crabs were very common among the coconut husks with carapace up to 5" across. Two species of skinks raced along the path and along tree trunks. A dark- colored gekko was found occasionally in dense foliage. The entire island is heavily forested with coconuts, Pisonia, lush Scaevola, and others except for the area N of the lake which becomes a mire during the rainy season and even during the dry season is soft and wet. The area is covered with freshwater bulrushes, hiding dozens of golden plover and an occasional tattler. We set up mist nets in this marsh with hopes of banding shorebirds. We swept across toward the lake spread out to scare up unusual birds. Found nothing but some dragon flies and more golden plover (plumage very gray). Saw more lorikeets around the lake edge. I tasted the water and there was no trace of salt.-- pure rainwater. Two species of mosquito fish live there in large numbers. We scanned the lake with telescope and highpowered binoculars for ducks but saw only the common local species of palm frond and coconut ducks. Looked for ducks for a short time around lake's edge and in local puddles with no luck. Caught no shorebirds. Banded one fairy tern that Capt. Holway caught in his insect net. Previously only 2 birds had been banded on Washington so we were well on our way to breaking the old record. Fred hid the record before lunch and on the way back to the village it was smashed as a third fairy tern was captured. I collected assorted lizards on the way back. Went sightseeing around the little village after lunch. I was a little amused to discover that the local inahbs. keep frigate birds tied to a perch not only as pets but even as status symbols ! At several locations in the village there are frigates parking lots where as many as 70 birds are set in neat rows. In addition to this nearly every hut has one of these grotesqueries sitting out front, fat and ugly. The beasts are not only disagreeable; they are detrimental to the village because the men spend large amounts of ? catching fish for them while he could be supporting his family or working on his property. Small wonder that many of the frigates are not tied up - it is a lazy bird and extremely greedy and would not dream of forsaking an abundant and steady income. 26 November Having spent the night on the ship for some reason we charged in again through the breakers. The island has formidable 10 ft. surf breaking all around but merci dien these are narrow channels blasted in three of four places and when one of these breakers rolls into the channel it sinks and loses all fearsomeness. Dick and I took nets and cameras and walked back to the marsh again to catch even more fairy terns. He got some good shots of the Lorikeet with his 400 mm lens. As we entered the marsh the curious fairy terns saw us and flew from their high roosting places to investigate it close range. We did nearly forty before they lost interest and resumed their hiding places in the forest. I hiked across to the lake to have another look for ducks; there was no official sighting of a duck as yet on the island. However, along the trail Dick and I saw a female duck rise out of the canal used for transportation of coconuts. It was typically light brown, of average size, with blue scapulars and can only be tentatively identified as a female shoveler. We saw it for only an instant, and could not find it again. On the way back we saw several White-tailed Tropicbirds and Doug collected one along the beach.