapé).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Caroline Islands—Ponapé, Kusaie?

Characters.—Adult: a large, short-eared owl, dark brown above streaked with buff and lighter below streaked with dark brown. An adult female has upper parts dark brown, outer webs of feathers buffy to give a streaked appearance; rump pale buff, feathers edged subterminally with darker brown; scapulars like head and back; wing-coverts dark brown tipped and edged with splotches of buffy to buffy-rufous; primaries and secondaries brown with large spots of pale rufous; tail brown barred with whitish buff spots, webs with dark centers; forehead whitish tinged with buff; region below and behind eye dark; chin pale with rufous tinged sides; throat and breast rufous-buff with heavy streaks of brown, becoming narrower on abdomen and under tail; under wing-coverts buffy streaked with dark brown; auxilaries buffy; feathering of tibia and tarsus pale buff; bill dark slate; feet grey-brown; iris yellow.

Resembles A. f. flammeus, but wing shorter and color darker.

Measurements.—Mayr (1933:2) lists the following measurements for two adult females: wing, 295, 307; tail, 135, 139; culmen, 17, 17.5; and tarsus, 48, 51.

Specimens examined.—Total number, 2 females, from Caroline Islands, AMNH—Ponapé (Dec.).

Nesting.—Coultas (field notes) writes that the Short-eared Owl at Ponapé builds its nest in the grass on the ground. He did not observe the nest but received reports of it from the natives.

Remarks.—The owl at Ponapé has been known since the time of Kubary. Coultas, visiting the island in 1930, was the first naturalist to record very much concerning the habits. According to him (field notes) the bird inhabits the open grasslands of Ponapé and apparently has somewhat the same habits as other members of the species. He estimated the population in 1930 as two dozen or more. He found the birds extremely secretive during the daylight hours. They were observed flying over the patches of grassland at twilight and on moonlight nights. He comments that the catlike call of this owl is heard occasionally in the night. Richards writes (in litt.) that twice in late December, 1947, he saw this owl in a forested area near the summit of Jokaj Island (900 feet).

Kelso (1938:138) records the Short-eared Owl from Kusaie on the basis of a specimen taken by Gulick, which Ridgway (1882:367) thought came from the West Indies. The specimen is labeled Strong's Island, which is an old name for Kusaie. Kelso gives the measurements of this bird as: wing, 275; tail, 141; culmen from cere, 19.5, and comments that the wings are shorter than those of specimens from Asia. The skin is in the U. S. National Museum.

The Short-eared Owl at Ponapé closely resembles A. f. flammeus but is slightly smaller and darker. Apparently the owl came to Ponapé as a straggler on migration from Asia, and becoming acclimated and adapted to the grassy areas at Ponapé remained as a resident. The occurrence of A. f. flammeus in the Marianas on migration offers evidence as to how the bird originally reached Ponapé.

Caprimulgus indicus jotaka Temminck and Schlegel

Jungle Nightjar

Caprimulgus jotaka Temminck and Schlegel, in Siebold's Fauna Japonica, Aves, 1847, p. 37, pl. 12, 13. (Type locality, Japan.)

Caprimulgus indicus jotaka Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 179 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 302 (Palau).

Geographic range.—Breeds in eastern Asia and Japan. Winters south to tropics. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—exact locality unknown.

Remarks.—According to the committee who prepared the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka et al., 1942:199), one female was obtained by Oba in the Palaus in November, 1930. The skin was placed in the Kuroda collection. Coultas obtained a male on December 9, 1931, in the Palaus, which is in the American Museum of Natural History. The bird is apparently an occasional migrant to western Micronesia.

Caprimulgus indicus phalaena Hartlaub and Finsch

Jungle Nightjar

Caprimulgus phalaena Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 91. (Type locality, Pelew.)

Caprimulgus phalaena Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, 13, pl. 2, fig. 1, 2 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 407 (Palau); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 17 (Pelew); Hartert, Cat. Birds British Mus., 16, 1892, p. 545 (Pelew); idem, Das Tierreich, no. 1, 1897, p. 51 (Palau); Bolau, Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 65 (Palau); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); Dubois, Syn. Avium 1, 1902, p. 124 (Pelew); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 154 (Palau); Mathews, Syst. Avium. Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 396 (Pelew); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, 1934, p. 120 (Pelew).

