SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
WASHINGTON 25, D. C. 
8 September 1964 
Dear Maryanna: 
This is in reply to Fleet’s letter of August 28 concerning 
Berlese funnel samples and blood samples# 
We do not have a Berlese funnel out here and so can do 
no sampling until we get one. 
Our present blood-collecting gear consists of 50 syringes, 
100 needles, one gross pipettes, and applicator sticks. Before 
we can do any blood sampling we need a centrifuge, centrifuge 
tubes and rubber stoppers for them, tube racks, an aspirator, 
and more needles, syringes, and pipettes, depending upon the 
number of samples required. One of everything for each sample. 
Species available for sampling will probably include alba¬ 
tross, all boobies, frigates, wedge-tailed shearwater, tropic- 
bird, Bonin petrel, Hawaiian and noddy tern, rats, and possibly 
seals if I get some time to work on the tranquilizer dose this 
fall. Bird species available will depend upon when the request 
is made. 
In reply to one of Mrs. Church's questions; yes we have 
bands 793-24001 thru 25000. They came out in the shipment of 
5000 no. 3's we recently received. 
Back in June a recording thermometer was returned to D.C. 
for repairs. We need it out here if it is repaired. If it 
hasn't could you please try to speed up the process a bit. 
We might consider the possibility of using cannon nets 
for shorebirds on Kure. I have no idea of the expense and prob¬ 
lems involved. The majority of our shorebirdssit on the runway 
wherevcan set up nothing that might interfere with an emergency 
plane landing, so we can't set up nets or traps out there, but 
a cannon net operation might be carried off successfully. 
Another bright idea; as we don't know the sequence of 
plumage changes in things like boobies and tropicbirds would it 
be worthwhile to cage birds here that we know hatched this year, 
and keep them to observe the plumage changes. We would need 
chicken wire, fine mesh,for cages, and wood. Also a supply of 
food as we are unable to catch enough in the lagoon. We could 
get frozen squid sent out from Hono; there is room for it in 
the station's freezers. Or ttouM it be possible to work a 
