SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
WASHINGTON 25, D. C. 
Progress Report 
McKean Island 
Pour nights were spent hero, the moon greatly hampering the bird banding. 
Surf was variable, being rough enough one day to upset the boat completely, 
tossing it and blood samples end over end. Only damage was the loss of our 
second motor cover, putting both S.I. motors our of action, (first cover 
lost during a n££r capsize on Howland) 
Birds 
Very abundant with Sooty Terns being one of the commoner species. An 
epidemic had hit the immature frigates and boobies killing 75 percent 
cur n 
or better of the birds and as a result 845 Lesser Frigate and 43 Masked Booby 
bands were recovered. 14,495 birds of 14 species were banded and 197 returns 
were obtained on previously banded birds. This is broken down by species 
below. 
Species 
Number Banded 
Returns 
Pet. Pop. 
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 
253 
4 
70 
Audubon's Shearwater 
418 
2 
50 
White Thr. Storm Petrel 
9 
Ml 
50 
Red-tailed Tronic Bird 
6 
- 
40 
Blue-faced Booby 
248 
151 
85 
Brown Booby 
23 
1 
50 
Red-footed Eooby 
410 
34 
90 
Golden Plover 
1 
- 
01 
Bristle Th. Curlew 
22 
M 
25 
Sooty Tern 
11,926 
« 
10 
Gray-backed Tern 
299 
1 
08 
Common Noddy 
579 
1 
08 
Fairy Tern 
101 
2 
20 
Blue- gray Noddy 
200 
1 
08 
Handled 
11 birds of 4 species 
which died during blood 
sampling were 
collected 
Mammals : Hone 
P.eetiles : Several geckos collected 
Fish: 15 individuals of 5 species were collected. 
T v* r* rP '■* c; • 
run. 140 
All habitats and plant 
specimens of 13 species 
species were sampled. Six Berlisi samples were 
were preserved. 1500 live ticks were collected 
