Issued ~terly by the Western Bird-Banding Association at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Berkeley, California

Miscellaneous Information Regarding Membership, »nergency Band Supply, Traps, and Publications will be found on the Back Cover Since this space in the last lTews was devoted to the most restricted pllase of a birdls activities, it is perhaps suitable that the present discussion should swing to the opposite extreme and discuss certain problems connected with far-flung migratory movement. For this it would be hard to find a more timely moment, for we have just examined the first copy to reach these parts of the most important work ever printed on migration.

For a long time we llave been (rarely) dravrillJ;';and (frequently) planning to draw clusters of lines on maps which purport to reduce some of the contents of that most unjustl~r neglected of ornithological publications, Lincoln IS "Returns of Banded Birds, (1923-1926)" as well as lists published in the Canadian Field Naturalist, Roberts' Birds of Minnesota, and elsewhere, to graphic and compre- hensible form, at least insofar as to show what is known of winter ranges and their correlation with breeding ranges. It seemed likely that solid facts might appear as to whether breeding populations, especially in widespread races and species, were constant in winter and summer, and whether they occupied corres- ponding parts of the general winter and summer ranges. These questions, over and above their scientific value, have taken on special practical and economic impor- tance in connection with the depletion of the waterfowl.

We did not find out very much, for a number of reasons. First, because the published material was too scanty. 1923-6 is far away and long ago in the history of American banding, and it is a pity that so much effort and money has since been spent only for the results to lie hidden and unavailable without a trip to Washington. Second, because such a large part of the banding, especially of waterfowl, has been carried out at unprofitable seasons, so that we usually find ourselves with two or more records of a bird in migration and no special knowledge of its breeding or Wintering grounds. nlird, because so much of the banding is done along a narrow latitudinal belt of northern states, which rarely gives us a chance to compare the behavior of northern and southern breeding popu- lations. In this respect the west is better off thazl the east, but, previous to 1926, too little banding had been done in the west. Abroad, where most ornitho- logical work originates in a very small area in northern Europe and in England, the situation is somewhat similar.

None the less, the Old World, as usual in matters ornithological, has gotten far ahead of us, and Schuz and Weigold in Germany have brought out their sumptuous Atlas of Bird Migration, from the Banding Returns of Palaearctic Birds, which ~r be had for the modest price of nearly twenty-five dollars from Friedlander and Son, Berlin. Practically spe&cing, it must be worth little less, with its hundred and fifty twice-printed maps on coated paper, 10-5/8 x lc?t inches, and accompanying volume of textual commentary, both enclosed in a board portfolio. Scientifically speaking, it is quite beyond price. It is the third publication on bird migration issued by the Bird Observatory of the National Bio- logical Foundation on the ornithologically classic isle of Helgoland, but it is a contribution from tileRossitten Bird Observatory of the Kaiser Wilhelm Associ- ation for the Advrolcement of Science, where Dr. Schuz is stationed. Assistance is acknowledged from the Prussian Ministry of Science, Art, and Public Instruc- tion. Dr. Weigold is the Director of the Natural History Museum at Hannover and saw long service 011 Helgoland. If the power to issue such work in such a format is a symptom of 'being frankly and nationally "brolre", by all means let the U.S. hasten to join the majority in that Utopian condition. The maps show what is l:::nownof all European (including British) birds which have made a reasonable number of returns, (up to various dates in 1930 which are pri~ted on the individual maps), graphically, by means of an admirable system of lines and conventional signs which make it possible to tell at a glance in most cases (1) point of banding, (2) whether banded at the nest or by trapping, (3) month of banding if by trapping, (4) point of recovery, (5) age up to three years if banded as a nestling (or elapsed time if otherwise) at recovery, and (6)month of recovery. In rare cases of overcrOWding it is necessary to turn to the com- mentary to get some of this information. The latter always gives the orthodox description of the range, usually from Hartert, or, if it is a question of an emigant to Africa, from Grote, the principal facts and references in regard to the banding, banding records of forms which do not warrant mapping, and miscellaneous remarks. Commonly one sheet and one map can summarize the returns of a given form, but in some cases, when little material exists and that from limited areas, the plate is broken up into several maps, and still more often, when information is ex- tensive, many plates are devoted to a single bird, each showing returns from the birds bred or trapped at a single station or group of stations. ~us 21 plates are devoted to the Black-headed Gull end 11 to the Starling, and in these and one or two other cases, final maps are devoted to summarizing the material from the rest. Separate plates are also sometimes reqUired for the more distant returns, and inset maps to cover returns from Africa are generally used. The commonest and most interesting use of the inset map, however, is to show the "Lebensraum" of the given breeding populations within the species or race,--the "population ra:p.ge,1Iof which we shall have more to say. '!his is Simply represented by a line enclosing the points where the young were banded and all points of returns. Several such areaSj partly overlappir4, may be enclosed by a number of distinguishable dotted or broken lines. We do not find a formal sta.tement of policy in the matter of the separ- ate or collective representations of geographic races. This is of course always a hopeless question as far as trusting to field identification of trapped birds goes, but is self-evident in the case of birds banded at the nest. Of the birds represented in the present document almost three-quarters are from the more primi- tive groups and little subdivided. Most of the rest are Uorth-European forms ta1:en\vithin a sil1gleracial range or at the most from the ranges of two forms, generally one in the British Isles and one on the mainland. The general policy seems to be to give the specific name only even when there can be no doubt of the race, but this is sometimes departed from without apparent reason. Anthus spini- letta littoralis, Lanius ~ collurio, Falco columbar ius regulus, where there is no doubt of the race, are given in full, while Motacilla alba, Muscicapa striata ~d Turdus philomelos are used in cases when the bandillg area enters the range of more than one race. At VTorst the fullest information available on the forms in-- volved is to be found either on the map s or in the book.

At first, in cases when the place of birth is clearly Shown, which in- cludes the vast majority of these maps, it seems desirable to omit racial names, Which are after all, only designations of slightly differentiated geographic populations. The more we study the Lebensraum diagrams, however, the more we de- sire to see recognized races graphically distinguiShed. There is nothing novel in working out a population range when the population is a differentiated race. Distinction of population ranges within a race or undivided species is not only a new achievement of the greatest possible importance in the study of geographiC variation, but one which can be carried out by no conceivable means other than banding. The great difference in technique between Americanand foreign banding, the first with its strong empl'l8.sisOn trapping and the latter with relatively far more banding of young, is very evident even in the later maps which show the passerine returns. Yet our ownfeelings are not those of unalloyed satisfaction over our ownpresent giGantic numberof trapped birds, for very little work on returns showshowmucheffort is \7asted on the comparatively fruitless banding of migrants, thousands of which ~,. not have the concrete value of half-a-dozen winter returns of birds banded as nestliIlgs, or kept track of through one or more breeding seasons or periods of winter residence. Disappointment in this respect is apt to be peculiarl:' poiglla.;."'ltover the duck returns. Mallard returns already in 1926 covered nearly eight double columnpages of fine tj'Pe, from mich less than forty items, mostly from two stations, in Alberta and Saskatclwwan, contrib- ute to an understa.."ldingof the breeding and \7intering complex. Wefully realize that questions of route, speed, stopping places, and general manner of travel, arc of great interest, but it is a pity that in the practice of banding, Tihich consists largely in "taking what you can get", rre nr~st be overrrhelmedb;}rilrl'orma- tion of lesser value and starve for what is more important. In the European records, the total of Mallard returns to 1930 do not greatly exceed ours through 1926, but over half are shownto have been marked as ;}roung, and the ratio of sig- nificance is vastlj' 1lighor.

