Charadrius mongolicus Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 48 (Guam, Jaluit, Palaos, Carolines); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 66 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 36 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 68 (Guam).
Aegialitis mongolus Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk).
Aegialis mongola Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam).
Aegialites mongola Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam).
Ochthodromus mongolicus Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk).
Charadrius mongolus Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 132 (Ruk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 38 (Micronesia).
Charadrius mongolus mongolus Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 11-12, 1920, p. 1543 (Marianen, Karolinen); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 194 (Guam, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie, Jaluit, Majuro); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 253 (Carolines, Marianas); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 50 (Guam, Peleliu, Ulithi).
Cirrepidesmus mongolus mongolus Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 44 (Guam, Ruk).
Charadrius mongolus stegmanni Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 217 (Guam, Peliliu, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie, Jaluit, Majuro).
Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Siberia and Bering Sea area. Winters south to eastern Malaysia, Melanesia, and Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu; Caroline Islands—Ulithi, Truk, Iuripik, Kusaie; Marshall Islands—Jaluit, Majuro.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 10 (4 males, 5 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 2 (June 7, Sept. 1); AMNH—Guam, 3 (Aug. 15, 18, Nov. 30); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 3 (Sept. 7-12); Caroline Islands, USNM—Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 22); AMNH—Truk, 1 (Feb. 8).
Remarks.—According to Oustalet (1896:48), Lesson used two specimens of this species, which were collected in the Marianas by the expedition in the "Uranie," as types for his Charadrius sanguineus.
The Mongolian Dotterel is a regular visitor to western Micronesia. It is recorded also from the Marshall Islands, which it probably reaches from the westward by way of the Carolines, since the species has not been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands.
A bird taken by the writer at Guam on June 7, 1945, was in winter plumage and probably nonmigratory. The species was recorded also at Guam in September. At Peleliu in September, 1945, the Mongolian Dotterel was seen frequently on tidal flats by the NAMRU2 party. On September 8 there was a flock of approximately fifty birds, in company with Charadrius leschenaultii, at Akarakoro Point. In August at Ulithi, birds were on the beaches in company with Crocethia alba. At Angaur on September 21, 1945, the species was with other shore birds in small groups at fresh water ponds.
I am tentatively referring all specimens examined to C. m. stegmanni although at this writing (1948) I am inclined to the opinion that a critical reexamination of the referred specimens might reveal one or a few individuals of the subspecies C. m. mongolus Pallas.
Charadrius Leschenaultii Lesson, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. Levrault, 42, 1826, p. 36. (Type locality, Pondichery, India.)
Charadrius griseus Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 544 (Oulan).
Charadrius geoffroyi Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 117, 118 (Pelew); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 31 (Palau).
Aegialitis geoffroyi Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 299 (Ualan, Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Pelew, Ualan).
Ochthodromus geoffroyi Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 217 (Pelew, Ualan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Pelew).
Pagoa leschenaultii Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 44 (Pelew, Kusaie, Yap).
Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 193 (Yap, Kusaie, Palau); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 216 (Yap, Kusaie, Palau).
Charadrius leschenaultii Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 38 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 51 (Peleliu).
Geographic range.—Breeds in Asia south to Persia. Winters from Malaysia east to Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—Peleliu; Caroline Islands—Yap, Kusaie.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 9 (2 males and 7 females), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 7 (Sept. 6-12); AMNH—exact locality not given, 2 (Nov. 21, 25).
Remarks.—The Large Sand Dotterel is a regular visitor to the Palau Islands. It has been recorded also at Yap and Kusaie in the Carolines, where it may be considered as an uncommon visitor.
At Peleliu, the species was seen on several occasions in September, 1945, by the NAMRU2 party. The birds were found on tidal flats in company with Charadrius mongolus stegmanni in flocks of 10 to 30 individuals.
Tantalus variegatus Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., fasc. 2, 1786, p. 92. (Type locality, Luzon, ex. Sonnerat.)
Scolopax phaeopus Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 566 (Marianas).
