between Midway and Japan, apparently because the greater abundance of 
Japanese fishing vessels in this area increases the likelihood of 
their capture. 
As additional recoveries of banded birds come in, the 
answers to some of the many questions concerning their life at sea are 
beginning to take shape. For other questions, it will take many years 
to accumulate sufficient evidence to provide answers. The large- 
scale banding program started in 1957 and continued in 1958 has 
greatly increased the rate of pelagic recoveries of marked birds. 
These recoveries are being recorded and analyzed, and the results will 
be published when a significant amount of data has been accumulated. 
Breeding Cycle 
During the 1957-58 season, intensive studies of the breeding 
cycles of both species of albatrosses were undertaken. These involved 
twice-daily observations on 116 Laysan albatross nests and 39 black- 
footed albatross nests, on each of which both pair-members were banded 
and dye-marked. 
These studies covered arrival at the nesting grounds, 
territory, mating, nests and nest-building, egg-laying, incubation, 
hatching, and care and development of the chicks during the guard stage 
and early post-guard stage (for definition see footnote 2/ on page 12). 
Lack of time and personnel, and a prolonged absence from the island, 
made it impossible to continue the study beyond the middle post-guard 
stage. 
Although these studies are important in understanding the 
overall biology of albatrosses, and are thus essential for the applica- 
tion of intelligent management plans, they have no immediate direct 
application to the aircraft problem. Therefore, they will not be 
reported here, but will be published in detail elsewhere. 
Mortality of Juvenile Albatrosses 
During June and July of 1957, an effort was made to determine 
the mortality rate of juvenile albatrosses since egg-laying. 
Black-footed albatross juvenile mortality on Sand Island.-- 
To determine mortality of young black-footed albatrosses on Sand 
Island, a complete count was made of all young birds from 28 June to 
1 July. The birds were counted by discrete areas; the areas were the 
same as those used during the January-February nest counts (Kenyon, 
et al. 1958). Following are the counts compared with the earlier 
nest counts: 
14 