T'nenumber of passerine returns is not astonishingly large. Weare at first inclined to say the same of the number of species and subspecies represent- ed, until we consider how small the geographic area is in which most of the \'lork has been done, though divided amongma...Vhumannationalities. Whenthis is f'ully realized it appears tbat as ~- l:inds of song birds have been banded and shown appreciable returns as could 'be expected from most areas of like size in the United States and Canada. In this fielcl the numbersbanded as young are aston- ishing, though we are not quite clear, from tee information given, whet~r the birds were unquestionably ba..."'ldedon t.."?J.ebreeding ground. Mapswhich showgreat numbers of returns ofsucl-:. birds as pipits, wagtails, flycatchers alld several thrushes showall birds banded as young and eVidentl~~dated from the breeding period, though't7e can hardly believe all were banded as nestlings.

Perhaps the most stril:ine; of our first impressiol1s is the almost in- variable southY1esterly-nortl1easterl~r trend of migratory movement,roughly parallel with the trend of the coasts from Scanc.inavia to Spain. This is not surprisi~ as long as we remain umongthe naturally sllore-haUl1tingbirds, or even birds which we believe to follo\7 the shore. Probably, as lietmore :bas said "it ic generally recognized that birds in migTatory flight tend to follo\7 lines of major topo- graphical relief Ollthe earth IS surface when these trend i11 the proper direction." Almost anything 't7hic~trended in the proper direction nould certainly be followed, but it is probable that coast lines are followed considerable distances m of the proper direction- Yet many intermediate captures are far i:1.1a.nd. Wecan only say that our small North-3uropean and Britisl'), Area occupies a section of what has long been lmoml, after Lucanus, as the Western Coast Route, where the major movementis to'.vard Spain, and sometimes through Spain into Africa. This is not the shortest route to a \7arIDclL'1late, \7nic}:1 \7ould be straight southward across France (':1h11e the cooler isotherms loop far sout:b::;restwardtouard Spain along the flight lines), nor the shortest, though perhaps the safest, to Africa. It is simply the route 'which is taken, perhaps as the result of centrifugal population presouro, perhaps as the slO\7result of some subtle selective factor which we shall never detect. Thus the nhole '\1orkin questio:l is not only a study of a single route, but of the birds which originate in a rather small section of it. As the TIorkis carried farther eastnard, .•..18 shall learn more of the emigants to southern Asia and the Levant. AS to the question of the integrity of the breeding population as a tightly adherent year-round uni t, we can only say that while the evidence Will not be complete for many years, such as is presented, while mainly negative, shows great lflck of uniformity, and it is almost certain that the qu.estionmust w.timate- ly be answered separately for every form, or for many small and probably hetero- geneous groups of forms. Extremes of either sort are infrequent. That is,most of the birds for which a reasonable amount of data are available sho\7 some tendency for breeding population groups to stick loosely together in winter, but few Show striking ex- amples of close adherence. To choose at random certain negative illustrations, the Lapwing snows population ranges for birds bred respectively in England, Scotland, Holland, Denmark, and southern S\1edan,which roU€hlY cover almost the same large, irregular, fraction of western Europe, the British Isles, and northern Africa, except that .the British birds extend a little farther north and the Swed- ish a little farther northeast. Viefeel that more returns would serve to make the ranges still more nearly coincident. Pintail ducks bred in Denmark are found in midwinter radially from the direction of northern Sootland to that of southern Italy, or through an angle of nearly 1800• Teal bred in Holland and north Germany are found in winter through a complete circle, with a rather large angular gap to the southeast.

To jump to the opposite extreme, the most striking instance of a local- ized breeding and wintering population, as well as the most spectacular series of recoveries ever recorded are the nine Swallows (Hirundo rustica) banded as nest- lings in various parts of England, and recaptured on the southeast coast of Sou.th Africa during January and February, with one in March. The impression of close- ness Is, of course, contributed to by the distance travelled and the small-scale map required to show both ends of the journey. 'J!b.eactual area of banding is in point of fact a rough parallelogram of some 300 x 150 miles and the area of re- capture about similar in size and shape. Other individuals banded in Denmark and Germany are shown either close beside the same group, (in January) or apparently heading for it in almost straight lines in Uovember and December, so that this may develop into a case in which the wintering range is far smaller than the breeding range. This map, by the way, in 'I'ilichthe lines are necessarily very confused, contains' an error. Only twelve swallows start, but thirteen arrive. It is noticeable that the map of the samo species which shows only the summer and fall recoveries in Europe, presents a picture of confusion, with birds bred close together diverging into the Spanish and Italian routes, and it is possible that other distant migrants may thus converge again, in the wilder parts of Africa and southern Asia, upon common goals which remain to be discovered.

This is a very definite case (since these swallows winter over the whole of Africa south of the Sudan) in which the northernmost population of a single form passes over the rest and winters farthest south. Perhaps the most nearly similar instance is precisely where one would expect to find it, -- among the terns, but is far less striking. Here the concentration point of birds banded in England, l~orth Germany, and Denmark, seems to be on the coast of central west Africa.

As far as evidence drawn from differentiated geographic races may be trusted, it will never be possible to generalize as to the relative winter and summer positions of races. A classically perfect case of what might be called tne extremes-~-means relationship is that of the western North American Fox Sparrows. Snarth1s map of these shows the three adjacent northern races wintering together at the southern limit of the range of the species, with the next two races successively in order to southward in the north and to northward in tho south, with a sixth non-migratory race in the center of the line. On the other hand, the many and complex races of Song Sparrows, Savanna Sparrows, and JUncoes, in the same area, suggest no similar arrangement and show every degree of confusion. The Wood Pigeons, Linnets, Meadow-Pipits, Song-Thrushes and White Wag- tails, may be grouped together as showing at least striking common direction of movement during the late summer and autumn, though as returns from Spain are very scattered we cannot for the present define the winter quarters of the populations very precisely. In all these cases an extraordinary number of autumn recoveries have come from a very small area in the northwestern Pyrenees, and a few midwinter recoveries from Spain, with some suggestion of moderate proxtmity between birds bred together in the north. lturres from all coasts of the north sea seem to gather in the autumn near the Skager Rack coast of southern Norw~, and presumably winter there. The sl1arply diverse behavior, as between winter movement to Ireland or to the continent, of different English breeding species is very striking. Of the Common Curlews and Common Snipe, Song 'Ihrushes, Blackbirds, and Starlings, the vast majority, (eVidently all in the case of the Starlings) of tne English birds winter in Ireland, and are not only genetic units but true circumscribed Island forms, while Linnets, MeadOW-Pipits, White Wagtails, Wheatears, Whinchats, and Swallows turn as regularly to the continent. It is a pity that the richest material of all should represent the wide- spread, vaguely-moving Starling, from which, on the continent at least, little but negation and confusion is to be extracted. We have just spoken of the sharp re- striction of the English population to the BritiSh Isles, though the same islands receive in winter fractional elements of at least three other breeding populations from localities in Lithuania, southern Finland, and Denmark, which like the Romans, occupy England but leave little of their blood behind. For the rest, the contin- ental ranges of all but the most widely separated breeding populations overlap so heavily as to leave us in doubt of their significance. An interesting attempt is made to correlate the returns from middle European birds with the January isotherms, which cut the courses of the average movements roughly at right angles and sag away in the direction of the most distant wintering grounds, and which seem in a vague way to parallel the frontiers, insofar as such exist, of the populations which tend to replace each other to the southwestward. In dealing '11th this material it is necessary to remember that graphic representations of returns are deceptive and possess great power to mislead. If we escape the elementary mistake of thinking that the birds have followed the beautiful stra~t lines which are the shortest distances between the points of cap ture, it is harder not to fall into the 0 ther way 0f thinking that, because birds are reported from one district, they did not occur in others. Doubtless often enough, as Landsborough Thomson has remarked, IIItis the observers, rather than the birds, that are restricted to the narrO'wTroutes. 11

