r 
feed, by hovering, diving from heights in excess of 30 ft, and flying 
off from the surface of the water. Several times birds were seen for 
the first time rising from the water as if they had been sitting on it, 
but no bird was actually observed sitting on the water. 
Common Noddy 
% 
Of the 420 Noddies seen in April, 22 were seen on three separate 
days in excess of 50 miles from land. One flock of five was found at 15° N, 
over 200 miles from nearest land. Observation of Noddies this far from 
land, while not unprecedented, is nevertheless unusual. 
Sooty Tern 
Numbers decreased 22 o/o from March T s total of 2133 to 1655 in April. 
Greatest concentrations occurred around the high Hawaiian Islands and along 
the 154° w i e g south to 10° N. The difference between April’s and March’s 
totals was due largely to the relative lack of birds (97) seen north of Oahu 
this month. Such a concentration was evident in April 1964 (750 birds). 
A shift to more southerly feeding grounds on the part of Sooties this April 
would explain this inconsistency. 
Fairy Tern 
Numbers remained constant from March to April, 24 this month and 23 
last month. The complete absence of this species from the area in April 
1964 is puzzling in light of the numbers seen in 1965* Two-thirds of the 
birds seen this month were within 100 miles of the high Hawaiian Islands. 
Blue-grey Noddy 
At least one and possibly two more Blue-grey Noddies were seen shortly 
after leaving Port Allen, Kauai. This is the first sighting of this species 
* 
on a Cromwell cruise, even though the birds were seen in an area previously 
unsampled by the ship: 
