cats were killed in July, we found one species of shearwater nesting, another looking for nest sites and several species of terns nesting successfully on the main part of the island (these same terns had previously nested only on the small islands in the central Lagoon). From this it seems only logical that cats are one of the major limiting factors on Gardner, Hull, Sydney, Canton, Starbuck, Malden, Jarvis and Christmas Islands and that elimination of these cats would greatly increase both the number of species and individuals using the islands as breeding sites. Hull Island A landing was made on the north side of the island and 42 hours were spent here by the Smithsonian party. Mr. Long (Botonist) walked about half the island. The rest of the party concentrated its efforts on the tern colony on the north side. Eleven bird species were observed of which four were breeding. 10,500 Sooty Terns were banded, 18 were collected and 67 blood samples were taken. Dogs, cats and rats were all present on the island. All the Gilbertese natives were evacuated in December so that there are no longer any human inhabitants on the island. Phoenix Island An easy landing was made on the west side of the island and a total of 87 hours were spent ashore. A complete nest count was made of the island and a vegetation cover map was roughed out.