Caprimulgus indicus phalaena Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 61 (Pelew); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 179 (Palau); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 204 (Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 (Babelthuap, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Palau).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Palau Islands—Babeltuap, Koror, Garakayo.

Characters.—Adult male: "Above grayish-brown, very finely vermiculated, more rufous on the back, with large longitudinal streaks and a few cross markings; scapulars partly with pale buff bands, mostly pale gray at the basal portion; primaries deep brown, with a white spot to the inner web of the first primary not extending to the shaft, second and third primary with fine spots to the inner web extending to the shaft and obsolete white spots to the outer web, fourth primary with a smaller and less pure white spot; chin and throat blackish brown, barred with rufous, with two white spots on the throat; breast brownish gray, vermiculated and spotted with brown and blackish; abdomen dirty ochraceous buff barred with brown, the bars wider on the lower tail-coverts; retrices rufous-brown with blackish bars, outer ones with broad white terminal spots." (Hartert, 1892:545.) Bill basally whitish with black tip; feet blackish pink; iris dark brown.

Adult female: According to Hartert (1892:545) similar to male, but with small, more or less obsolete, rufous-buff (not white) spots on the primaries; rectrices without white spots.

Immature: Resembles adult but paler and less distinctly marked.

C. i. phalaena resembles C. i. jotaka, but is paler; the male is more broadly barred and more buffy on abdomen and under side of tail; the female has paler spots on wing.

Measurements.—Measurements of four males: wing, 161-168 (165); tail, 118-129 (124); culmen, 22; tarsus, 14.0-15.1 (14.5); of four females: wing, 161-165 (163); tail, 118-127 (123); culmen, 22; tarsus, 14.5-15.6 (15.1).

Specimens examined.—Total number, 8 (4 males, 4 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Koror, 3 (Nov. 3, 20, 29); AMNH—exact locality not given, 5 (Oct., Nov., Dec.).

Remarks.—This subspecies of the Jungle Nightjar is restricted to the Palau Islands and particularly to those islands possessing damp, shady forests and mangrove swamps. In September, 1945, two birds were observed at the edge of a mangrove swamp at Garakayo at twilight by the NAMRU2 party, but neither of them was taken. Coultas (field notes) found the nightjar in mangrove swamps. He writes that they remain quiet there during the daylight hours. He took specimens both in the evening and at dawn. He considers the bird as not very common. Marshall (1949:208) obtained specimens at Koror in 1945.

Among the races of C. indicus, the coloration of C. i. phalaena resembles most closely that of C. i. jotaka; probably C. i. phalaena was derived from C. i. jotaka of Asia. Apparently this bird arrived at the Palaus by way of the Philippines. It is found only in these islands of Micronesia and maybe another one of that group of species which reached the Palaus without expanding their ranges farther into Micronesia.

Collocalia inexpectata pelewensis Mayr

Edible Nest Swiftlet

Collocalia pelewensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 820, 1935, p. 3. (Type locality, Palau Islands.)

Collocalia vanicorensis Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 829 (Pelew); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 4, 116, 118 (Pelew); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 4, 15 (Palau); idem (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 24 (Palau); idem (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 (Palaos); idem (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 104 (Pelew); Tristram, Cat. Birds, 1889, p. 111 (Pelew); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Pelew); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau).

Collocalia vanikorensis Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 66 (Pelew); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 1, 1872, p. 737 (Pelew).

Collocalia fuciphaga Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 189 (Palaos); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 161 (Palau).

Collocalia francica Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1915, p. 53 (Pelew).

Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Pelew).

Collocalia unicolor amelis Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Pelew).

Collocalia fuciphaga amelis Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 179 (Palau).

Collocalia (vanikorensis) pelewensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 11 (Palau).

Collocalia germani pelewensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, 1937, p. 18 (Palau).

Collocalia inexpectata pelewensis Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 224 (Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 63 (Garakayo, Peleliu).

Collocalia vanikorensis pelewensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 (Babelthuap, Koror).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Palau Islands—Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu, Angaur.

Characters.—Adult, according to Mayr (1935:3): "Small; tarsus naked; upper parts dark fuscous-green, with a brownish tone on back; crown not much darker than back; rump pale but no distinct light gray bar across rump as in C. spodiopygia; color of the rump showing much individual variation, bases of feathers always being pale gray, but tips sometimes strongly glossy green; inner margins of wing-feathers not particularly light; feathers of chin and throat soft, with fuscous bases and rather sharply defined silvery-gray edges, but no shaft-streaks; abdomen dull gray, slightly darker than throat, inconspicuous shaft-streaks on breast and abdomen, more pronounced shaft-streaks on under tail-coverts; longest under tail-coverts fairly glossy green; white loral spot inconspicuous."

Measurements.—Measurements are listed in [table 30].

Table 30. Measurements of Collocalia inexpectata in Micronesia

Subspecies No. Wing Tail
C. i. pelewensis 14 111 (109-113) 50 (47-51)
C. i. bartschi 13 108 (105-108) 54 (52-57)

Specimens examined.—Total number, 20 (12 males, 8 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 13)—Garakayo, 2 (Sept. 18)—Koror, 3 (Nov. 5, 6, 7); AMNH—exact locality not given, 14 (Oct., Dec.).

Remarks.—The NAMRU2 party found the swiftlet to be numerous on islands in the southern Palaus in 1945. The birds were observed flying in clearings and about the cliffs. Coultas writes (field notes) that they nest in caves on the smaller islands.

Collocalia inexpectata bartschi Mearns

Edible Nest Swiftlet

Collocalia bartschi Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 476. (Type locality, Guam.)

Cypselus inquietus Kittlitz (part), Obser. Zool., in Lutké., Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guahan); idem (part), Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 26 (Guahan).

Collocalia nidifica Gray (part), Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (3), 17, 1866, p. 125 (Marianne); idem (part), Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 65 (Marianne).

Collocalia vanicorensis Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 24 (Marianen); idem (part), Ibis, 1881, p. 105 (Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Marianne); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Guam, Saipan).

Collocalia fuciphaga Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1865, p. 616 (Marianne); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 187 (Mariannes); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 (Rota, Guam, Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 46 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 60 (Marianas); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, pp. 84, 263 (Guam); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 102 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 25 (Guam).

Collocalia fuchphaga Wheeler, Report Island of Guam, 1900, p. 13 (Guam).

Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga Oberholser (part), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1906, p. 186 (Guam).

Collocalia unicolor amelis Oberholser, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1906, p. 193 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Guam).

Collocalia fuciphaga tachyptera Obersolser, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Type locality, Guam); Stresemann, Verhandl. Ornith. Gesellsch. Bayern, 12, 1914, p. 11 (Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Marianas); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Michnoseia, 1922, p. 62 (Guam, Saipan, Rota).

Collocalia unicolor bartschi Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 63 (Guam).

Collocalia fuciphaga bartschi Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 402 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Marianas).

Collocalia vanikorensis bartschi Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 11 (Marianne); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 198 (Saipan, Rota, Guam).

Collocalia germani bartschi Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, 1937, p. 18 (Marianne).

Collocalia inexpectata bartschi Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 224 (Marianne); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Marianas); Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 41 (Guam); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 105 (Tinian); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 63 (Guam, Rota).

Collocalia inexpectata Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Rota, Tinian, Saipan.

Characters.—Resembles C. i. pelewensis, but with wing shorter; upper parts lighter; underparts more brownish and lacking dark shaft-streaks on breast and abdomen; feathers on lores whiter basally.

Measurements.—Measurements are presented in [table 30].

Weights.—The present author (1948:63) lists the weights of seven adult males as 6.4-7.3 (6.8); of three adult females as 6.8-7.6 (7.1). These birds were taken at Guam.

