19 & * 
Ma rch l4~ -Landed on Jarvis about 9 and set up carap in the building left 
by the I GY. Gate are plentiful and relatively ''tame" . One of their 
major retreats is the building. When we cleaned it out, we found many 
A A 
birds feathers indlea' 
eir diet. Among those feathers readily 
/V / h- ! ■ ; 
identifiable were fe number of sets of wings of Sooty Tern. A young 
booby was found (sp.) and in later explorations under the house, we 
found the carcass of a young Red-tailed Tropicbird. In the afternoon 
Fred spent much time shooting and retrieving cats under the house. In 
the evening he spent most of his time chasing cats around the island 
8 
etting some thirty in all (from many of which blood samples were taken. 
Stomachs examined were found to contain feathers. 
After setting up carap we ran the usual survey of the island. Boobies 
are very abundant (perhaps 750 Brown Booby 2500 Red-footes and 5500- 
* 
6000 Masked Boobies. The majority of Masked Boobies are pre-breeding 
(in pairs and territorial although few eggs have been laid.). The 
Red-foots are slightly more advanced in their cycle, although most 
nests are empty. Many Red-foot nests on the island are placed flat on 
the ground. Others are placed low (8 - 12") in small Sida bushes $ 
with not even a "platform" of sticks under their nests. (Very possibly 
it indicates that Red-foots have colonized this island "recently" ) . 
Several nests (but- by far the minority) are placed on elevated areas such 
as barrels, or perhaps the framework of the weather station left by the 
IC-Y. All boobies on the island (except Brown Boobies which are apparently 
"congenitdLlly nervous") are much tamer than on other islands. 
