MAy., I9o2. I THE CONDOR 59 to keep the rope in one hand as it would otherwise have hung out several feet from the mouth of the cavity, and this of course made matters still more difficult. This was my first set of eggs for ?9oi and the only one of this species I had ever taken, so I was much pleased and the thought of getting back to my partner did not worry me in the least. I placed the roll of shirt between my teeth and after twenty-five feet or so of hard climbing came to a resting place, where I took the roll of shirt in one hand and gave myself a chance to breathe. The rest of the way to the top was not so hard as the cliff was more broken and not quite perpendicular. My part- ner looked rather anxious as I scram- bled over the edge of the cliff, for I had been out of his sight at least twenty minutes. He cracked a smile when I tried to tell him (without removing the roll from between my teeth) that "I got 'era," while I packed the eggs in a larger can which I had left on top of the cliff. He coiled up the rope and we were soon in camp onc? more. Notes on a Small Collection of Birds From the Island of Maui, Hawaii. RICHARD C. MC OREGOR. URING- the winter of I899 and ?9oo it was my fortune to spend several months among the Hawaiian Islands and a considerable part of that time at various points on Maul. This island is the second in size of the group, being about 48 miles long by ?o miles wide and covering some 760 square miles. It appears to have been, until recently, geologically speaking, two circular islands which are now connected by a strip of low coral sand-hills, either raised from the ocean or drifted in by the wind. East Maul rises to ?o,ooo feet elevation with the volcano of Haleakala, now ex- tinct, at its top. West Maul is but little over half as high, but its sides are far more precipitous, and deeply water-worn. The sand dunes bear but scant vege- tation, except where cane fields, through the all-powerful agency of artificial ir- rigation, have been pushed out in green patches. Save for a few doves and oc- casional bunches of golden plover or a wandering troupe of weaver birds there is nothing in the sand-hills of interest to the bird-man. From near the town of Kahului, one may follow up the beautiful Iao valley into the mountains of West Maul. From the desert-like sand dunes to the deep forests of the highlands the change is remarkable. In a short distance from the beach one is confined to the road by the high, thick brush on either side. Here there are a few of our old California friends, the house finches, but nothing else. My impressions of the woods were jotted down at the time I was there and are here transcribed: "As we get up the canyon the brush thins out and trees of fair size, thirty to fifty feet high, occur in bunches. The ground is moist and one can walk absolutely noiselessly. There are no flies and no mosquitoes, and no sound except a chirping, as of some cricket. Birds are scarce. The common intro- duced species do not get up here." I will not attempt to describe the plants as they are all unknown to me. Col- lecting was very unsatisfactory, there being but little open country and but few birds so tar as I could see. A number ot interesting earth-worms were taken. One species, over seven inches long, found under stones in the sandy soil was as quick as a young eel, which it greatly resembled in its movements. Some small mollusks and a shrimp inhabit the streams. Several rats were seen and a speci- men shot was identified by Dr. Merriam as the common A/Zus railus which he says
