SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
WASHINGTON. D. C. 20560 
DROPPINGS FROM THE EAGLE'S ROOST 
September 21, 1966 
Another week of rainy weather is upon us here in Washington. 
There isn't much to report this week. We waited until today to write 
the Droppings hoping that the mails would bring something we could 
pass on. However, the mails have been very slow and the Droppings 
must go out. 
Things have been very quiet here in DC. Jane is at Kent Point 
until the 3rd of October. From all reports the rains haven't driven 
her back to us yet but we haven't heard any accounting of how many 
birds she handled. Dr. Pyle was with us last week but departed on 
Sunday for Honolulu by way of Salt Lake. Max Thompson and Dick Crossin 
arrived back with us over the weekend after ages in the field. Bob 
DeLong is on leave in Indiana (we think) and should be returning here 
eventually. Dick Crossin was called to Scranton, Pennsylvania on 
Sunday afternoon after receiving word that his father had died. 
Ken Balcomb is still with us but is anxiously awaiting the mails for 
news from his draft board. Max came back to us sporting some "fuzz" 
in the form of a mustache. 
People were very scarce on the home front yesterday. Saverna 
and Anne were the only ones holding down the fort. Mary and'Ruth 
were out ill, Keenan was in art class for the morning, and Bettye 
doesn't report for work on Tuesdays. Today however, we have a full 
house. Speaking of sickness, Binion has recovered nicely from his 
fall in his apartment and is now back iceskating. Also, he is the 
proud posessor of a new RCA color television. We haven't seen Roger 
Clapp yet since he's been back. He and Tina took a vacation when 
Rog returned and on Monday we heard that he is ill and so far he 
hasn't been into the office. We are all rested up and anxiously 
awaiting the mountains of manuscripts Roger will have for us to type. 
Keenan's first art class was yesterday at the Corcoran Gallery and 
she returned sporting a beret and an easel and was last seen madly 
turning out canvasses. 
There are no recoveries or returns to report this week. However, 
Binion has passed along the following item. A flea which was collected 
in May from a Wedge-tailed Shearwater burrow on Manana is the first to 
be associated with a sea bird from the Central Pacific. It appears 
that this is a mammal not a bird flea and additional collecting should 
prove if this is a natural occurrence. Binion and Jaye Cee have been 
busily working with masses of bird heads which they received in a 
shipment .recently. Binion asks that in the future please to freeze the 
bird heads as soon as possible so that they won't be bloody. Indeed 
this last shipment since its arrival here caused Binion and Jaye Cee's 
room (605) to be off limits especially to the female members of the 
Project who can't stand the sight of bloody heads. 
