area. 
The area !, East n covered a portion of the east beach which comprised 
about 35 to k0% of the perimeter. 
In the following table the nest counts given are adjusted to compensate 
for varying degrees of completeness of coverage^ ranging from o0% in the 
West-Central area to about 95/^ in the South area). The figure in paren¬ 
theses after each nest count represents the percentage found in that area 
of the total number of nests found in that stage of the cycle. The figure 
in parentheses below the area designation represents the percent of nests 
expected if number of nests were proportional to area and if the Blue¬ 
faced Booby nesting cycle were uniform on the island. 
Results of Blue-faced Booby nest count by area - 
Howland Island - August, 1966 
Contents of Nest _ Nesting Areas 
• 
West 
-Central 
( 19 %) 
Southwest 
s 
outh 
( 13 %) 
East 
(47%) 
One egg 
1 
c 7 %) 
3 
(22%) 
2 
(143$) 
8 
(57%) 
Two eggs 
0 
4 
(36%) 
2 
( 18 %) 
5 
(46%) 
Egg and naked young 
0 
--- 
0 
0 
— 
0 
Naked young 
3 
( 30 %) 
3 
(50%) 
0 
0 
— 
Small downy young 
• 
9 
(22%) 
14 
(33%) 
5 
(12%) 
14 
(33%) 
Large downy young 
15 
(22%) 
30 
W) 
4 
( 6%) 
20 
(29%) 
Immatures 
11 
(13%) 
28 
(32%) 
11 
(13%) 
38 
(43%) 
Total: nests with 
eggs 
1 
TW) 
7 
( 28 %) 
4 
(16%) 
13 
(52%) 
Total: nests with 
young 
37 
( 18 %) 
75 
( 36 %) 
20 
(10%) 
72 
(35%) 
Total: all nests 
39 
( 17 %) 
82 
(33%) 
24 
(10%) 
87 
(38%) 
Some of the tentative hypotheses revealed by the data in this table are: 
1. The Southwest area evidently not only supports a greater nesting 
density than the other sections but also seems to be an area in which 
the nesting season is more prolonged. It was also apparently the area 
in which nesting began earliest during this nesting seasons (with the 
possible exception of the West-central area which may have begun even 
earlier. 
2. The Eastern area seems to have been of considtently lower nesting 
density through the past season and is now of particular interest since 
it is the area in which the most recent egg laying has predominantly 
occurred. (This conjecture is supported by observations on the proportion 