We should not leave the discussion of the constitution of populations, especially in regard to wildfowl, without some notice of the rather startling facts brought to light by Thomson in a paper entitled !tOn Abmigration among the Ducks, ~ Anomal~r shorm ~ the results of Bird-marking. IIin the Proceedings of the Seventh International Ornithological Congress. I1Abmigrationll is not a return to a different breeding ground after winter migration, but a sudden and distant shift of breeding ground, in most of the known cases from the British Isles to point. on the continent, sometimes as far as Finland, in the spring, by normally resident birds such as the British breeding Mallard, Teal, Widgeon, and Tufted Duck. Only some twenty...one instances are shown, some of which are the less im- pressive for dealing with birds of semi-domestic rearing, but the phenomenon un- questionably occurs with some regularity among wildfowl at least, and, since it is quite impossible to detect except through banding, may exist throughout the bird world far more extensively than we suspect. This is a hitherto unknown man- ner in which populations of birds may be scattered and genetically mixed. All our conceptions of the origins and relationShips of the lower systematic categories are based upon the axiom of the integrity of the breeding population. Such must be the case as between distinguishable races ,--to what extent is it so within races or undivided species? A widespread condition such as is faintly adumbrated by Thomson's discovery of abmigration would make it far harder to attribute to any population the essential quality of lasting isolation, which we think of as a prime essential to geographic differentiation . .And yet what concrete assurance have we, among such mobile creatures, of the unity of the breeding population, except to argue backwards from our notions of the origins of races? Banding stations rarely get returns of more than 15% of their birds for any season, and we can be quite sure that a large proportion of the breeding birds, even when we admit a h~ mortality, do not re- turn within ordinary banding range of the spot where they bred before. When we have groups of banders who can together cover, for a term of years, areas of far greater size, say of several miles square, we shall have a better idea, but by no means a complete one, of the integrity of the breeding population.

In general, our feelings, after pouring over the maps of Schuz and Weigold,are that a great step in advance has been taken, but that the job, even for the few birds which l~ve proved bandable in reasonable quantity, is a far larger one than has been realized, if precise scientific results are to be obtained. The development of the population range as a concrete and definable entity within the race or species is a most important conception, which has be- come a scientific actuality here for the first time. As such facts develop, they will tend to overthrow the habit of thinking of races purely in terms of their breeding ranges, instead of in the light of the year-round conditions to which they are subjected, and provide a definite knowledge of the nature of the units, or groups of units, from which we must believe races to have originated.

Gulls, Murres, and Band-tailed Pigeons By Reed Ferris (We have pirated the following notes from one of Mr. Reed Ferris's let- ters from Beaver, Oregon. Mr. Ferris neglects the fact that, in spite of 111- luck, he succeeded in banding 164 juvenile Western Gulls, 12 juvenile and 2 adult Murres, and 79 Pigeons.) As you will see, the numbers of sea-birds banded is very disappointing this year. Also the pigeons were fewer than I had hoped they might be. We did not get under way on them unt il just before they broke up and scattered into the hills to nest. Most of the Gulls were banded on Haystack Rock on June 28. Wewere fortunate this year in making a landing at6 A.M. on the first attempt for the season. We\lere soon going strong and looking forward to a full day of banding and picture-taking. There were perhaps 300 or 400 Gulls and 50 or 75 young cor- morants for the former purpose, and petrels and puffins in addition for the lat- ter. Then the boat appeared through the rapidly clearing mist and flagged us down, at 8 A.M. Sure enough, we could see a line of dark water off in the north- west, and before we got baCk to shore the rock was blotted out by a fresh fog bank, and the surf was ~"1ing high. So that was that. Spare time and flat water never did occur at the same time again, 'till after the gulls had grown up and left. At the time of the trip there were perhaps 300 or 400 gulls' eggs and 300 or 400 young too small to band, in addition to older young. Fully as many as last year.

Later attempts to land on Otter Rock, north of Yaquina Head Light were equally unsuccessful. r should judge from a distance that there are about as many Gulls there as on Haystack, and far more cormorants.

The trip to Cape Lookout was even more disappointing, for after taking all the bands I had left from the Rock trip, plus those originally intended for the Cape, and making arrangements to stay away two days in order to band as many adult Murres as possible, we found the colony had been cleaned out by some preda- tory animal, probably about a week before we arrived. The 14 birds banded were the only ones in the colony large enough to wear bands, and there were not 100 birds accessible, all told, where last year there were over 1000.

I was first started in the attempt to band Band-tailed Pigeons by a neighboring farmer, a man whowas more interested in the birds as birds than in potential pigeon pies. One of his oat fields provided an ideal site for the ex- periment, and he undertook to cooperate with me in watching the traps and keeping pot-hunters off the premises, no small job in itself.

Wefirst undertook to catch the birds under a drop net, somewhatafter the method formerly used in the east to catch Passenger Pigeons for market. I have often heard my father tell how such nets caught 50 or 100 birds at a t 1me, which were salted down in barrels and shipped to the marketJ However, for various reasons, chiefly the nervousness of the Pigeons, which waS due, no doubt, to their being hunted so assiduously, we found the net was not very suceessful, so I tried out a trap of the clover-leaf type, with chambers about 3 feet in diameter and entrances about 6 inches wide. The first day it was set we took 17 from it at 8 A·M. The next day I made another, larger, trap, of poultry netting (1 inch mesh) J and at 7 A.M. I took 24 birds from it, and 11 from the first one. There were literally hundreds of pigeons in the flocks which were frequenting the field, and it was after this auspicious start that I sent for an additional 200 bands, post hasteJ

HoweverJ from this time on the flocks grew rapidly smaller J and the rea- son was very evident when it was necessary, on May30, to hold ten birds over night. In the morning there was an egg on the fleer of the pen ,--broken, of course. After the thirty-first we took only repeats, eVidently from a. group which stayed to nest on a small woodedhill near the oat field, and after a few days we discontinued trapping, a.s there was no point in piling up repeats, and the birds were apt to injure themselves if left lcng in the traps.

After three or four days use I had dismantled the second trap, (made of poul try netting) as II'anyof the birds injured their wings by flapping a.gainst the wire ,--wearing them to the bone in a very short time. Wehad to hold some of them in a large shed, enclosed on ane side by netting, for several ~s until they recovered. The other trap, made of Willdow-screen, was better in this respect, but it was necessary to attend it rather closely for the same reason.

