competently to species' level. Since ship's 

 crewmembers were responsible for maintain- 

 ing a bird watch of their own for BCF records, 

 two observers were present most of the time. 



Although the Townsend Cromwell followed a 

 fixed track which prevented a close approach to 

 most flocks, occasionally birds were collected 

 from the bow with a shotgun. 



No systematic nocturnal observations were 

 made. One or two birds flew aboard at night 

 during each cruise, and occasional observations 

 in moonlight of individual birds or flocks indi- 

 cated at least some nocturnal activity. 



Eighteen birds of five species (table 2) were 

 collected; these confirmed many of the sight 

 identifications. Twenty-five birds of four spe- 

 cies were banded with USFWS (Fish and Wild- 

 life Service) bands (table 3). With the exception 

 of a Black-footed Albatross banded March 17, 

 1965 and recovered the following day, none of 

 these birds has been recovered. 



Techniques of Data Recording 



Because conditions for observation were sel- 

 dom ideal, many birds were identified only to 

 genus or family. 



Observations were entered on a standardized 

 form along with the time of observation to the 



nearest minute of local time, number of birds 

 of each species in each sighting, the direction 

 the birds were headed, and other information 

 pertinent to each sighting. The information 

 included descriptions when identification was 

 uncertain, behavior, bands or tags on birds, 

 age, sex, presence of molt, color phase, whether 

 or not a bird was collected, food association, 

 unusual weather, and length of time that a bird 

 was in sight. If an actual count was not pos- 

 sible, the estimated limits of accuracy were 

 recorded. Birds that followed the ship were 

 censused about every hour. 



A sighting was defined arbitrarily as the ob- 

 servation of a single bird or a group of birds 

 acting as a unit. A time was assigned to each 

 sighting to make it distinct from other sight- 

 ings. Thus, if different times were given for 

 entries on the log, the entries were separate 

 sightings and the birds in question were not 

 associated. Multiple entries of the same time 

 indicated a sighting composed of more than one 

 bird. 



On April 3, 1964 Sooty Shearwaters were en- 

 countered in such numbers that counts were 

 recorded in 5-minute totals rather than by 

 sightings. 



For analysis, a flock was defined arbitrarily 

 as a group of five or more birds. 



Table 2. — Bird specimens collected on BCF Townsend Cromwell TWZOP cruises, 



March 1964 to May 1965 



Date 



Time 



USNM 

 number 



Species 



Sex 



Location 



Lat. N. 



Long. W. 



U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. 



Banded USFWS No. 615-15018. 



