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THE. C.lB?R Bird Life among the Galapagos Islands BY R. H. BECK ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR HILE looking at the chart today to see how far we were from San Fran- cisco I happened to compare our position, Latitude t9 2 4' N., Long. ?t6 t2' W., with that of last year on the t9th of July and found that we were within five miles of our noon position on that date. We were then re- turning from the Galapagos Islands and the word Galapagos brought to mind a half promise I had made (wasn't it last January?) that some day when not too busy I would write a note or two about the trip. Today I can hardly claim to be too busy, tho there are three boobies lying on the table waiting to be skinned. They can wait till tomorrow. To the bird collector who is accustomed to the comparative wildness of most California birds, the Galapagos Islands provide an interesting change in the curi- osity, and disregard for man, of their leathered inhabitants. To the 'camefist' who has been used to spending hours and someti?nes days trying to photograph a mock- ing bird on its nest, the unusual opportunities that here present themselves for bird photography are to be long remembered with pleasure. [ call to mind now my troubles on Tower Island in getting a picture of a Ares?mimus bauri at her nest. No sooner had I placed the camera in position and waited a moment for the frolic- some parent to get properly stationed than up flew two more mockers who pro- ceeded to investigate the camera and incidentally the nest of their neighbor. Of course this intrusion was not to be allowed by any bird of spirit so I had to wait while she, with the assistance of her spouse, who had been busy chasing off an im- pudent Geospiza pachyryncha, cleared their tree of the intruders. She then kindly consented to my wishes and after posing in several positions I selected one that