V 
100 . 
23 Jan., 1965 0 
iSa So much has happened today that it seems luxe 3 
days have gone by. It was the day for Blue-faced Booby 
hourly check, so I began that at 0.700. Never were there 
fewer than 23 birds in the colony at any time. a. 
'caught and painted the $ with an egg - 0 6 now 
£67-35047, and also got the (697-24517) -.05. 
The male, after sitting some time with his mate 
during the day, left and joined another 9, even en- 
gaging in territorial combat against R 27 - 2 $ with this 
new bird. B8 laid an egg today around noon, so we have 
two Blue-faced eggs in the colony at the present time. 
R19 spent some more time with 03, but rejoined R20 
after all 3 birds flew about. 
The Laysan abandonments in SAF numbered 36 today - 
this is after Jim Priest had taken 13 of the eggs last 
weekend. 3 more bands from dead birds were removed by 
Dave. I saw only two sick birds, but learned a good 
deal more about them. 
1) . 4 si incubating birds were noticed in the NAF, 
surrounded by a circle of feathers on the ground. Ex- 
amination showed that these feathers were not fallen 
out of the bird, but were cutJ.’J' The quills have been 
bleanly severed, as the one taped in below shows. 
2) ' The backs of two of the birds were examined, 
and there were ABSOLUTELY - NO SORES on them - the stubs 
of the cut off quills remained firmly in theback of 
the bird. 
3) Rats appear to be the only agent, aside from man 
And scissors, that could cut the feathers as cleanely 
as they were cut. 
4) The feathers were removed in an area directly 
anterior to the uropygial gland - an area often stricken 
oy the ’disease*. 
5) All the birds mentioned were wi thing 100’ of one 
another - does this suggest that nomadic bands or packs 
of rats operated within a given area? 
| 6) Xn broad daylight, a bird was seen with rats 
crawling all about him. I remained intne are#, and ohe 
pats crawled over the tail of the live bird and commenced 
feeding, even though the Laysan grabbed and threw 2 of 
them off its back. The rats were feeding on live flesh 
in the area in which the feathers had been removed from 
the incubating birds. This stricken bird was near the 
N, end of the runway, well over a dozen rats about him. 
Pictures were secured of the rats on the back of the 