I should say that the ideal trap for these birds would be a clover-leaf made of wire screen, or better still, staked netting, with chambers not less than four feet in diameter and about a foot or eighteen inches high. '!hey enter the clover-leaf readily, and it holds them well, though they will find their way out if given time enough. Weused oats and rolled barley for bait, of which the oats were preferred, and later changed to wheat, which they seemed to like even better • .Andlet me tell you the amount of wheat a flock of some 200 or more of these birds can dispose of in a short time is no small item, especially when we were trying to attract them into the comparatively large area under a net I

It was interesting to note that wild and nervous as the birds are in the field, they become quite tame after being handled a few times. Those that were kept in the shed seemed almost reluctant to leave after they were released, and in fact some that were quite able to fly refused to leave, coming and going about the shed like tame pigeons. They may have had mates among those not yet able to leave. Wearranged the net across the open side of the shed so that they could leave as soon as they were able to fly.

One or two of these birds continued to return near this shed, and to eat with the tame pigeons, until the latter part of August. Several times, too, in taldng repeats from the traps, I placed them gently on top of the trap, where they perched quietly while I finished taking others out and securing bands.

An Eight-Year-Old Mockingbird and Thoughts on the Use of Colored Bands

Mockingbird No. 258223 was banded on May8, 1925, and repeated on May18 and 20. It was then at least one year old. It was recaptured on July 3, 1926; April 29, May 28, 29, 1927; April 27, 1928; April 17, May 27, 1929; May9, June 4, 1930; April 13, 1931; and June 8, 1932. Thus it was at least ei~lt years old when last captured. At that time the band was changed to No.A283260because the original band was too much worn to be trusted to stay on any lo~er.

What ded:uctions in regard to this bird1s life can be drawn from these records? Probably none, with any assurance of approaching the truth, except that it was here during the Mockingbird1s nesting season on from at least one to three days of each of the eight years. Did it nest on our station grounds? Did it nest in the near vicinity? Did it merely stop here on its annual movements? Does it have any annual movements? Whycan we answer none of these questions? The traps have been operating almost continuously all these eight years. What could we have done eight years ago or since then to have obtained a more nearly com- plete life history of this bird? If we had put on a distinctively colored band and if we had taken time for observations made possible by sucll a band (of which time our vocations permit very little), we probably w'auld know muchmore about this bird than we do. But how is one to know which bird to mark With a colored band? Most of our Mockingbirds did not come to our traps a second time and one of them was in our traps 298 times in two years. Welearned to know the latter, except immediately after the molt, by its trap-worn plumage. It would have taken a very elaborate system of colored bands to mark distinctively each one of the 241 that have been banded during the eight years.

This leads to a speculation as to how many individuals of a species could be distinctively marked with a small number of colors. For a first trial assume that five different recognizable colors and blank aluminumbands, in addi- tion to the numberedaluminumbands, are available. Further aSsumethat a maxinmm of two bands on a leg can be used, including the numberedband. With this assort- ment no less than 278 birds of a species can be marked with combinations of bands that represent numbers in non-consecutive groups of six consecutive numbers each (except that four of the groups have only five numbers) ranging from 005000 to 1055. Perhaps even a greater number of combinations can be found. With nine recognizable colors and blank aluminumbands seven or eight times this many can be marked. The details of the arrangements of the bands will not be discussed further at this time because the writer is very doubtf'ul of the advisability of placing more than one band on each leg of a bird. If it should be considered that one band on each 1eg is the maximumallowable, only eleven birds of a species could be distinctively marked with five colors and blank aluminumbands. If any banders have been placing as ~r as two bands on one leg of a bird it would be of interest to have their experiences reported in the NEWS. In the above the recognizable differences between the males and the females of many species have not been taken into account.

This is a most interesti~ system. Dr. Wilbur K. Butts, in Bird Banding (1930, pp. 157-163) discusses the history, manufacture, and use of various sorts of colored bands, as \7ell as the number of birds vrhich can be rendered distinguish- able with different numbers of colors. His maxUnuffi,with five colors and the B.S. ·-band, is one hundred and eighty birds. He adds "chickadees seem to be able to carry three bands easily enough, but four might overload them."

Miss Erickson, whohas carried the practical application of the system almost to its limit, with a very difficult bird, has let us have the follOWing notes and comments. (Ed.)

"So far I have never used more than three bands, or more than two bands on one one leg •. I do not think a greater number would hurt or impede the bird, but it Vlouldeven on the long shank of a Wren-tit, necessitate narrower bands, and this, in the case of an active bird seen in the shadows of dense chaparrall, would be a disadvantage. On such a bird it is very hard to distinguish more than two or three colors and their positions. At present I have about one hundred and twenty individuals marked, and manage to make a fair average of unquestionable identifications, though failures to identify, (or doubtf'ul identifications, which are worse) are frequent and irritati~. The colors I use, i7hichare largely de- termined by commercial colors of soap boxes, eye-shades, and baby-rattles, are red, yellow, green, pink, and blue. The red and yellow are the best. Blue and green are mu.chthe hardest to "spot.II Needless to say, the most vivid hues are required. If it were possible to obtain a full c:1art of the commerCialcolored celluloids, a far better series than my ownmight be chosen. Somereds, after two years on a bird, have faded to a dull orange. 'Whetherbl accident or the nature of the dye, I have lost more green bands than others. I started with butt-ended bands, but now lap them, from lo-ply orsl1ght- ly heavier celluloid. The new :S.S. lapped bands, in the smaller sizes , are far too narrow to see, at least on my birds. ~ bands are about five-sixteenths of an inc:b. lUgh.

~ere are certain considerations which are very important in practice but do not arise in theory. First, it is of great advantage to use a given num- ber of bands on every bird. Then, when a band is lost, as celluloid bands are apt to be, the fact is evident. Otherwise, if variablo numbers are used and a band is lost the bird is simply misidentified and the loss not noticed until tho B.S. band is read. Also, with Wren-tits, it helps greatly to have at loast all tho colored bands on one leg. With five colors and three colored bands On one leg 120 combinations would be possible. Still with Urree bands on one leg, this· could be increased to 270 by using two colors, with the :B.S. band between, above, or below, or to 310 by using two bands of any one color separated by a third color. I believe such a s;rstem would be the best for an elusive bird with bad Visibility and a large population to be marked.

More About Traps and Locations O. A. stevens

Supplementing my note in the ..April number, the past fall was unusually successful. My chief species were: Harris Is Sparrow 476, 'White-tlU'oated 144, Junco 141, Robin 120, Clay-colored Sparrow 94, Gambel1s66, Lincoln's 61, Tree 61; Tota11165. Twoof Dr. BrenCkells 6-cell water traps accounted for 595 (although a dozen or so other traps were operated) including nearly all of the robins, 114 of the juncoes, some 60 warblers,and most of the tree sparrows. ~ latter were really the greatest surprise, as very few have been taken before.