Specimens examined.—Total number, 48 (17 males, 19 females, 12 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 21 (Jan. 29, May 20, June 21, July 20, 29)—Rota, 1 (Oct. 27); AMNH—Guam, 18 (Jan. 22, 29, Feb. 15, July 10, Aug. 11, 12)—Saipan, 8 (Sept. 17).

Remarks.—The taxonomic relationships of the species and subspecies of the genus Collocalia are not fully known. The many different name combinations applied to the five kinds named from Micronesia are evidence of the lack of agreement among previous writers as to the correct systematic positions of the kinds. The genus is widely distributed in southeastern Asia and adjacent islands and is divisible into a number of species and subspecies. This diversity is apparently influenced by the restriction of the birds to local habitats caused, as Stresemann (1931b:83) states, by the necessity of staying by their nesting areas which are in caves. Stresemann also points out that the birds are thus dependent on "narrowly limited ecological conditions." The birds are confined to certain areas and are, therefore, isolated from other populations. Most of the volcanic islands of Micronesia have numerous caves which are suitable to the swiftlets for nesting. C. inexpectata evolved in the Malayan region and apparently spread to Micronesia via the Philippines to Palau and to the Marianas. The two subspecies of C. inexpectata in Micronesia resemble closely those to the westward but are smaller. I am following Peters (1940:224) in the treatment of these, and although some future reviser may rearrange these species and subspecies, it appears to me that the Micronesian swiftlets fall into the two natural groups (C. inexpectata and C. inquieta) now recognized, even though their parent stocks in Malaysia, in my opinion, are inadequately known.

At Guam and Rota, the NAMRU2 party found swiftlets concentrated at cliff areas, flying about in large groups. Away from the cliffs fewer were seen and singles were observed in woodland openings, over fields, and in the coconut groves. On May 18, 1945, a colony of nesting birds was found approximately two miles east of Agaña on Guam. This colony was in a coral sink-hole which was approximately 75 feet deep and 60 feet in diameter. The nests were grouped in clusters of 5 to 25 or more, on underhanging ledges, sheltered from the light. The nests, which were fastened securely to the irregular ledges, were knocked down by shots from our collecting guns. Approximately 250 nests were found; no eggs were observed, the nests containing young birds. The young were in various stages of development; some were with little feather growth, others were completely feathered. Nests examined contained only one young each. The pile of guano below each cluster of nests was large; an estimate made at the time indicated that there were 10 or more tons in each pile. Guano deposits in large quantities were found also in caves at Amantes Point, Guam.

Collocalia inquieta inquieta (Kittlitz)

Carolines Swiftlet

Cypselus inquietus Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 285. (Type locality, Ualan.)

Cypselus inquietus Kittlitz (part), Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 26 (Ualan).

Collocalia ualensis Streubel, Isis, 1848, p. 368 (no type locality = Kusaie?).

Collocalia nidifica ualensis Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist., 17, 1866, p. 123 (Caroline Islands = Kusaie?).

Collocalia vanicorensis Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 24 (Ualan); idem (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 575 (Kuschai); idem (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 285, 298 (Kuschai); idem (part), Ibis, 1881, pp. 104, 108 (Kushai); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Ualan); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ualan).

Collocalia fuciphaga Hartert (part), Cat. Birds British Mus., 16, 1892, p. 498 (Kuschai); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 190 (Oualan).

Collocalia fuciphaga fuciphaga Oberholser (part), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1906, p. 186 (Ualan).

Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis Oberholser (part), Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Kusaie).

Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta Stresemann, Verhandl. Ornith. Gesellsch. Bayern, 12, 1914, pp. 9, 11 (Ualan); Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Kusaie); Hand-list Japanese Birds (part), rev., 1932, p. 179 (Kusaie).

Collocalia inquieta inquieta Mayr, Amer. Mus., Novit., no. 915, 1937, p. 11 (Kusaie); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 225 (Kusaie); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Kusaie).

Collocalia vanikorensis inquieta Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 199 (Kusaie).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Caroline Islands—Kusaie.

Characters.—Adult: Upper parts dark (sooty-black) with a slight greenish gloss on head and back and a more conspicuous bluish-purple gloss on the wings and tail; feathers of lores white, tipped with black; underparts smoky-gray; feet brownish; bill black; iris dark brown.

