Bird Specimens from American Samoa

About 1300 specimens of birds have been taken on the seven islands that const itute American Samoa in the southwestern Pacific Ocean ; about 1200 specimens representing 43 species were examined. Information on the biology of these species, especially annual cycles of breed ing and molt, is presented to the extent tha t it can be det erm ined from these specimens and the associated data. Mo st of the specimens were taken in only a few months of the calendar year, and the annual cycle remains incompletely kno wn even for tho se few species with large samples of specimens. Taxonomic comments are given for a few species, and the exten sive variability in Halcyon chloris pealei is discussed. THE SPECIMEN RECORD west Pacific Ocean, more or less cente red at 170 long. and 14°S lat. The nearest neighbor ing islands are Western Sam oa, some 90 km to the northwest, and the Fiji Islands, some 800 km farther west. The largest island of American Samoa is Tutu ila, the western most; mu ch sma ller Aunu'u Island is a sho rt distance east of Tu tu ila. Three other island s are about 120 km to the east Ofu and Olosega, which are almost joined, and the larger an d higher Ta 'ii Island. These three islands are frequent ly referred to collectively as the Manu 'a Group. Rose At oll, ano ther 200 km southeast, is composed of two tiny islets and is a U.S. Na tiona l Wildlife Refuge. The seventh island, Swains Island, is about 320 km nor th-north west of Tu tu ila; this small, isolated island is not on the volcanic submarine ridge of which the major islands are peaks . Detailed maps of the island s are presented by Amerson, Whistler, and Schwaner (1982a, 1982b). Amerso n, Whistler , and Schwaner (1 982a) summarized the orni tho logical history of American Samoa, mentioning the majo r collecting efforts of which they were aware. Because many early worke rs treated Samoa as a unit, it is impossible to be certai n how muc h of the histori cal work was directed towa rd American Samoa rat her than to the larger and more accessible islands of Western Sam oa. Most specimens with the locality designa ted 150 1 Manuscript accepted 9 November 1983. 2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Wildlife Research Center; mailing address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Museum of Nat ural History, Washington, D.C. 20560. 3 Copies of the ECI report are available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal Aid, 500 N.E. Multnomah Street, Portland, Oregon 97232. AMERICAN SAMOA ISAN UNINCORPORATEDterritory of the United States, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. In the 1970s the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognized the need for a tho rou gh survey of the wildlife of American Samoa, and the Division of Federal Aid issued a contract to Environme nt Co nsultants, Inc. (ECI) for a study that was carried out in 1975-1 976. The repor ts of the EC I study (Amerson, Wh istler , and Schwa ner 1982a, 1982b) present a great deal of information on the physical and biological environment of the island s, and on the size and status of populati ons of the terrestr ial vertebra tes, which will not be repea ted here. " Th e EC I reports mention specimens tak en in the cou rse of the study, but do not provide a detailed ana lysis of these specimens or of oth ers taken by previous work ers. The present report is intended to suppl ement the ECI reports by providing such an analysis, in the hope that the additional information gleaned from the specimens will assist in the develop ment of management plan s. American Samoa is a gro up of seven islands and associated islets (F igure I) in the southBird Specimens from American Samoa-BANKS 151 0 1 SWAINS IS. 0 0 1 0 1