two more black-foot study nests. In a few minutes this Am I watched a pair of Laysans copulate. For twenty minutes prior to copulation there a steady activity of mutual preening of the head and neck and rarely the breast. Occasionally this was accompanied by the call which seems to double as a threat call to trespassers in the territory. This call is not unlike that of babies which call to get attention: It is soft, but [illegible] sounds strained to my ear. After the long session of mutual preening, the male, with no apparent display simply mounted the female, and copulation took place. After copulation they immediately gave the same call clacked her bill several times ( ♂ also clacked ) and each set out to preen themselves and about ten minutes later they resumed the mutual preening. On several other occasions I have seen Laysans copulate or attempt copulations with little or no display and only this neck and head preening. After watching a number of pairs I believe that this courtship preening is very important in the maintainence of the pair bond. In defense behavior, a threaten Laysan's territory at this seems ill defined, but intruders are repulsed in a very typical fashion. The defender arches his neck placing the bill on the breast feathers and utters the strained call. The effect of the posture is to make the bird seem much larger than normal, while the call announces to the intruder that the territory is occupied. Laysans are not chivalrous sorts of birds and attack intruders when their backs are turned also. In cutting the vegetation study areas today I noted two communities which seem to be climax and stable in the ecological sense. The old high grass shock community seems to be a well defined association of saphrophytic organisms and insects ( sow bugs, cock-roaches etc. ). Young vigorous- ly growing shocks have fewer insects than old dying clumps. In the older dying clumps there is a rich humus created, and a very productive microenvironment for roaches and other associated insects. Under the scaveola clumps, and indeed the whole scaveola clump, appears to represent the vegeta- tion climax for this island. Soil under the scaveola is inordinately rich compared to the rest of the island and there are a large number of insects associated with this. The environment in terms of temperature and humidity under these bushes seems to be very constant, and there is a leaf litter and branch litter there often 2 -4 inches deep: This like the Beech-Maple forest floor provides a very rich environment for many saphrophytes and insects.