Measurements.—Measurements are presented in [table 31].

Specimens examined.—Total number, 42 (21 males, 20 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Caroline Islands, USNM—Kusaie, 1 (Feb. 8); AMNH—Kusaie, 41 (Jan., Feb., March).

Remarks.—Kittlitz obtained this swiftlet when he visited Kusaie from December 8, 1827, to January 1, 1828. In 1931, Coultas found the bird common at Kusaie. The name Collocalia ualensis, published by Streubel in Isis in 1848, p. 368, is without mention of a locality, but is later used by Gray to denote the swiftlet in the Caroline Islands.

Table 31. Measurements of Collocalia inquieta

Subspecies No. Wing
Collocalia i. inquieta 11 119 (116-125)
Collocalia i. ponapensis 10 110 (107-114)
Collocalia i. rukensis 10 (112-119.5)[C]

[C] (Mayr, 1935:3).

Collocalia inquieta rukensis Kuroda

Carolines Swiftlet

Collocalia fuciphaga rukensis Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 58, 59, pl. 3, fig. 1. (Type locality, Ruk.)

Collocalia vanicorensis Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. London, 1880, p. 575 (Ruk); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 353 (Ruk); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Uap and Ruk); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 11 (Ruk); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Yap, Ruk).

Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis Oberholser (part), Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 42, 1912, p. 20 (Uala = Truk).

Collocalia fuciphaga rukensis Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 53 (Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Ruk, Yap); Kuroda, Ibis, 1927, p. 706 (Truk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 402 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 178 (Ruk).

Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Ruk).

Collocalia inquieta rukensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 915, 1937, p. 11 (Ruk); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 225 (Truk, Yap); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Yap, Truk).

Collocalia vanikorensis rukensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 198 (Truk, Yap).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Caroline Islands—Truk, Yap.

Characters.—Adult: Resembles C. i. inquieta but with wing shorter.

Measurements.—Measurements are given in [table 31].

Specimen examined.—One unsexed bird from Caroline Islands, USNM—Truk (Feb. 16).

Remarks.—Little is known concerning this swiftlet. The bird at Yap is referred to this race; I have not seen specimens from this island. McElroy reports seeing no swiftlets at Truk in December, 1945. C. i. rukensis appears to be intermediate in size between C. i. inquieta and C. i. ponapensis. Richards writes (in litt.) that he found swiftlets common at Truk in 1948. He also noted a large swiftlike bird in "January or February," 1948, near the summit of Mount Tonáchian on Moen Island. From his description, the bird may have been a large migratory swift, possibly Apus pacificus or Chaetura caudacuta, neither of which have been reported previously from Micronesia.

Collocalia inquieta ponapensis Mayr

Carolines Swiftlet

Collocalia vanikorensis ponapensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 820, 1935, p. 3. (Type locality, Ponapé.)

Collocalia vanicorensis Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 23 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 778 (Ponapé); idem (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 285 (Ponapé); idem, Ibis, 1881, p. 115 (Ponapé); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 18 (Ponapé); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Ponapé).

Collocalia fuciphaga Hartert, Cat. Birds British Mus., 16, 1892, p. 498 (Ponapé).

Collocalia fuciphaga vanikorensis Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 53 (Ponapé).

Collocalia fuciphaga inquieta Kuroda (part), in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 62 (Ponapé).

Collocalia vanikorensis ponapensis Mayr, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 828, 1936, p. 12 (Ponapé); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 198 (Ponapé).

Collocalia inquieta ponapensis Mayr, Amer. Novit., no. 915, 1937, p. 11 (Ponapé); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 4, 1940, p. 225 (Ponapé); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 292 (Ponapé).

Collocalia inquieta Mayr, Proc. 6th Pac. Sci. Congr., 4, 1941, p. 204 (Ponapé).

Geographic range.—Micronesia: Caroline Islands—Ponapé.