Numenius phaeopus Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 304 (Ualan, Guahan), Hartlaub, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, p. 167 (Mariannen); Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 129 (Ualan); Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867 (1868), p. 831 (Pelew, Matelotas); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 8, 118 (Pelew); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 106 (Uap, Pelews); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 35 (Palau); idem, Journ. f Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 307 (Ponapé, Kuschai); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 109, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 281, 299, 353 (Ponapé, Mortlock, Ruk); Wharton and Hardcastle, Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 308, 316, 318, 320 (Ulithi, Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam).
Numenius tenuirostris Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 55 (Marianas, Ualan).
Numenius uropygialis Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 43 (Pelew).
Numenius variegatus Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 332 (Pelew, Ponapé); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Marianne, Pelew, Matalotas, Luganor, Ruk, Ponapé, Ualan); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 361 (Micronesia); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam).
Numenius phaeopus variegatus Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 39 (Mariannes, Palaos, Carolines, Jaluit); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); idem, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Carolines, Pelews); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1649 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Marianas, Carolines, Palaus, Marshalls); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 261 (Caroline, Marianne, Pelew); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Guam, Koror, Babelthuap, Ngulu, Yap, Uluthi, Iuripik, Truk, Lukunor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Wotze); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Micronesia); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Stott, Auk, 1947, p. 525 (Saipan); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 51 (Guam, Angaur, Peleliu, Ulithi).
Phaeopus phaeopus variegatus Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 178 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Palaus, Carolines, Marians).
Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Asia. Winters from Malaysia east to Oceania. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands—Ngulu, Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor, Iuripik, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands—Jaluit, Wotze.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 26 (9 males, 17 females), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 16 (June 4, 6, July 24, 26, 27, Sept. 1, 19, 25, Oct. 8); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 5 (Sept. 8, 12, 14)—Angaur, 4 (Sept. 21); Caroline Islands, USNM—Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 17).
Weights.—At Guam, the NAMRU2 party obtained the weights of two males, 373 and 435, and of six females, 295-426 (384).
Parasites.—Wharton (1946:174, 175) lists the following species of chiggers (Acarina) taken from the Whimbrel at Guam: Acariscus pluvius, A. anous, Neoschöngastia strongi, and N. carveri; and at Ulithi: N. namrui and N. atollensis.
Remarks.—The Whimbrel is an abundant visitor to western Micronesia. It was first taken by Quoy and Gaimard, who found it in the Marianas. It is recorded in the Marshall Islands (Jaluit and Wotze), but apparently reaches these islands from the west, since the species is unknown in the Hawaiian Islands.
As shown in table 8, the NAMRU2 party observed the Whimbrel at Guam on spring migration in March, 1945, the last record being on March 21. In June and July, single birds or small groups were occasionally seen on the tidal flats. Some of these birds may have been nonmigratory. Beginning on July 24, more birds were recorded as they began to migrate south after their nesting season. Whimbrels were numerous from August until the conclusion of the observations in October. Birds were abundant at the Palaus in September; only a few were noted at Ulithi in late August. The Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History made collections of this species at several islands in Micronesia. At Ponapé, Coultas (field notes) writes that in November and December, 1930, a few birds were seen on the reefs and at the edges of mangrove swamps. At Peleliu in October to December, 1931, he found Whimbrels concentrated on a small islet between Koror and Babelthuap. At both Ponapé and Palau Coultas received reports that the birds remain at the islands throughout the year.
Scolopax tahitiensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 656. (Type locality, Tahiti, Society Islands, based on the Otaheiti Curlew of Latham, Gen. Syn., 3, pt. 1, 1785, p. 122, no. 4.)
Numenius femoralis Finsch, Ibis, 1880, pp. 220, 331, 332 (Jaluit, Arno).
Numenius tahitiensis Seebohm, Geogr. Dist. Charadriidae, 1887, p. 332 (Marshalls); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Marianne?, Marshalls); Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 367 (Marianas, Marshalls); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Pelews); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 49 (Marianas, Marshalls); Bent, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 146, 1929, p. 143 (Jaluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Saipan, Marshalls); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 261 (Marshalls); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Jarchi); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 215 (Saipan, Jaluit, Arhno, Maloelab, Wotze, Ailuk, Ringelab, Larchi); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 4 (Ponapé, Marshalls); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 39 (Marshalls, straggler to Carolines and Marianas).
Phaeopus tahitiensis Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 179 (Rongelab); Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 407 (Marianas, Marshalls).
