Part 60

White-capped Noddy

Micranous marcusi Bryan, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 2, 1903, p. 101. (Type locality, Marcus Island.)

Sterna tenuirostris Kittlitz, Obser. Zool., in Lutké, Voy. "Le Séniavine," 3, 1836, pp. 286, 308 (Ualan, Ouleai); idem, Denkw. Reise russ. Amer. Micron. und Kamchat., 2, 1858, p. 64 (Ualan).

Anous tenuirostris Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, pp. 90, 113 (Pelew, Carolines); Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 6, 42 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, pp. 299, 330 (Mortlock, Nukuor); Stott, Auk, 64, 1947, p. 526 (Saipan).

Anous melanogenys Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Palau); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, pp. 295, 308 (Ponapé, Kuschai); idem, Ibis, 1880, pp. 219, 220, 332 (Taluit, Arno); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 577 (Ruk); idem, Ibis, 1881, pp. 107, 109, 115 (Kuschai, Ponape); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 456 (Pelew, Ponapé, Marshalls); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Jaluit, Arno, Kuschai); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1901 (1891), p. 77 (Pelew, Ualan, Ponapé, Nukuor, Luganor, Ruk); Hartert, Katalog Vogelsamml. Senckenb., 1891, p. 238 (Ualan); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ruk); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Pelew, Ruk, Wolea, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kusaie, Marshalls).

Anous leucocapillus Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); Nehrkorn, Journ. f. Ornith., 1879, p. 410 (Ponapé); Schmeltz and Krause, Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 281 (Ponapé); Finsch, Mitth. Ornith. Ver. Wien, 1884, p. 52 (Jaluit); Tristram, Cat. Coll. Birds, 1889, p. 10 (Pelew); Salvadori, Ornith. Papuasia, 3, 1882, p. 457 (Pelew); Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 77 (Pelew); Oustalet, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 8, 1896, p. 60 (Saypan, Palaos, Ruk, Luganor, Nukuor, Ponapé, Kuschai, Bonham); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 68 (Marianne); Seale, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 1, 1901, p. 20 (Saipan?); Safford, Osprey, 1902, p. 66 (Marianas); idem, The Plant World, 7, 1904, p. 267 (Guam); Schnee, Zool. Jahrbücher, 20, 1904, p. 390 (Marschall-Inseln); Safford, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., 9, 1905, p. 80 (Guam); Cox, Island of Guam, 1917, p. 22 (Guam).

Micranous leucocapillus Saunders, Cat. Birds British Mus., 25, 1896, p. 145 (Pelew, Caroline Islands); Nehrkorn, Kat. Eiers., 1899, p. 222 (Kusai); Hartert, Novit. Zool., 7, 1900, p. 9 (Ruk); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 51 (Pelew).

Megalopterus minutus marcusi Mathews, Birds Australia, 2, 1912, p. 423 (Marianas?); Ridgway, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 8, 1919, p. 553 (Mariannes?); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 1, 1927, p. 146 (Mariannes); Hachisuka, Birds Philippines, 2, 1932, p. 343 (Mariannes).

Megalopterus tenuirostris leucocapillus Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 50 (Saipan, Pelew, Ruk, Ponapé, Kusaie).

Megalopterus minutus minutus Fisher and Wetmore, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 79, 1931, p. 45 (Caroline Islands).

Anous minutus worcesteri Yamashina, Tori, 7, 1932, p. 409 (Coror, Namo, Iringlab); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon, Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Assongsong, Saipan); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 219 (Assongsong, Saipan, Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Truk, Ponapé, Kusaie, Ebon, Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk).

Anous minutus marcusi Peters, Check-list Birds World, 2, 1934, p. 347 (Caroline Islands).

Anous minutus Bequaert, Mushi, 12, 1939, p. 82 (Ponapé); idem, Occ. Papers Bernice P. Bishop Mus., 16, 1941, p. 253 (Ponapé, Palau).

Anous tenuirostris marcusi Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 27 (Micronesia); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 56 (Peleliu, Ulithi, Truk).

Geographic range.--Marcus, Wake, and Micronesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion, Saipan, Guam?; Palau Islands--Babelthuap, Koror, Peleliu; Caroline Islands--Ulithi, Truk, Ponapé, Luganor, Nukuor, Wolea; Marshall Islands--Ebon, Namorik, Jaluit, Elmore, Mille, Aurh, Wotze, Ailuk.

Characters.--Adult: A small tern with sooty-black plumage, grayer on rump and tail; forehead and crown white becoming grayer on nape to merge with blackish on shoulder; narrow, black superciliary stripe; lores black, lower eyelid with white streak, upper eyelid with white spot. Resembles A. t. melanogenys but wing and tail longer and superciliary stripe narrower. Resembles A. t. minutus but with narrower, black superciliary stripe.

Immature: Resembles adult, but crown more whitish, this coloration ending abruptly at nape, with mottling in some birds; plumage of body with brownish wash.

Measurements.--Measurements are listed in table 22.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 51 (27 males, 22 females, 2 unsexed), as follows: Mariana Islands, AMNH--Asuncion, 1 (Jan. 18); Palau Islands, USNM--Peleliu, 2 (Sept. 9, 12); AMNH--exact locality not given, 2 (Nov. 3); Caroline Islands, USNM--Ulithi, 4 (Aug. 20); AMNH--Truk, 5 (Nov. 16, 21, 22)--Ponapé, 15 (Dec. 15)--Kusaie, 17 (Jan. 10, March 10-30, April 1-10); Marshall Islands, USNM--Bikini, 4 (May 2, 14); AMNH--no locality given, 1 (Sept. 3).

