SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
WASHINGTON 25, D. C. 
19 September I 963 
]yirs. 1-Iaryanna Sraellow 
Division of Birds 
Smithsonian Inst. 
V/ashington 25» D.C. 
Dear i-Iaryanna: 
We are both hale and hearty and covered vdth Bonin Island 
Petrel and Fairy Tern you-know-what. The tinink with ray clothes 
hasn't arrived as yet so this tends to increase the perfume. 
All other equipment has arrived, including the equipment I got 
in Honoliilu and had shipped out. Kure just received word this 
week about our stay over there and we are moving over today. 
Jim got to Midway on September 6 th and the equipment arrived on 
the(|th. I got here on the 13 th. We've been having a little 
trouble working in our banding operations around trips to the 
" 0 " club, and this coupled with the fact that the birds are 
scattered around all over people's lawns maizes staggering around 
after them increasingly complicated. There are a few dividends 
however (not the kind Bess is worried about) as one gentleman, 
after coming out to see what in hell we were doing on his lawn 
at 11 PM, then invited us to Tnanksgiving dinner, proclaiming 
that he'd have a special plane pick us up at Kure if necessary. 
We have collected and prepared 37 specimens, perhaps the 
most interesting a pair of teal that do not appear to be North 
American and a solitary sandpiper. Also a few curlews, Christ¬ 
mas Island Shearwaters, Sanderling, Tattler, etc. Plus a few 
mice and rats. And they are all rotting around our roomi 
Vie have banded about 775 birds, the bulk of the figure 
being Bonin Island Petrels, with young Red-tailed Tropicbirds 
second and Faii^ Terns third. V/e have obtained 76 recoveries, 
most of these on Bonins also, 
FolloX'ri.ng is a rundown on the species observed to date. 
Red-tailed Tropicbird - abundant, many chicks from recently 
hatched to fully fledged, on both Sand and Eastern. 
Fairy Tern - abundant, raany chicks, most nearly fledged, on 
both islands 
Hawaiian Noddy - abundant, many young fully fledged and 
flying, on both islands 
Common Noddy - common on south shore of Sand, just roosting; 
fully fledged young on Eastern 
