Ludwig, James P. 1964 2 All of these birds are very skittish and they seem to act as if they were hunted extensively at one time. The call note of the started stilt is a harsh kree ... kree...kree. In flight the long legs hang far astern and in slow flight into a wind the legs are used as ballast. The head is hung far ahead of the bird in a "searching" attitude while the legs dangle straight out behind hanging out at least 5 inches beyond the extremity of the tail. The bird has a bowed appearance to its body. Feet Tail head Body Tail wing Head Gravitational Center Feet This arrangement places the center of gravity over the weight bearing wings. Unlike the herons which retract the neck to Balance weight over the wings, the stilt extends the neck. Senator Ansai, who has visited the Kilauea. Lighthouse Booby Colony on Kauai, donated two color pictures of the colony and its offshore island. Birds are present on both places. Three Red-footed Boobies (two chicks) are present in the picture, and in the background I believe that there is one Brown Booby. Ansai visited this area at approximately 1400 hours in August and believes that at least two hundred birds were Kilauea.