With reference to thE!arrangement of the stations as shown On the map in tho same article, B and J were not in.uso, the number at N was increased, and P was located between N and J. The following results are of interest: ...Q N li£ l@. He m: P Harri s IS banded 22 2b 29 4b 58 ~ 49 repeats 94 91 2~~ 117 233 289 41 260 White-throated 2 6 9 5 8 15 24 10 36 44 30 58 118 70 79 96 Gambel1s 11 6 5 0 6 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 1 4 1

The traps at l~ are all within a 3-rod space and P 1s about 5 rods dis- tant; details of traps as follows (all 6 in. high and with one funnel except N):

G - 30x30 in edge of Viburnum thicket. N - clover leaf in wire enclosure, against Cornus, otherwise open. No (N) - 50x30 (2-camp.) surrounded, but not closely, by spiraea, etc. Nd - 24x24 beside N; also Na, Potter type l8xl2, 1 compartment. Ne - 30x24 qUite closely surrounded by spiraea, etc. Nf - 24xlS, under a Spiraea (funnel at its base) al1d closely surrounded. Ng - 3Ox30, under small walnut trees. p - 60x30 (2-Comp.), by tall, thick, choke-cherries, quite well surrounded. These results seem to indicate a decided preference for the better concealed locations. The disinclination of the Gambels to associate with the other t~o species is of interest. Eleven each were banded at Db and Ga.. No typiCal White"':crownedSparro't7swere taken •. The Gambalswere very wild to handle and gave a total of only 24 repeats, lesstilan one-half per bird as compared with about three per bird for the others. 'I!heFox Sparrows headed the list for repeaters. Of 12 birds, all repeated. The last one banded repeated only once the same day, but the total was 145 for the group. Approximately half of the individuals of the Harris and White-throated Sparrows repeat each fall. The percentage of -the others for the past fall was: SOll€;28, Clay-colored 26, Gambel 21, Lincoln 10,Tree 8, Junco 5.

Twotwo water traps captured 19percent of the Harris Sparrows which were banded, but accounted for only 3.3 percent of the repeats, and for slight- ly less than 3 percent of the repeats of all species. No individual made a habit of repeating at the water trap. '!his seems a good reason w~ different types should be maintained.

1!hei1. B - B. A. tyro-compartment was used near 1{opart of the timo but was not given a thoroug1l comparison. My impression is that an increase in size to 10 inches square with no increase in height might be an improvement. Its small size leaves the bait too close to the door for birds the size of a robin. I failed to get both birds in any instance last summerwhen it was used on nesting birds (alw8¥s when the young were about ready for banding), but had ferr such cases.

Where do oUr HOuseFinches go in the winter? This question was briefly discussed at the Decembermeeting of the Los Angeles Bird-banding Chapter and the wish uas eJq:lressed that we could examine the individuals of the large flocks, tl~t are often seen in tho open fields during the ninter, to detenninewhat banded birds there might be amongst them. A few d8¥s later a hunter brought to one of the Los Azlgeles sporting goods stores two legs of linnets each bearing a band. He stated that he had killed 800 of these birds in the hills south of Corona, California, during the mid part of December. He told with enthusiasm of the excellence of the pies made of these birds.

Wewho band these linnets and learn to know some of them by their indi vidual characteristics would not choose this method of examining the winter flocks nor are we sure of the econo~ of the shotgun method of collect- ing such small oi ts of meat for pies. However, the information is of interest. One of these birds, F37267, was banded as an immature female on November2, 1931, by Mrs. Grace S. Hall at 254 South VendomeSt., Los Angeles. The other ~ H22576, \VaS banded as an 1mmature on August 2, 1932, at the Michener station, 418 North Hudson Ave., Pasadena. The approximate distances involved are, - Corona to Mrs. Rallis station, 42 miles; Corona to the Michenera' station, 37 miles and Mrs. Hallis station to the Micheners' station, 12 miles. Classes of W.E.B.A. and Cooper Membership Ornithologioal Club Associate . $ 1.00 $ 3·50 Active . 1.00 3·50 Sustaining . 7·50 10.00 Life (total, notjready) .•...... 50.00 125·00

Members outside of the United States add twenty-five cents to the first three items of the last cOlunul (to pay additional postage on THE COiIDOR). If C.O.C. dues have been paid direct, remit difference to W.E.B.A.

New W.B.B.A. Government Sparrow Trap The advantages of the Government SparroVT Trap are many. It is alvrays set, and when birds come in flocks TIill trap them to the limit of its capacity.

Our trap is strongly made of hardware cloth, with a bottom of the same ma- terial to the inner chamber, so that birds are perfectly safe from the attacks of hawks, cats and other predatory animals.

The dimensions are 10" x 14" X 2811; the 10,7 }le ight makes it d1ffieul t for birds to injure themselves by f.l.jringup from the bottom of the trap and striking their lwads against the top.

In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $4.50 East of the Ri ver and in Canada - $5.00 postpaid

Yi .B.B .,A. Tvro-compartmen t ltTap This trap, measuring 7~" x 8" x 10" is divided into two compartments, each provided with a drop door and automatic treadle. Adjustable feet are attached so that the trap \7111 rest firmly on any approximatel;;r plane surface. The trap is very strong, being '7elded throughout, and is painted with a good green enamel.

In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $1.50 postpaid East of the Ri vel'and in Canada - $1.75 postpaid With wire bottom, as trap and gathering cage, add - $.25

W .B.B.A. Warbler Trap---Top Opening Like our two-compartment trap, this is made of vertical wires, is strong, being welded throughout, and is paillted green. In the United states, VTest of the Mississippi River - $3.00 East of the River and in Canada - $3.25 postage paid

Hoffman's BirdS of the Pacific States - $5.00 Plus Postage By far the most useful 0 f tlw Wes t Coast Manual s

Emergency Band Sunply In cases when time does not permit of application to Washington, the W.B.B.A. issues bands in reasonable numbers in the Western Territory. Address all communications to - Western Bird Bro1ding Association, Muse~un of Vertebrate ZoolOgJr, Berkeley, California. Issued Quarterl~r by the Weetern Bird-Banding Association at the Museumof Vertebrate Zoolo~r Berkeley, California