Geographic range.—Breeds in western Alaska. Winters in eastern and central Polynesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Saipan; Caroline Islands—Ponapé; Marshall Islands—Jaluit, Arhno, Moloelab, Wotze, Ailuk, Rongelab, Larchi, Bikini.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 6 (3 males, 3 females), as follows: Caroline Islands, AMNH—Ponapé, 2 (Dec. 15); Marshall Islands, USNM—Bikini, 4 (Mar. 10, 14, April 2, 30).
Remarks.—The Bristle-thighed Curlew is a regular migrant through the Marshall Islands of eastern Micronesia. It is recorded as a straggler to the Caroline and Mariana islands. Stickney (1943:4, fig. 1) shows a map and discusses the breeding and wintering ranges of this curlew. As can be observed from her map, the principal wintering areas are east and south of Micronesia. She records the species from the Bonin Islands, which is the westernmost record.
It is difficult to offer plausible reasons for the present migratory habits of the Bristle-thighed Curlew. It is related to both the Asiatic form, N. phaeopus, and to the American species, N. hudsonicus, but its origin is not understood. The characteristics of its route of migration resemble that of some continental migrants and might have come about by a slow adjustment of the species to its environment, probably through an expansion of range from the west.
Scolopax madagascariensis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 12, 1, 1766, p. 242. (Type locality, Madagascar, error = Manila, Philippine Islands, fide Stresemann.)
Numenius cyanopus Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 35 (Micronesia); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); 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. 1645 (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 45 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 192 (Guam).
Numenius madagascariensis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 40 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 51 (Guam, Ngesebus).
Geographic range.—Breeds in eastern Siberia. Winters from Malaysia east to Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Peleliu, Ngesebus.
Remarks.—The Long-billed Curlew is a regular visitor to western Micronesia, especially to the Palau Islands. It is apparently a less common migrant in the Marianas, although it has been recorded from Guam. At Guam, the NAMRU2 party observed a single bird on June 6 and two on October 3 at tidal beaches. At Peleliu these large curlews were seen on several occasions between September 9 and 16, 1945. They were found usually as singles feeding on tidal flats in company with other shorebirds.
Limosa Baueri Naumann, Naturg. Vög. Deutschl., 8, 1836, p. 429. (Type locality, New Holland = Victoria, apud Mathews; Novit. Zool., 18, 1912, p. 220.)
Limosa uropygialis Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 299 (Mortlock).
Limosa novae-sealandiae Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 66 (Luganor).
Limosa lapponica baueri Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 266 (Guam); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, p. 101 (Marianen); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1641, (Guam); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 46 (Carolines, Marianas); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Marianas, Carolines); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 5 (Guam, Palau); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 41 (Oceania); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Guam, Peleliu).
Limosa lapponica novazealandiae Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Guam, Truk).
Limosa rufa uropygialis Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Marianas, Ruk).
Geographic range.—Breeds in northeastern Asia and northwestern North America. Winters from Malaysia east to Oceania. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Peleliu; Caroline Islands—Truk.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 5 (2 males, 3 females), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH—Guam, 2 (Sept. 26); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 1 (Sept. 7); AMNH—exact locality not given, 2 (Nov. 21, 23).
Remarks.—The principal wintering grounds of the Pacific Godwit are probably in Australia and New Zealand according to Stickney (1943:5). The bird reaches these areas from Arctic breeding grounds by migrating to a great extent along the edge of the Asiatic Continent. It may also be considered as a regular migrant in western Micronesia, and probably reaches eastern Micronesia as an uncommon visitor, since it is occasionally recorded in the Hawaiian Islands.
At Guam in 1945, the NAMRU2 party found the Pacific Godwit at tidal beaches on April 26 and October 15. Strophlet (1946:537) recorded one bird from Guam on October 20, 1945. At Peleliu, the NAMRU2 party found birds at beaches on September 7 and 16. Coultas (field notes) reported that "a few" were seen at Peleliu from October to December, 1931. McElroy did not find any of these birds at Truk in December, 1945.
Scolopax nebularis Gunnerus, in Leem, Beskr. Finm. Lapper, 1767, p. 251. (Type locality, District of Trondhjem, Norway.)
