Kepler, Cameron B., 1964-1965
Page 82
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Transcription
60. 15 Oct. 1964 At 0740 I found Stadel watching the Frigato colony - wherein reside 9 yng, ≈ 10 adult ♂ & 2 ♀. 10 minutes later, when a ♀ flies over, all the ♂'s give a display. The wings are outspread & inflated, the head thrown back, & the bill drooping, all accompanied by a vocalization harsh & screeching. The ♀ flew back & forth over the colony before 'settling down. When I return to the colony with a camera, the area has been disturbed to the ♂ have all deflated their pouches. ♀♀ flying over fail to elicit the response. After lunch we begin surveying the wedge- tail bunros to ascertain how many yng are present & how many burrows have been dug. We poke sticks into 848 burrows, finding ≈ ½ empty, & find 102 chicks in their burrows. We prob. missed a few. We banded 73 chicks, most of which have all flight feathers growing in. It is remarkable that most chicks are in the same developmental stage - there is very little spread in characters at all. We moved the mist net to a better location in the hopes of catching shrub-lands. Return from made out - AM. Catch 1 golden plovers in net - #642-01154. #1 written on fessae. We count wedge-tails - ≈ 3500 Adults counted, with