Miscellaneous Information Regarding Membership, ]inergency Band Supply, Traps, and Publications will be found on the Back Cover Horned Grebe 86 Marbled Godwit 5 Eared Grebe 27 Avocet 5 Pied-billed Grebe 12 Black-necked Stilt 1 '\1.hite Pel ican 371 Wilson's Phalarope Double-crested Cormor~1t 11 Glaucous-winged Gull 19~ Brandt's Cormorant 21 Western Gull 167 American Egret 1 California Gull Brewster's Egret 3 California and Ring-billed Gulls ~~ Great Blue Heron 88 (u.~distinguished nestlings) Black-crowned Night Heron 128 Ring-billed Gull 29 American Bittern 1 FrB.!".J.din's Gull 313 White-faced Glossy Ibis 27 Cornmon Tern 96 'Whistling SWan 4 Least Tern 4 Canada. Goose 81 Caspian Tern 37 Cackling Goose 37 Black Tern 28 Snow Goose 6 California Murre 14 Mallard 2,443 Ba.~d-tailed Pigeon 79 Black Duck 12 Mourning Dove 72 Gadwall 281 Inca Dove 1 Baldpate 301 Roadrunner 6 Pintail 4,191 Barn 0\71 83 Green-winged Teal 1,242 Screech Owl 7 Blue-winged Teal 9 Horned Owl 19 Cinnamon Teal 147 Burrowing Owl 13 Shoveller 19 Short-eared Owl 1 Wood Duck 3 Du.skyPoor-will 1 Redhead 626 Night-Hawk 2 Canvasback 117 An."'la H1:unmingbird 2 Scaup (group) 207 Flicker (generic group) 44 Surf Scoter 1 Gila Woodpecker 2 Ruddy Duck 409 California Woodpecker 1 American Merganser 1 Three-toed Woodpecker (group) American Golden-eye 2 Kingbird (group) 2~ Goshawk 1 Asn-tllroated Flycatcher 3 Sharp-shinne d Hawk 2 01ivaceous Flycatcl1er 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Blaclc Phoebe 4 Phoebe 2 Swainson 's Hawk 9r Ferruginous Rough-legged Hawk o Say's Phoebe 21 Golden Eagle 1 Trai11's Flycatcher 4 Marsh Hawk 12 Wright's Flycatcher 1 Pigeon Hawk 5 Western Flycatcher 23 Sparrow Hawk: 13 Western Wood Pewee 7 Horned Lark 28 Spruce GrOuse 3 40 Bob-white 9 Violet-green Swallow California Quail (group) 815 Tree Swallow 35 Gambel's Quail 5 Bank Swallow 36 Sora 1 Barn Swallow 14 American Coot 775 Cliff Swallow 61 Killdeer 27 Canada Jay (group) 1 Northern Curlew 1 Steller J~T (grou.p) 78 Spotted sandpiper 4 California Jay (group) 155 Willett 18 Magp ie (group) 90 Orow (group) 40 Meadowlark (group) 23 Pinon Jay 6 Ye1loVT-~eaded Blackbird 127 Black-capped Chickadee (group) 13 Redwing Bla.ckbird (group, Mountain Ohic~dee (group) 25 incl'~il~ Tricolor) 1,342 Chestnut-backed Ohiclr..adee0;roup) 10 Arizona Hooded Oriole 41 Plain Titmouse (group) 53 3ullocl';:'sOriole 103 Verdin 5 RIlsty Blackb ird 6 Bush-ti t (group) 14 Brewer IS Blackbird 25a ifuite-breasted Nuthatch (group) 15 Bronzed Grackle Red-breasted Nuthatch 9 Oowbird (group) 42 Py~r Nuthatch (group) 78 Western Tanager 23 Brmm Creeper 1 Arizona Oardinal -, Wren-tit (group) 118 Bla~~-headed Grosbeak 107 House Wren (group) 12 Blue Grosbeak 1 :7inter Wren 2 Lazuli :aunting 13 Bewickls Wren (group) 23 Evening Grosbeak (group) 182 Rocl;:Wren 7 Purple Finch (group, Mockingbird 74 including Cassin IS) 147 California Tbrawler 68 House Finch 4,634 Lecontels Tbrasher 6 Pine Grosbeak 2 Orissal Thrasher Pine Siskin 89 Robin (group) 14~ Willow Goldfinch 52 Varied Thrush 154 Green-backed Goldfinch 284 Hermi t Thrush (group) 69 Green-tailed Towhee 11 RIlsset-backed Thrush (group) 24 Spotted Towhee (group) 379 Western Bluebird 142 Brown Towhee (group) 485 Mountain Bluebird 11 Abert's Towhee 167 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Savafu~ SparroVT (group) 10 Bohemian Waming 55 Vesper Sparrow (group) 24 6 Oedar waxwing 3~ W. Lark Sparrow Phainopepla Desert Sparrow 4 California Shrike (group) 22 Bell Sparrow 4 2,174 Cassin Is Vireo 8 J14~CO (generic group) Warbling Vireo 1 Tree Sparrow (group) 5 Orange-cro\1ned Warbler (group) 43 Chipping Sparrow (group) 80 Calaveras Warbler 1 Brewer IS Sparro't7 29 Yellow 'Warbler (gTOup) 9 Harris IS Sparrorr 1 Audubonls Warbler 248 White-crowned Sparrow (group) 2,676 BlaCk-throated Gr~r Warbler 1 Go1den-crouned Sparrow 1,815 Black-poll Warbler 1 White-throated Sparrow 1 Grinnell IS ~ater-thrush 1 Fox SparroVT (group) 189 MacGill1vr~'s Warbler 33 Lincoln's SparroVT (group) 66 Western Yellowthroat 2 Song Sparrow (group) 504 Long-ta1J.,edChat Chestnut-collared Longspur 2 Pileolated Warbler (group) 3~ East~rn Snow Bunting English Sparrow 7 Total 33,161

Depressions, financial crises, and wars appear not to affect the birds, and to act as a stimulus to the banders. It is satisfactory to report a total increase of eight thousand birds banded over t:he1931 figure. The following are the totals for the western province for the past nine years insofar as they have been available to the W.B.B.A. 1927 18,890 1930 16,306 1928 23,091 1931 25,163 1929 20,105 1932 33,167 ~III, 2, April, 1933

The following list shows the distribution by states and provinces during the past two years arrar.ged in order of numbers banded duril1g 1932.

~ lli£ California 16,1~ ~ 16,65~ Colorado 233 289 Oregon 2,319 6,831 'ljToming 66 191 British Columbia 64 NeVIMexico 2 61 3,5 5,aa6 Arizona 683 1, 7 Washington 57 24 Alberta 1,279 1,243 Idaho none 3 Utah 792 725 Alaska " none Montana none 337 Yukon " " California, which sho~s a small increase (almost exactly 3 per cent over 1931) continues to do sliglltly over half the banding for the western part of the continent. Prayers for more bandl1'lg in the northwest and south\':est, so often uttered in the News, are being anstTcred in British Columbia, Alberta, Arizona., and a'bove all in Oregon, while we nave promise of more statio:'ls in NewMexico, uhich just failed to open in time for the 1932 records. :l:Tothingcould 1101dricher promise of more light on the behavior of the coastal avifauna than the fact that Oregon has within a year sprung into second place with an increase of over 200 per cent. 'lhis increase is in part due to the fine records of the waterfowl banders, but not less to the advent of suc:J.new stations as those of Dean Erikson at Salem and Mr. Ferris at Beaver, which accounted for over a thousand small passerine birds between them, over and above Mr. Ferris IS I'llurres and Band-tailed Pigeons. At the Erikson station 90 warblers were banded of no less than g species.

A source of very solid satisfaction is the ammlllt of official banding which is now being carried out on wildfowl reserves. Notable instances are Mr. Benson at Malheur Lake, Mr. Mushbachon the Bear River Marshes, and Mr. Tait·s work (on the initiative of Federal Migratory Bird Officer J .A.Munro) and that of Mr. A. J. Butler in British Columbia. Of equal importance are the efforts of pri- vate owners of important wildfowl grounds, such as Messrs. Tucker and Tobin in California and Mr. Reifel in British Columbia.

OWingto the rather sAarp divorcement at all seasons of the two chief bird-populations of the continent, that of the eastern, central, and northwestern regions on the one hand and tlJat of the western United States and Mexico, in and beyond the Rockies, on the otller, it would be feasible to formulate a report on the results of bird-banding in the west, almost independently of the staggering body of material which must be faced by whoever undertakes to work up the records for the whole continent. Such a western report should be an attractive and in- comparably useful job for anyone interested in western birds and able to spend the necessary time in Washington D.C.

