122 THE CONDOR VoL. XI Myadestes townsendfl. Townsend Solitaire. "Not uncommon in fall migration at Bart." (Hersey) Hylocichla guttata auduboni. Audubo.n Hermit Thrush. Migrant; at times abundant during the spring movement. Planesticus migratorius propinquus. Western Robin. Summer resident; abundant. Sialia currucoides. Mountain Bluebird. Summer resident; not common. More common during migration. Denver, Colorado. NESTING OF DIOMEDEA JVIGRIPES AND D. IMMU7'AIILIS ON MIDWAY ISLANDS By DR. T. W. RICHARDS, U.S. Navy MONG the smallest and most isolated of this country's outlying territorial possessions is the coral group appropriately known as "Midway". Situated in Lat. 28 13 t N., Long. 177 21' W., the largest--Sand Island--only measures about one mile in length by half that distance in diameter; almost the entire surface is of barren sand, the highest point being some 75 feet above sea level. Were it not for a light-house and relay station for the long trans-Pacific cable, the entire group would be well-nigh forgotten. As might be expected we have thus afforded an ideal breeding resort for num- bers of pelagic birds, and for several years I tried to obtain some definite informa- tiou regarding the local avifauna, but without avail until, in 1906 and 1907, two of my naval medical confreres were temporarily stationed at this outpost and, with the greatest pains, most kindly collected, prepared and forwarded to me a number of eggs, with notes, photographs and descriptions of the birds. To Drs. R. A. Camp- bell and M. C. Baker, U. S. Navy, I am much indebted, and take this opportunity of expressing my thanks and appreciation. While I was aware that the Laysan Albatross bred on Midway in company with another species, I was surprised and particularly pleased when the photos and descriptions accompanying certain eggs ghowed beyond a doubt that they were referable to/9. n?r?es, the eggs of which, so far as I am aware, have not hith- erto been fully described. I may add that the identification was kindly confirmed by Dr. Charles W. Richmond, of the Smithsonian Institution. In nearly all publisht descriptions of eggs of the Diomedeidac they are referred to in terms somewhat as follows: "white, sometimes speckled or sprinkled on larger'end with reddish brown" (Ridgway), giving the impression that they resemble, on a large scale, eggs of the Stormy Petrel, for example. While this may be true of some species, it would be inappropriate for a great many specimens of ZI. nigripes, tho some are faintly speckled or even immaculate. In many instances, however, these eggs are boldly and handsomely splasht with dark brown- ish red, in some forming a cap or wreath about one end, usually the larger; in others, extending over nearly one-half the shell; in fact there is as much color, relatively, as on an average egg of any of our larger Butcos, tho it is apt to be more constantly confined to one end. Compared with eggs of immulabils they
