The Endemic Avifauna of Saipan, Tinian, Guam and Palau

Abstract

In the year from December, 1944, to December, 1945, I made a zoological collection, chiefly animals of medical interest, on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Guam and Palau in Micronesia. These were obtained for the United States Army Medical Museum. Birds were collected incidentally to procuring a collection of mammals and their ectoparasites; they were turned over to the United States National Museum by the Army Medical Museum. Richard E. Genelly worked with me on Tinian and generously provided the photographs used in this paper. In my spare time I recorded field observations and prepared series of study skins, some skeletons and alcoholics of birds which were sent to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Through the courtesy of Herbert Friedmann of the United States National Museum the first-mentioned bird skins were loaned to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology where the following account of the endemic land and fresh-water species was prepared. It is based upon the 579 specimens collected by Genelly and myself and upon my field notes. An effort was made to obtain the maximum information possible from each bird specimen. Color of soft parts, degree of completion of the skull roof, size of gonads, stomach contents, amount of fat and stage in the molt sequence were recorded. I searched also for blood parasites in the species taken on Saipan and Tinian. Further information was obtained, though not reported here. Samuel A. Edgar identified intestinal parasites and Henry S. Dybas identified arthropods in the stomachs and collected ectoparasites, which were sent to the National Museum. HABITATS Sept., 1949 AVIFAUNA OF MICRONESL4N ISLANlX 201(5) Savannah is found near the airstrip on Babelthuap, Palau, and consists of bunch grasses and ferns two or three feet high separated from each other by bare soil.(6) Woodland covers the major portion of the islands (fig. 36). A rich assortment of broad-leaved trees, differing somewhat as to component species on each island, grow close together and provide a continuous leafy canopy 30 to 100 feet above the ground. On Palau this forest is densest, and there is only a sparse understory vegetation. Here the forest is composed of two elements: gigantic multiple-stemmed trees with widely spreading dense crowns, growing about 100 yards apart and extending high above the level of the surrounding vegetation; and shorter trees forming a more or less interrupted canopy between the former, depending on the irregularities and steepness of the terrain. ENDEMIC SPECIESThe little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucus) is found on Palau in mangrove lagoons and small fresh-water ponds inland where they spend much time sitting upright on dead branches. Individuals or small groups are often seen in flight over the inland forests. A specimen taken from a tree at the edge of a stream on Babelthuap had eaten a crayfish. Fig. 35. Coastal shrubbery at Marpo Point, Tinian Island. (birds were gray-colored ; fig. 37) and was watched foraging in lagoons on Guam. Here the birds had been spending the heat of the...

The Native Forest Birds of Guam

“…Food habits.-Foods previously reported for this species include black crickets (Seale 1901), grasshoppers, small fish (Marshall 1949), insects, and snails (Beaty 1967). Six stomachs examined by DAWR staff in 1968 and 1969, however, contained only small reptiles, including skinks, geckos, and anoles.…”

“…Marshall (1949) reported that G. canifrons from the Palau Islands is mainly terrestrial, and Mayr (1945) stated that terrestrial habits are common for Gallicolumba species. Marshall (1949) reported that G. canifrons from the Palau Islands is mainly terrestrial, and Mayr (1945) stated that terrestrial habits are common for Gallicolumba species.…”

“…Often, the only evidence of a dove's presence is its loud, far-carrying, and ventriloquial song (Seale 1901;Bryan 1936;Marshall 1949 The roles of the sexes in nest-related activities are unknown. Often, the only evidence of a dove's presence is its loud, far-carrying, and ventriloquial song (Seale 1901;Bryan 1936;Marshall 1949 The roles of the sexes in nest-related activities are unknown.…”

Archbold's Bowerbird Archboldia papuensis (Ptilonorhynchidae) Uses Plumes from King of Saxony Bird of Paradise Pteridophora alberti (Paradisaeidae) as Bower Decoration

“…Previous authors regarded these indigenous birds as exclusively (Baker 195 1) or predominantly fruit and seed eaters and occasional insect eaters (Marshall 1949;Marshall 1975;Jenkins 1983;Engbring & Ramsey 1984). Eggs may be an important food for Micronesian Starlings, especially on islands which are small and have simple forest bird and vegetative communities.…”

Relative Abundance and Distribution of Mariana Swiftlets (Aves: Apodidae) in the Northern Mariana Islands1

“…On the island of Tinian, there is also evidence of the bird's prehistoric presence (Steadman 1999); however, a recent detailed mapping of 88 caves revealed no evidence of their presence (Stafford 2003). The few birds observed on the island in the 1940s (Marshall 1949) and 1970s (Pratt et al 1979) may have been infrequent visitors from Saipan or Aguiguan ( J. Reichel and P. Glass, unpubl.…”