Glottis nebularius Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 47 (Yap); Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 44, 1932, p. 225 (Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Yap, Truk).
Tringa nebularis Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Yap, Truk); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 41 (Yap, Truk); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Peleliu).
Geographic range.—Breeds in northern Eurasia. Winters in Mediterranean area, Africa, southern Asia, Malaysia, Australia and Melanesia. In Micronesia: Palau Islands—Peleliu; Caroline Islands—Yap, Truk.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 4 (1 male, 3 females) from Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu (Aug. 28, Sept. 14, 15).
Remarks.—The Greenshank has been recorded at the Palau Islands and at Yap and Truk in the Caroline Islands. It is apparently a regular visitor to western Micronesia. It probably reaches the western Carolines as an occasional visitor from the region of the Palaus to the westward, rather than from the northward, since the bird has not been observed in the Marianas.
The NAMRU2 party observed two small flocks of these birds at Peleliu in August and September, 1945. One group of six birds was found wading in the shallow water of a mangrove swamp on August 28. Another group of three birds was seen on a tidal beach on September 14 and 15, where they were observed feeding apart from other species of shore birds.
Scolopax melanoleuca Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 659. (Type locality, Sandy shores of Labrador = Chateau Bay, Labrador.)
Tringa melanoleuca Kuroda, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 46, 1934, p. 313 (Jaluit); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Jaluit).
Geographic range.—Breeds in Alaska and Canada. Winters from California east to the Gulf States and the West Indies and south to South America. In Micronesia: Marshall Islands—Jaluit.
Remarks.—Kuroda records one specimen of the Greater Yellow-legs from Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is a straggler to Oceania and has not been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands.
Tringa glareola Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 149. (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.)
Totanus glareola Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 43 (Guam); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, pp. 65, 69 (Guam); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Guam); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam).
Rhyacophilus glareola Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 48 (Guam, Angaur).
Tringa glareola Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Guam, Angaur, Koror); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 (Guam, Anguar, Koror); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 41 (Guam, Palau); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Anguar).
Tringa glariola Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam).
Geographic range.—Breeds in northern Eurasia from Norway and Germany east to Siberia, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka. Winters from Africa east to southern Asia, Malaysia, and Australia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam; Palau Islands—Anguar, Koror.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 2 (1 male, 1 female), as follows: Palau Islands, USNM—Angaur, 1 (Sept. 21); AMNH—exact locality not given, 1 (October 26).
Remarks.—Marche, in 1877, first recorded the Wood Sandpiper in Micronesia (at Guam). In the Marianas it is apparently an uncommon migrant but it is considered to be a regular visitor in the Palau Islands. At the Palaus in September, 1945, the writer found the bird at a fresh water pond on Angaur. It was not observed on the tidal beaches at Peleliu.
Tringa Hypoleucos Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1858, p. 149 (Europe, restricted type locality, Sweden.)
Totanus hypoleucos Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 552 (Marianas).
Totanus (Tringoides) hypoleucus Gray, Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 51 (Marianas).
Actitis hypoleuca Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 8 (Pelew).
Actitis hypoleucus Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, p. 118 (Pelew); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 106 (Pelew); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, p. 36 (Pelew); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 353 (Ruk, Mortlock); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 64 (Luganor, Marianne, Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris (3), 8, 1896, p. 43 (Guam, Palaos, Luganor).
Tringoides hypoleucos Gray, Hand-list Birds, 3, 1871, p. 46 (Pelew, Ladrone); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 318 (Pelew).
Tringoides hypoleucus Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1896, p. 456 (Micronesia); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, pp. 51, 62 (Pelews, Marianas).
Totanus hypoleucus Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 65 (Saipan); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 34 (Guam); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 70 (Mariannes); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam).
Actitis hypoleucos Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 372 (Micronesia); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 47 (Marianas, Carolines, Pelews); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 269 (Micronesia); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 1, 1936, p. 24 (Guam); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 42 (Micronesia); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Guam, Peleliu, Ulithi).
Tringa hypoleucos Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Marianas, Carolines, Pelews); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed. 1942, p. 214 (Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu, Angaur, Ulithi, Truk).