TABLE 22. MEASUREMENTS OF Anoüs tenuirostris OF THE PACIFIC AREA

=======================================+=====+=========+=========+======= | | | |Exposed LOCATION | No. | Wing | Tail |culmen ---------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+------- Anoüs tenuirostris melanogenys | | | | Hawaiian Islands | 29 | 222 | 113 | 41 | | 210-229 | 105-120 | 41-48 | | | | Anoüs tenuirostris marcusi | | | | Wake Islands | 8 | 227 | 118 | 45 | | 218-231 | 112-124 | 44-48 | | | | Mariana Islands | 1 | 223 | 117 | 44 | | | | Palau Islands | 3 | 228 | 122 | 43 | | 227-228 | 117-126 | 41-45 | | | | Caroline Islands | 32 | 229 | 120 | 44 | | 220-240 | 113-127 | 40-47 | | | | Marshall Islands | 5 | 224 | 118 | 44 | | 222-229 | 114-123 | 41-46 | | | | Anoüs tenuirostris minutus | 13 | 227 | 120 | 44 Christmas Island | | 220-234 | 108-128 | 41-46 | | | | Phoenix, Howland, Union, Danger, | 9 | 229 | 119 | 46 Suvarov Islands | | 226-233 | 113-124 | 42-48 | | | | Marquesas Islands | 10 | 226 | 117 | 45 | | 220-233 | 115-124 | 42-48 | | | | Tuamotu Archipelago | 17 | 229 | 118 | 45 | | 222-234 | 112-126 | 42-47 | | | | Society, Cook, Austral Islands | 12 | 230 | 118 | 46 | | 223-238 | 114-120 | 43-47 | | | | Samoa, Fiji, Tonga Islands | 6 | 228 | 118 | 44 | | 224-231 | 115-121 | 42-47 | | | | Kermadec, Norfolk Isl'ds, New Zealand| 15 | 226 | 116 | 44 | | 219-235 | 112-121 | 42-47 | | | | New Hebrides, Solomon, Bismarck, | 34 | 229 | 117 | 43 Admiralty Islands, New Guinea | | 222-237 | 109-130 | 40-46 | | | | Anoüs tenuirostris diamesus | | | | Clipperton, Cocos Islands | 14 | 230 | 120 | 44 | | 224-237 | 114-127 | 41-47 ---------------------------------------+-----+---------+---------+-------

Nesting.--Few reports have been obtained concerning the nesting of the White-capped Noddy in Micronesia. Finsch (1881b:107) recorded nests, and Nehrkorn (1899:222) reported on eggs taken at Kusaie. Yamashina (1932a:409) recorded the taking of eggs at Koror in the Palau Islands on January 19 and November 10 and in the Marshalls at Namo on October 19, and at Iringlab on October 21. No evidence of nestings was obtained by the NAMRU2 party in 1945, although a number of birds were seen at Ulithi in August. Coultas (field notes) writes that a colony of approximately 20 birds began nesting about Christmas time on a small offshore island near Ponapé. Nests were placed in the crotches of limbs of mangroves, 8 to 15 feet above the ground.

Food habits.--The NAMRU2 party found small fish in the stomachs of terns taken at Ulithi and Peleliu.

Parasites.--Bequaert (1939:82 and 1941:253) records the fly (Hippoboscidae), Alfersia aenescens, from the White-capped Noddy taken at Ponapé and Palau.

Remarks.--The subspecies of Anoüs tenuirostris are well differentiated by color and to a lesser extent by measurements. Table 22 lists measurements which show that the Hawaiian subspecies, A. t. melanogenys, has the shortest wing and the shortest tail whereas the subspecies from Cocos and Clipperton islands, A. t. diamesus, has the longest wing and the longest tail. The exposed culmen varies in length but little among the four subspecies. The systematic position of A. t. worcesteri from Cavilli Island in the Sula Sea has not been determined because of lack of material. In the third edition of the Hand-list of Japanese Birds (Hachisuka et al., 1942:219) the birds from Micronesia are referred to A. t. worcesteri as they are also in other recent publications by the Japanese. Specimens from the Philippines are needed for examination to determine satisfactorily the subspecies status of the birds under consideration.

Field observations indicate that the White-capped Noddy is not abundant in the Mariana Islands. According to Oustalet (1896:60), Marche obtained a female at Saipan in June, 1888, and Yamashina (1940:678) records five adults from Assongsong (Asuncion). Owston's collectors obtained a specimen at Asuncion on January 18, 1904. In the Palaus, Carolines, and Marshalls birds of this species are numerous and have been observed or collected at many of the islands. Coultas with the Whitney South Sea Expedition obtained specimens at Kusaie, Ponapé and Palau. He found them along the shores of the large islands and, especially, on the smaller offshore islets. At Ulithi Atoll in August, 1945, the NAMRU2 party observed small flocks of four to ten individuals flying offshore and feeding inside the reef. They were frequently observed in company with Sterna sumatrana. Fewer birds were seen in September, 1945, at the Palau Islands by the NAMRU2 party.

=Gygis alba candida= (Gmelin)

White Tern