7 4 
li 17 Nov. This morning we made up stancisl for more 
data sheets - 1 also made up data sheets for the Blue- 
faced Booby material I hope to get. Also made up card 
for a e* Gr. Frigate that, had been sitting around the 
■ng 
shack for 5 days. This bird is so equiped for glidii 
even the barbs on the leading edge of the 10th primary 
are reduced, flattened, and compressed, forming a cutting 
edge to the leading primary. The ramus of this primary is 
' flattened somewhat so as to form a more thin edge to the 
'•rind as the bird soars. The bird this morning was molting 
heavily, and was gaining new no. 4 primaries in both 
wings, extensve new rectrices in a apparently chaotic 
:nanner, and extensive body molt. The gular pouch was 
bright asm orange. The bird was apparently coming into 
oreeding condition. 
Three more Bla ck-foot nests were staked out - two 
nest have been placed in suph close juxtaposition that 
the eggs are 1 foot apart '"and the incubatinng birds 
must touch one another. It will be interesting to see 
if both nests last. 
18 Nov. Rat trapping all A.M. We caught 1$5 rats, 
a good number of them new. In the afgernoon I did the 
Boobies - the Brown Booby has gone - and the Wedge- 
tails. Three of the Wedge-tails have gone - so now 
there are only six left. So far all birds have had 
a very musty smell before they have flown off. No 
bird having the smell have been found on the next 
study day. 
I 
19 Nov. RATS AGAIN. It went a great deal faster 
today. We have been made aware of the problem with 
the Verbec&na on this island. Not found here a few 
years back, it has now spread to large oreas of the 
NAP AND SAF, as well as spreading in clumps over 
many areas of the island. The stuff is so thick it 
is in many areas crowding out the S caevol,? . It is 
rapidly invading fields of Eragrost... Trioulus , 
Boer ha via , and Solanum,-, and kills these native plants 
with ease. We have pulled out large clumps, and the 
ground is barren underneath, nothing survives. There 
are so many seeds sown that I doubt that anything short 
of complete and continued effort could control it. If it 
continues to spread, areas now utilized for breeding by 