Characters.—Adult: According to Mayr (1936:12), "Very similar to inquieta, but much smaller; on the upper parts apparently somewhat less glossy, and not so dark, more brownish; under parts very variable, sometimes very dark (partly on account of greasing), sometimes quite silvery on the throat; very dark specimens show some greenish gloss not only on the longest under tail-coverts, but also on the entire under side, except on the throat; rump of the same color as the back; tarsus unfeathered."

Measurements.—Measurements are listed in [table 31].

Specimens examined.—Total number, 37 (19 males, 18 females) from Caroline Islands, AMNH—Ponapé (Nov., Dec.).

Nesting.—Coultas obtained young birds from nests in caves in November and December.

Remarks.—I am following Mayr (1937:11) and Peters (1940:225) in this treatment of these Caroline swiftlets, even though the differences between C. inquieta and C. vanikorensis appear to be slight indeed. C. inquieta appears closest to the forms of C. vanikorensis in Northern Melanesia. The birds found in New Guinea and the Solomons are similar in size to the birds in the Carolines, while those in the Moluccas, Admiralties and Lihir are larger. Color differences are slight with the pale color of the sides of the head and underparts being variable. All of these dark-rumped birds evidently evolved in the Melanesian area.

Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina Swainson

Micronesian Kingfisher

Halcyon cinnamomina Swainson, Zool. Illustr., 2, 1821, text to pl. 67. (No type locality = Guam.)

Halcyon cinnamomina Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Marianen = Guam); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 5 (Ladrone or Marian Islands = Guam); Sharpe (part), Monogr. Alced., 1868-71, pp. xxxii, 213, pl. 80 (Guam); Gray, Hand-list Birds, 1, 1869, p. 93 (Mariannes = Guam); Oustalet, Le Nat., 1889, p. 260 (Mariannes = Guam); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 16 (Guam); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 175 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 53 (Guam); Matschie, Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, pp. 112, 113, 114 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, p. 174 (Guam); Strophlet, Auk, 63, 1946, p. 538 (Guam); Baker, Condor, 49, 1947, p. 125 (Guam).

Alcedo ruficeps Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat., 29, 1823, p. 273 (Mariannes = Guam); Pucheran, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1853, p. 387 (Mariannes = Guam); Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1855, p. 423 (Mariannen = Guam).

Dacela ruficeps Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 247 (Mariannes = Guam).

Halcyon cinnamomeus Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, p. 304 (Guahan).

Dacelo cinnamomina Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 131 (Guahan); Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 3, no. 17, 1863, p. 39; no. 39, 1874, p. 29 (Mariannes = Guam); Giebel, Thes. Ornith., 2, 1875, p. 3 (Mariannae = Guam).

Todiramphus cinnamominus Cassin, U. S. Expl. Exped. 1838-'42, 1858, pp. 220, 225 (Ladrone or Marianna Islands = Guam).

Sauropatis cinnamomina Cabanis, Mus. Hein., 2, 1859-'60, p. 159 (Marianen); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 1, 1880, p. 481 (Marianne = Guam).

Halcyon cinnamominus Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 20 (Marianen = Guam); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, 1892, p. 259 (Marianne = Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 45 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 69 (Guam); Dubois, Syn. Avium, 1, 1902, p. 108 (Guam); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 263 (Guam); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 79 (Guam); Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 36, 1909, p. 476 (Guam); Reichenow, Die Vögel, 2, 1914, p. 116 (Marianen = Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 63 (Mariannes = Guam); Cox, Islands of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Thompson, Guam and its people, 1942, p. 23 (Guam).

Halcyon rufigularis Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 17, 1892, p. 260 (No type locality = Guam).

Table 30. Measurements of Collocalia inexpectata in Micronesia

Table 30. Measurements of Collocalia inexpectata in Micronesia

SubspeciesNo.WingTail
C. i. pelewensis14111 (109-113)50 (47-51)
C. i. bartschi13108 (105-108)54 (52-57)

Table 31. Measurements of Collocalia inquieta

Table 31. Measurements of Collocalia inquieta

SubspeciesNo.Wing
Collocalia i. inquieta11119 (116-125)
Collocalia i. ponapensis10110 (107-114)
Collocalia i. rukensis10(112-119.5)[C]