Geographic range.—Breeds in Europe and Asia. Winters from Africa east to Polynesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Saipan; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands—Ulithi, Truk, Lukunor.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 12 (4 males, 7 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 4 (July 16, Sept. 20); AMNH—Saipan, 1 (July 27); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 3 (Sept. 9, 14).—Koror, 1 (Nov. 7); AMNH—exact locality not given, 2 (Nov. 11, 19); Caroline Islands, USNM—Ulithi, 1 (Aug. 22).
Weights.—The present author (1948:52) recorded the weight of one male taken at Guam as 67 grams, and of two females as 57 and 63 grams. These were fall migrants taken by the NAMRU2 party.
Remarks.—The Common Sandpiper has been known from Micronesia since the time of Lesson. Tetens, Peters and Kubary obtained specimens in the Palaus; the latter collector obtained the bird at Lukunor and probably also at Truk. In recent years several collectors have taken the birds in western Micronesia, where the species appears to be a regular visitor. Field observations by the NAMRU2 party indicate that the birds are usually found as singles and remain apart from other species of migratory shorebirds which visit the islands. The margins of inland ponds and beaches consisting of rocks and pebbles appear to be preferred over the sandy, tidal flats. At Peleliu on September 9, 1945, two birds were taken at a bare bank of coral at an inland pond. These were the only two Common Sandpipers seen at the island. A specimen taken by the NAMRU2 party at Ulithi on August 22 at a beach, piled with debris from ships, has its entire and underparts stained by fuel oil.
Totanus brevipes Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., 6, 1816, p. 410. (No locality given, the type is from Timor.)
Totanus pedestris Lesson, Traité d'Ornith., 1831, p. 552 (Marianne, Ualan).
Totanus brevipes Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 287, 299, 304 (Ualan, Lougounor, Guahan); Gray, Cat. Birds Trop. Is. Pacific Ocean, 1859, p. 51 (Ladrone or Marian Is.); Pelzeln, Reise "Novara," Vögel, 1865, p. 129, 162 (Puynipet, Ualan).
Totanus incanus Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna Centralpolynesians, 1867, p. 187 (Mariannen, Ualan, Puynipet); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 322 (Micronesia); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 65 (Mulgrave, Taluit, Ualan, Ponapé, Ruk, Luganor, Uap, Pelew, Marianas); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 41 (Saypan, Guam, Jaluit, Carolines, Palaos).
Heteractitis brevipes Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 35 (Marianas); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 67 (Marianas); idem, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 21 (Guam); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 180 (Uala = Truk); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 170 (Carolines).
Heteractitis brevis Prowazek, Die deutschen Marianen, 1913, pp. 47, 101 (Marianen).
Heteroscelus brevipes Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 367 (Western Pacific); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 270 (Carolines).
Tringa incana brevipes Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1623 (Guam, Truk); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Palaus, Carolines); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 213 (Babelthuap, Koror, Angaur, Yap, Iuripik, Faraulep, Truk, Ponapé).
Heteroscelus incanus brevipes Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 47 (Pelew, Yap, Ruk); Kuroda, Avifauna Riu Kiu, 1925, p. 177 (Micronesia); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 5 (Saipan, Guam, Palau, Ruk, Kusaie); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 43 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 52 (Guam, Peleliu, Truk).
Heteroscelus incanus Wharton and Hardcastle (part), Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 296, 316, 318 (Guam, Peleliu).
Geographic range.—Breeds in eastern Siberia and adjacent areas. Winters south to Malaysia and east to Australia and Oceania. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Saipan; Palau Islands—Angaur, Peleliu, Koror, Babelthuap; Caroline Islands—Yap, Truk, Iuripik, Faraulep, Ponapé, Kusaie.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 39 (11 males, 27 females, 1 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 16 (June 4, 6, July 16, 24, Aug. 6, 27, Sept. 4, 6, 27, Oct. 23); AMNH—Saipan, 1 (Sept. 8),—Guam, 5 (Feb. 11, Mar. 4, 13, Sept. 14, Dec. 5); Palau Islands, USNM—Peleliu, 7 (Sept. 6-8, 16); AMNH—exact locality not given, 4 (Nov. 8); Caroline Islands, USNM—Truk, 1 (Dec. 13); AMNH—Truk, 3 (Feb. 6, 26, Oct. 14),—Kusaie, 2 (Mar., April).