Webelieve a single central office in Washington will always be indis- pensable, to organize a unified band supply, attend to federal permits, formulate general policies, and probably maintain a single collection of records, though an ul timate western bureau of records, would be feasible and an immenseconvenience. '!he material on record, under the present system, is nearly out of reach of the great majority of ornithologists, alld will be increasingly so as its amount in- creases by geometrical progression. Wehope the time will soon come when funds I will be made available for regular annual or biennial publications to make the re- turns aaceuible within a reasona.ble time. In fact it is an open question whether federally organized and supported ba.."1d.ingshould continue without such a detUi te program. It is true that many individuals are doing distinguished private work on the behavior of birds in which B.S. bands play a great part, but for the vast majority of banders whose work stops with putting bands on whatever birds they catch to continue to do so under government organization and expense with nothing said of a program to make the resultant material available to scientists seems to be a policy of doubtful soundness. If a:nyonehad doubts of the ul t1mate value of the great volume of casual banding they rn:t.1Stbave been reassured by the appearance in Germanyof Schilz and Weigold's great S'WIITIlaryof old-world results, which was discussed at length in the last News. But it must be understood tbat most banding is justified just insofar as similar treatment of its results is assured. 'lhe most delightful of occupations, with a world of humanand scientific good to its credit, its ultimate justification lies in its concrete scientific value and in nothing else. Sifting, summarizing, pub'lication,--these are the first considera- tion, the ~ qua !!S, and general banding should be developed or fegulated strictly in accord with our assurance of such fruition. It is hard to speak with confidence without definite knowledge of the present national totals and the amount of editorial work and expense involved in winnowing the records. Muchof the labor of previous compilations, inclUding that of Sclliiz and Weigold, has probably been forestalled by the system of Mr. Lincoln's office and the efficiency of the sorting machine. None the less, the question should not be vaguely referred to an indefinite future while we blindly continue to band increasingly vast num- bers of birds. At the present pace, the labor and expense of dealing with $0 vast a bulk of material cannot fail to be approaching prohibitive figures.

As the number of banders increases, so must the number of errors and misunderstandings. In our western seclusion we begin to understand some of the difficulties of the central office and appreciate its pleas for care and con- sistency. The year IS records have produced an unusually large crop of reports of "bluebirds, II IIchickadees, II Ilbutcher-birds, It "Jrellowlegs, II 8J,"'ldllscooters. II Some- times such names have covered a considerable number of banded birds. They cannot be classified or reported, and even a return is more likely thai. not to be worth- less. Probably more often than not, returns are not secured by banders or col- lectors, but by people entirely ignorant of ornithology, who shoot the bird in question or chance to find its remains. Identifiable material accompanies the re- port only on rare occasions. It is true that in one or two rare and special cases, such as mixed gulls rookeries in which the nestlings were considered practically inseparable, the banding of doubtful birds has been approved, but the policy is a very questionable one at best and inexcusable under ordinary circumstances. Banders are not asked to concern themselves with the subspecific or racial name (the third part of the la tin trinomial) which is a highly technical convenience for specialists and which in a large proportion of cases can be determined, if at all, only Within the walls of a museum. :aut let us urge our members to be sure they know a birdls specific latin name or the correct English name of the species be- fore they band and release it. Evidence of the ability to do this is required of all banders before permits are issued. On account of the fact that banding not only increased but spread rapid- ly into new territory, we have a list of species banded so 'far as we lmow fo!" the first time in the west, which is far out of proportion to the mere increase in numbers. The following species appear for the first time in our records. Name Number Bander Horned Grebe 86 H·M.Worcester, Merrill, Oregon. Double-crested Cormorant 11 V.L.Marsh, Great Falls, Montana. Brandt's Cormorant 21 H.M.Worcester, Merrill, Oregon. Cackling Goose 33 00" « " 1 Egbert Jones, Ceres, California. WoodDu.ck 3 A.J.Butler, Chilliwack, B.C. Surf l)coter 1 B·C.Cain, Oakland, California. American Golden-eye 2 Summerland,B.C. (banded at Buffalo Lake, B.O.) Goshawk • 1 F.L.Beebe, Peers, Alberta. Spru.ce Partridge 1 n 0« " 0 Northern Curlew 1 Dr. and Mrs. J.E •Horning , Carmang~, .Alberta. CommonTern 96 U " 0 U" « 0 Black Tern 5 C.H.Feltes, Modesto, California. 11 Dr. and Mrs. J .).Horning, Carmangay, Alberta. 12 Egbert Jones, Ceres, California. Inca Dove 1 Lyndon H. Hargrave, Flagstaff) Arizona. Olivaceous Flycatcher 1 Captain G.Merton Sayre, Roswell, NewMexico. Pinon Jay 6 Lyndon H. Hargrave, Flagstaff, Arizona.. Verdin Mr. and Mrs. Ben L. Clary, Coachella, California . Desert Sparrow ~ Mr. and Mrs. Ben L. Clary, Coachella, C~ ifornia. Snow:Bu.nting 1 Dr. and Mrs. J.E.Horning, Carmangay, Alberta. 4 W. Ray Sal t, Rosebud, Alberta.

'lhis year Mr. George M. Benson of the Malheur Lake Reserve in Oregon holds the record for numbers, with 3,096 ducks of 11 species. ~e following list shows the exceptionally active cooperators, arranged in groups according to the numbers of birds banded. A.J. Butler, Chilliwack, British Columbia· Charles H. Feltes, Modesto, California. Jolms on .A..1;Teff,Sacramen to, California . E.L. Sumner, Berkeley, California. Nian R. Tucker and Joseph O. Tobin, San Francisco, California.

E.D. Clabaugh, Berkeley, California. Mr. and VU"s.Ben L. Clary, Coachella, Califor~lia Dean Frame M. Erikson, Salem, Oregon. Reed W. Ferris, Beaver, Oregon. Dr. B.j,1d Mrs. J.]1. Horning, Carmangay, .A.lberta Mrs. Grace S. Hall, Los Angeles, California· Lyndon L. Hargrave, Flagstaff, Arizona. Mrs. Helena E. Lindsey, Hayward, Califorlua. George E. If.usllbach,~erintendent, Bear River Refuge, utah J.L. Partin, Los Angeles, California. Eric M. Tait, Summerland, British Columbia.

#0 :/1:1 #1.A. #2 :/1:3 #4 #5 #7 Total 250 3650 4210 1500 550 810 445 191 12466 550 #4 bands were returned to the Association. In 1931 11415 bands were distribu.ted.

THE CALIF0R11IA DIVISION OF FISE AlrD GAllrnADOPTS A QUAIL-BAlIDING PROGRAM

On July 23, 1932, the California Division of Fish and Game released two hundred banded quail four miles south of Perris, Riverside County, thereby putting into effect a plan to band at the Umeof release all quail raised· by the state game farm located at Chino; in Southern California. The two hundred quail were marked with U. S. Biological Survey bands (Nos. 440801 - 441000 inclusive), due to the fact that the bands wllic:lhad been ordered by the State had not yet arrived.

Between July 23 and December 28, 1932, 2234 additional quail were banded, this time with state bands, and released in various parts of S~~ Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los .Angeles, and Kern Counties. The use of special bands was con- Sidered advisable on account of the large number required by the project. They are identical, however, with the No.4 bands supplied by the Biological Survey, and are manufactured by the firm which supplies the latter agency. On the outside of the bands the words, "Notify GameComm.,n replace the familiar Biological Survey abbreviation, and are followed by the customary letter and serial number (Al - A4000 issued to date). On the inside is stamped an abbreviation of San Francisco.

