July suggests that some egg laying will continue to occur in the following 
months * 
Red-footed Booby Estimated population - c. 280 
Estimated roosting population - c. 200 
Breeding population -- 80 
Sample nest count results (count be¬ 
lieved to be more than 95 percent 
complete) -----n - 20 
No. of unchecked nests- 2 
No. of empty, active nests - 2 
Nests/eggs-■- Ik ( 38 . 9 #) 
Nests/naked young *- 2 ( 5 •6$) 
' Nests/small downy young -- 6 ( 16 . 7 $) 
No. of large downy young- 3 ( 8 . 3 $) 
No. of large feathered young- 2 (5*6$) 
No. of near immatures- 9 (25*0$) 
No. of returns-9 (8 A-U, 1 S-U) - 
8 breeding birds 
Red-footed Boobies nested primarily as in the past in the low dead 
Cordla in the center of the island. As a result of the recent, apparently 
fairly long period of drought, the one large, still living Cordia. found in 
a depression has begun to die and Boobies have begun to nest in it, probably 
for the first time since the Program has been visiting the island. This 
bush contained nine active nests and the remains of perhaps as many more 
olaer ones# One nest was empty, 3 contained eggs (2 fresh and 1 slightly 
incubated), 1 a small downy young, 2 near-immatures,'"and-2 bests .had con¬ 
vents which 'could not be checked since the nests were more than nine feet 
above the ground (several were at least 15 feet above the substrate). 
All eggs seen were tested for stage of incubation by flotation. Of 
lh eggs, 2 (14 percent) were fresh, 3 (21 percent) were very slightly in¬ 
cubated, 2 (14- percent) were slightly incubated, 2 (14 percent) were 
moderately incubated, and 5 (38 percent) were heavily incubated. 
Only a very small proportion of the breeding population (9 percent) 
was handled due to the extreme time limitations on our visit. All these 
oirds ( 7 ) had been banded previously on Howland. The one subadult return 
had been banded on Enderbury in January 1967 * All the breeding bird re¬ 
turns were intermediate phase birds and the great majority (more than 95 
percent; of other birds seen on nests were also intermediate phase. At 
least one or two birds that were dark phase, or verging upon it, were 
seen on nests, and one white phase adult was seen in the roosting 
population. 
The roosting population was estimated at about 200 birds, or about 
the same number that was present in July 1966 . -The majority of these birds 
were subadults in various stages of plumage development. About 75 of the 
total roosting population was seen in the large, now dying, Cordia bush 
ana the rest of the roosting birds were found in groups of from about 5 
to 15 in the upper branches of the few remaining Cordia in the primary 
nesting areas. 