Weights.—Weights of birds obtained by the NAMRU2 party were as follows: three males from Guam, 90-104 (95); six females from Guam, 99-116 (104).
Remarks.—It is not clear whether some of the accounts cited above refer to this species or to the species, Heteroscelus incanus. Owing to the fact that specimens used in some of these early reports have not been examined by me, the identifications of the birds concerned cannot be verified and consequently it is impossible to be certain to which species some of the references pertain. In listing these accounts in the literature, I am following Sharpe (1896:455) whenever possible.
Tattlers were among the first birds observed and taken in Micronesia. Quoy and Gaimard found them in the Marianas, and Kittlitz and Kubary recorded the species in the Carolines. Kubary also reported the birds at the Palaus.
The Gray-tailed Tattler apparently does not reach the Marshall Islands but visits only the western part of Micronesia. Stickney (1943:2) shows a map of the known geographic range of this species in Micronesia. The separation of H. brevipes and H. incanus in the field is not always possible. For identification, the NAMRU2 party depended primarily on specimens collected. At Guam, specimens of H. brevipes, thought to be nonmigratory, were taken in early June. These were in winter plumage. Beginning in mid-July there was an increase in the number of tattlers seen; apparently fall migration had begun. At Peleliu in September, 1945, the NAMRU2 party found tattlers to be numerous. Apparently all were of this species; no H. incanus were taken there. On September 8, approximately 75 individuals in small and large flocks were counted at Akarakoro Point on the tidal flats. The birds remained apart from the other shorebirds which were feeding at the same locality.
Scolopax incana Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 658. (Type locality, Eimeo = Moorea, Society Islands and Palmerton Islands.)
Totanus oceanicus Lesson, Mamm. et Ois., 2, 1847, p. 244 (Kusaie); Hartlaub, Archiv f. Naturgesch., 1852, p. 135 (Carolinen); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1854, pp. 167, 168 (Carolinen, Mariannen).
Tryanga glareola Kittlitz, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 1, 1858, p. 365, 2, pp. 55, 86 (Ualan).
Totanus incanus Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas, 5, no. 27, 1864, p. 74 (Micronésie); Salvadori (part), Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 322 (Ualan, Puynipet, Marshalls, Mariannis); Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und. Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 65 (Mulgrave, Taluit, Ualan, Ponapé, Ruk, Luganor, Uap, Marianne, Pelew); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 41 (Saypan, Guam, Jaluit, Carolines, Palaos); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 64 (Guam); idem, Novit. Zool. 7, 1900, p. 8 (Ruk); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 389 (Marschall-Inseln).
Actitis incanus Finsch and Hartlaub (part), Fauna Centralpolynesions, 1867, p. 187 (Mariannen, Ualan, Puynipet); Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 89, 106 (Uap, Ualan); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 36 (Palau); idem, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 38 (Ponapé); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 294, 306 (Ponapé, Kuschai, Marshalls); idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 105, 109, 115 (Kushai, Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 299 (Mortlock); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 55 (Jaluit, Arno, Kuschai).
Actitis incana Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Ruk); idem, Ibis, 1880, pp. 219, 220, 330, 332 Milli or Mulgrave, Taluit).
Heteractitis incanus Sharpe, Cat. Birds British Mus., 24, 1906, p. 455 (Oceania); Safford, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 268 (Guam); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Yap, Ruk, Ponapé, Kusaie); Wetmore, in Townsend and Wetmore, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 63, 1919, p. 179 (Kusaie); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 70 (westcentral Pacific).
Heteroscelus incanus Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 367 (Carolines, Marianas); Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 270 (Micronesia); Bryan, Guam Rec., vol. 13, no. 2, 1936, p. 24 (Guam): Watson, The Raven, 17, 1946, p. 42 (Guam); Wharton and Hardcastle (part), Journ. Parasitology, 32, 1946, pp. 296, 316, 318 (Guam, Peleliu); Downs, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 49, 1946, p. 93 (Tinian); Strophlet, Auk, 1946, p. 537 (Guam); Wharton, Ecol. Monogr., 16, 1946, pp. 174, 175 (Guam); Borror, Auk, 1947, p. 417 (Agrihan).
