Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Smithsonian Institution Archives.
| www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Husted, Dayle N.
19634
Newell's is also a more manuverable bird; it does not need a long run
on the water to take off, they can take off almost like a Noddy Tern.
The bird keeps its wings flapping sticks its head and necks under the
water, then with a short hop it is airborne again. 1720 is another flock.
Fairy Tern act like Sooty Terns. They stay up above the rest of the
flock and dive down, then come back up. The Booby are diving into the
water many different ways high angle, low angles. This evening a
Red-footed Booby has joined us in our cruise of the mast. After about
40 minutes the booby made it in. All of us were out on the bridge
cheering him on. This even one of the Hawaiian crewmen told me that
he used storm petrels (probably Harcourt's) as a guide for depth. He
says they hang around the 100-200 fathom dropp off. He says the variation
is less than 5 minutes steamint time. He says you also see them else-
where, but you seem more of them around here.
August 22--We are South of Nihoa and there are more birds than I can
count. I am having to count them as they cross the bow. There sure
large numbers of what must be immature Blue-gray Noddies. They have dark
grey back and upper wings, white under wings, breast and head. They
are smaller than the other noddies. 0810 we are in an immense flock.
I estimate 3500 birds, but the crew says I am about a thousand short.
The Blue-gray Noddy feeds like the other noddies; it stays low to thw
water, but I think it has faster wing beats. But that may be due to its
being a smaller bird. It is very manuverable and it can almost hover
in one spot. The Sooty Storm Petrel and Bulwer's Petrel are very hard
to tell apart. I saw two birds coming toward the ship. I thought
they were both Bulwer's, but as they flared away I saw the Wedge-tail and