Gill, Douglas E., 1964
Page 21
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Smithsonian Institution Archives. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Gill, Douglas E. 1964 Tropicbirds. They apparently were nesting in crevices on the sheer lava drop down to the pounding surf. Larry "took" pictures of the Tropicbirds and also of four Hawaiian Noddies sitting on ledges. These Hawaiian Noddies looked much different than those we had worked with on the Southern Islands: the white cap extended further back the neck was light grey contrasting with dark brown back, the tail was a conspicuous light grey, and the legs on at least two were a bright yellow. The birds on the southern island were a uniform sooty with a gleaming white cap, and I don't remember bright legs, and they certainly didn't have a conspicuous light grey tail. I wonder if a racial difference has been described. We continued on until the road went across a couple of deep chasms or draws which extended as canyons up on the side of the crater. We decided that one of us should stay below and listen for Newell's Shearwaters as they go up the canyons and to nesting burrows on the slopes of the crater, while the other go up the slope to listen for them, even perhaps a colony. Larry wanted to hike, so did I, but I decided to let him go up the slope. After he left, I drove the car several miles further up the road just to pass the time and returned and parked the car facing the ocean in one of the draws. It was a nice after- oon so I sat out by the ocean writing my journal and synopsis. Two cattle trucks drove by and one stopped but I signalled that all was OK. I wasn't sure whether I was on private property or not, I returned to the car as I was really bored for there wasn't anything I could really do. At length duck settled across this waste land so I began watching and listening. I saw two medium sized black and white shearwaters come in just off the surf