Tringa incana incana Hartert, Vögel pal. Fauna, 13-14, 1921, p. 1623 (Guam); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 191 (Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls, Palaus); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 214 (Saipan, Guam, Koror, Angaur, Yap, Faraulep, Lamatrek, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Jaluit, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, Maloelab, Wotze, Likieb, Ailuk).
Heteroscelus incanus incanus Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 46 (Kusaie, Ruk, Ponapé, Yap, Marianas, Mulgrave, Taluit, Pelew); Stickney, Amer. Mus. Novit., no. 1248, 1943, p. 7 (Guam, Palau, Ponapé, Ruk, Kusaie); Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 42 (Palau, Marianas); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 53 (Guam, Rota, Ulithi).
Geographic range.—Breeds in Alaska south to Prince William Sound. Winters in North and South America and west in Oceania to Melanesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam, Rota, Saipan, Agrihan; Palau Islands—Angaur, Koror; Caroline Islands—Yap, Ulithi, Truk, Faraulep, Lamatrek, Ponapé, Kusaie; Marshall Islands—Jaluit, Mille, Arhno, Majuro, Maloelab, Wotze, Likieb, Ailuk, Bikini.
Specimens examined.—Total number, 47 (23 males, 20 females, 4 unsexed) as follows: Mariana Islands, USNM—Guam, 13 (May 21-29, Sept. 19-27, Oct. 10, 23),—Rota, 2 (Oct. 23, 25); AMNH—Guam, 4 (April 23, Aug. 16); Palau Islands, AMNH—exact locality not given, 1 (no date); Caroline Islands, USNM—Ulithi, 3 (Aug. 20, 22); AMNH—Truk, 1 (June 25),—Ponapé, 1 (Dec. 15),—Kusaie, 19 (Feb., Mar., April 1-10); Marshall Islands, USNM—Bikini, 3 (Feb. 26, 28, April 28).
Weights.—In 1948 (1948:53) I listed weights of two males from Guam as 175 (May) and 109 (September); weights of two females from Guam were 175 and 192 (both in May). These data were obtained by the NAMRU2 field party.
Parasites.—Wharton and Hardcastle (1946:296, 316, 318) list the following chiggers (Acarina) from tattlers taken by NAMRU2 collectors at Guam and Peleliu: Neoschöngastia bougainvillensis, N. ewingi, N. carveri, and N. namrui. Wharton (1946:174, 175) records the chiggers, Acariscus pluvius and A. anous, from tattlers from Guam. It is not certain from which species of Heteroscelus these chiggers were obtained.
Remarks.—Records indicate that the American Wandering Tattler is a regular visitor to eastern Micronesia, and that it only occasionally reaches the Palau Islands in western Micronesia.
The NAMRU2 field parties found H. brevipes as singles or in small groups of five or less. They remained apart from other species and appeared to prefer rocky beaches and coral-reef rocks to the sandy beaches. At Guam in 1945, the latest spring migrants were taken on May 29. These birds were in nuptial plumage. Birds taken at Bikini by Morrison on February 26 and April 28, 1946, were in worn, winter plumage. At Guam, the NAMRU2 observers obtained the first fall migrants on September 19. These observations in 1945, showed that H. incanus arrived at Guam on its southbound flight fully one month after the first individuals of H. brevipes began to appear (mid-July). This difference may partly result from the fact that the distance to the Asiatic breeding grounds of H. brevipes is not so great as that to the American breeding grounds of H. incanus.
Whether the two tattlers, H. brevipes and H. incanus, are distinct species (allopatric species insofar as breeding ranges are concerned), or whether they are mere subspecies (geographic races) is open to question. I failed to find evidences of intergradation in the few specimens which I examined critically; however, the final answer to the problem might be obtained by collecting series of birds from breeding grounds where ranges closely approach each other or overlap (if they do). Stickney (1943:6, 7) lists the distinctive differences in these two birds, particularly the character of the nasal groove, and does not mention having found any evidence of intergradation. Wetmore (in Townsend and Wetmore, 1919:180) gives evidence that they belong to two separate species.