90. Mon. 4 Jan. 65 Finally worked out some more mimeo forms - one for the Blue-faced Booby colony check, one for the shorebird and seal census, and another for a daily check on bird populations - particularly for those birds not on island in abundance. Dennis spent the whole day on the Laysan - the skin looks real good. I spent an hour wi th the Boobies - there was much agonistic behavior, and R9 and 10 are trying to supplant 02 from his platform - this caused a long skirmish between the birds - in one instnace the ♂ seized 02 by the neck and tugged, but 02 broke away and continued Head-wagging, eventually get- ting the platform back. R11 quietly copulated with his mate, I did not see the beginning, but did see the end, it looked as though it may have been a good attempt, it would be good to get some eggs to watch before I leave. There was Sky-calling at 2200 as we were banding Bonins - could it be that some activity goes on through the night? We banded 54 Bonins tonight - one burrow that I examin- ed went clear out of reach, and the chamber felt as tough it was widening out. We caught a Bristle-thighed Curlew, by hand, and banded it. I see now how it gets its name- the feater shafts of the thigh have no barbs, are gossamer-like and shine like a speder web catching the early rays of the sun. These birds are remarkable to handle, lying still on the table as I pour over him for parasites - none found. I could lay him on his back and let go - heould still just lie there. He was released at 2300 and flew off into the dark, with no calling. 5 Jan. Started a new study today to determine who is in the colony and at what time. Each hour on the hour the colony is checked and the activity location of the birds in the colony is noted. Each numbered bird is accounted for throughout the day if in the colony. It is rare fro these birds to perch anywhere on the island aside from the colony area, so it is safe to assume that if they are not present they are at sea. We have seen groups of 3 or four birds on Sand Island, but when we did two of the birds were not colony birds at all. It seems as though the males tend to precede the females in arriving back to the area at night. Single birds were as follows for a 4 hour period: