HOWLAND 
BIRDS ANNOTATED LIST 
SOOTY TERN 
Feb. 1, 1965 —- Thompson -- " A new .esting colony has started 
on west side of the island, hj We banded a few here 
but hit the old colony on tne east side side with 
about 2700 bands. The colony on the east has both 
eggs and young. The west colony are all fresh eggs. 
Doug (Hackman) estimates 3000 nearly fledged and 
25,000 on heavily incubated eggs. " "80 Sooty Tern 
(blood samples taken) " 
Feb. 2, 1965 --— Thompson -- " In p.m. looked at wing molt 
from Sooty Terns. No rime or reason to molt and no 
pattern. Birds were scooped out of the air with a 
net and checked, banded and released. This evening 
we concentrated on Sterna fuscata and succeeded in 
banding 9000 plus." 
Feb. 2, 1965 ---- Huber -- "Saw a Sooty Tern incubating a turbine 
(i.e. Turbo . the common hermit crab shell on Howland 
RBG) shell last night. " 
Feb. 1, 1965 ---- Merrill -- " The (Sooty) terns have moved from 
the wiridward side to the leeward near the lighthouse. 
They are nesting and have eggs but no young. " 
" (Collected) 9 Sooty Terns adults (at night during 
bllod work) " 
Feb. 2, 1965 -----Merrill -- " Banded Sooty Terns (from dusk) 
until 1 A.M. Did 1500 each, " 
Feb. 1, 1965 ---- Woodward -- " Sooty Terns are now nesting 
XiS^SXSMI|cJ(on eggs) behind camp by the lighthouse 
and also over on the other shore. The colony that 
bad eggs last October now contains large young. One 
nest was found with 2 eggs. " 
Feb. 2, 1965 ---- Woodward -- " This eveining we all banded 
Sooty Terns in the colony behind camp. I banded 
1201. Six nests with 2 eggs in them were found. 
I noticed that there were two types of nests -- one 
on bare sand and another on a pad of dead grass, I 
don't think the birds bring the nesting material and 
construct a nest. Rather they just lay their egg on 
the dead vegetation that is already there. 
Feb. 1, 1965 ---- Hackman -- (Species Account) "Two colonies 
now exisit on the island. One,... well established 
on the past two island surveys, has nearly fledged 
birds on the north end and heavily incubated eggs 
on the south end. This colony is located on the 
beach crest (windward) on the southeast end of the 
island. ---- The second colony is located between 
Itascatown's ruins and the Amelia Earhart lighthouse. 
About 10,000 birds are in this colony on eggs that 
are well incubated. This colony seems to be under 
going an extension toward the middle of the island 
as new eggs are appearing in small clearings in the 
Tribulus between Itascatown and the lighthouse. 
