Based at shore stations, and using hired fishing boats, Rollo Beck would often row out to sea alone, and sometimes with a man to assist him, as far as 20 km offshore, collecting birds from dawn to dusk.
Ramifications of the outbreak of war in Europe caused some difficulties for the Becks, but in August 1914 they visited the Falkland Islands and then moved to Mar del Plata, Argentina, where they were based until November.
Then, after revisiting the Falklands, and using a hired sloop, the “Leguri,” the Becks spent December and January sailing and collecting in the waterways and islands around Cape Horn and the Beagle Channel.
The collection is, naturally, more notable for its full representation of the South American sea bird fauna, including hitherto little known rarities, than it is for forms new to science.” “When one considers the faultless character of the skins, and the great body of associated data, such as nests, eggs, notes, and photographs – and when one balances all of these tangible credits against the obstacles, disappointment, and discomforts of the journey briefly retold above – then it becomes clear that the treasure obtained by Mr Beck and his courageous helpmeet is a monument to rare skill and indomitable persistence.
Up to date, it is safe to say, no other ornithological collector has carried through a similar campaign, or matched such scientific spoils.”[1]New birds described from Hispaniola include the least poorwill (Siphonorhis brewsteri), the white-winged warbler (Xenoligea montana), and the Hispaniolan subspecies of the grey-fronted quail-dove (Geotrygon caniceps leucometopia).