4 head usually goes under but the wings are still extended and flapping. It appears to be on the water 1 or 2 seconds then flies away. Three different times during the trip I saw Sooty Terns sitting on the water. A total of 6 birds were observed, always in pairs. Each pair contained an immature bird and an adult. In one case both the immature and the adult wore observed on the water. In the other 2 cases just the immature was on the water with the adult hovering overhead. In all cases the birds flew off as the ship approached. I never saw them land on the water so I can't say how long they stayed there. The longest I observed them was about 5 seconds. Observations within 50 miles of Land This section of the report handles Palmyra, Washington-Fanning, and Christmas Islands as one unit. The waters around each island were visited twice on the trip, first between 28 Sept. and 5 Oct. and again from 16 Oct. to 22 Oct. All islands were circled once on each visit except Christmas which was only circled once on 18 October. Species Account Red-footed Booby This is one of the most abundant species seen in this area. Most were immatures (?), very light brown in color. There were 50-100 in every flock being most dominate around Palmyra, becoming out-numbered to the south by noddies. Boobies fed in 2 ways (1) By diving from the air into the water and (2) by sitting on the water and ducking the head.