~e record sheets upon which are entered the data pertaining to banded birds are similar to those used by the Survey. Persons who notify the State as to the recovery of banded blrds receive a form card upon which is indicated the previous history of the birds in question. Attached to this form is a business reply card requesting a statenJ.ent of the exact locality where the birds were taken, with reference to the nearest ranch, road, spring, town, c~on, stream bottom, range of hills, or other landmark. .An exact statement of the locality of recovery is essential to any stu~ of quail movementsbecause the total area involved is usually small, due to the sedentary disposition of the birds.

In conjunction with the quail banding project the ~vision has embarkod upon a program for the establiShment of a considerable number of quail refuges throughout the southern part of the state. The refuges are selected partly upon the basis of proximity to lands upon which shooting is permitted, in order that the birds may have a sanctuary when too severely harassed, and so that any overflow from the refuges due to natural increase maybe available for purposes of sport. Thus it is likely that in the future there will be a number of recoveries from each locality where the birds are released.

Out of a total of 2434 quail so far banded, 2282 have been valley quail (Lophortn: californica vallicola), the remaining 152 individuals being Gambel quail (b· gambeli gambeli). 1he latter were released on the Mojave Desert, San :Bernardino County, near Kane Springs, about 26 miles north east of Box S Ranch.

The reeul ts of a banding project weh as the one described are of value in several directions. For example, persons in charge of the distribution of quail raised at the game farms will receive much more accurate infor.mation regarding the ultimate fate of the birds than has been available heretofore, and knowledge of this sort is important in view of the high cost of production. Other problems which are no less fundamental to a working knowledge of quail management, and which probably can be solved by the wholesale banding method described, may be enumerated as follows: (1) Seasonal flock movements, including local migrations and the inter- mingling of adjacent flocks. Here lies material for the solution of the much argued question of "inbreeding." (2) Habitat preferences within a given territory. As an example may be cited the case of a privately financed attempt at restoeking known to the writer, in which a large n'Umberof the introduced quail moved into territory ownedby other persons, which offered~better cover and a more abundant food supply. (3) Longevity of the individual birds comprising the introduced covey.

At the present date, al thC>'Ughone shooting season has come and gone since the release of the 2434 banded quail, only four recoveries have been made, all four being from territory immediately adjacent to the refuges upon Which the birds were liberated. Observations carried on subsequent to the release of the birds indicate that in nearly all cases the coveys have remained and fared well close to the place of liberation, and this circumstance probably accounts for the small number of recoveries so far made. At the bird banding station of Mr. and Mrs. Ben L. Clary in Coachella Valley, 910 birds, representing 45 species, were banded during the year 1932.

A review of the year 's record of baits and methods used in trapping these birds, shows that water traps head the l1st with 27 species as follows: Ashthroated Flycatcher, Say Phoebe, Arizona Hooded Oriole, Bullock Oriole, California Purple Finch, House Finch, Green-backed Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, White-crowned $parrow, Gambel Sparrow, Western Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Abertls Towhee, Lazuli Bunting, Blackheaded Grosbeak, Lutescent Warbler, AudubonIS Warbler, MacGillivray IS Warbler, Long-tailed Chat, Golden Pileolated Warbler, Western House Wren, Arizona Verdin, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Russet-backed Thrush, Western Robin, Western Bluebird, Western Mockingbird.

While a water trap is set most of the time, there are several places where the birds can always be assured of drinking water and basins for bathing with- out having to go into the traps.

Traps baited with grapes and raisins come second with 15 species as follows: Gambel ~il, Arizona Hooded Oriole, Bullock's Oriole, House Finch, West- ern Lark Sparrow, Gambel Sparrow, Abert IS Towhee, White-rumped Shrike, Western Mockingbird, Arizona Verdin, AudubonIS Warbler, Western Robin, Blackheaded Grosbeak, Crissal Thrasher.

'lhe Clary station is located on a desert ranch where last year there were 65 acres of bearing grapes. Fresh grapes were used as bait from the middle of 'June until the middle of December as these held on until frost. Sinco then dried grapes or raisins have been used. Twohanging baskets, one from a support near a water' trap and one from a limb of a tree were kept stocked with grapes all the time. Since the recent pruning, two lug boxes full of raisins have been placed on the ground in the yard. Traps are set near these and baited withraisins . Whenthe box gets too full of Bluebirds, Robins, House Finches, Audubon1s Warblers or Gambells Sparrows the traps take care of the overflow.

It was a most interesting sight to watch three or four gaudy colored Orioles contending for places on the rim of the hanging baskets suspended by three small chains from the limb of the tree. Usually the Orioles would light on the limb and climb down the chain to tho basket. ~is was also the usual method of ap.proach of :many immature Verdins that came all summerto these grape baskete.

Bread crumbs enticed these seven ground feeders: Gambel's Sparrow, White- crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Abert's Towhee, Western Meadow- lark, and Western Bluebird.

Cherries and apricots brought in Arizona Hooded and Bullock Is Orioles, Western Tanager, Abert IS Towhee. A House Finch and a Desert Sparrow entered for sunflower seed. .Angle worms caught Robins, Western Bluebirds, and Meadowlarks. Western Bluebirds also entered traps baited with mistletoe berries. A Black Phoebe tllat had acquired a taste for pomegranates by frequently visiting the feeding tray whore theso bright-colored fruits had been placed was ca~lt when the fruit was placed in a trap. Nestl ings banded included 8 species: Phainopepla, Say I s Phoebe, Desert Sparrow, Western Mourning Dove, A"lJertIS Towhee, Western Kingbird, House Finch, and Dwarf' Oowbird.

Whenmeals are served ind.oors bread crumbs and hominy grits are scattered on a stone doorstep and on the ground beyond, for the feathered family. A glass door makes observation a pleasant pastime. From the hedges and byways have come to the doorstep feeding grounds during the past year. Gambel's and White-crowned Sparrows J Brewer Sparrows, i7estern Chipping' Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Abert IS Towhees, Robins, Western Bluebirds and Western Meadowlarks.

Ooral Reef Ranch, Ooachella, California January 18, 1933

Every bird must wear the same number of bands in order to eliminate mis- identifications.

Four bandS can be arranged in three positions; three on the right and one on the left I two on the right and two on the left J one on the right and three on the left leg.

At least one aluminum band must be used to carry the number, but other blank aluminum bands may also be used if of the same type as the numbered band.

Five colors, white, black, blue, red and yellow are practical, I believe.

In the follOWing notes A = aluminum, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 = the five colors. The letters and numbers are read from the top of the right leg down. then top of left leg down. Space indicates distinction between legs.

(1) Four aluminum bands. Total 3 All A, AAll, A AAA Three positions, one sequence, one combination

(2) Three aluminum bands, one colored band. Total 60 AAA1 (There are three positions as before AAl A (There are four sequences of aluminum and ~olored AlA A (There are five combinations of aluminum with any lAAA ( one of five colors

(3) Twoaluminum bands, two colored bands. Total 450 AAl 1 (There are three positions as before. AlA 1 ('!'here are six sequences of aluminum and colored. III 1 (T'.a.ereare twenty-five combinations of aluminum wi. th llA A ( any two of five colored (five squared, since the lAl A ( first of any one of five colors may be coupled All A ( with the second of any one of five colors) (4) One aluminum band and three colored bands. Total 1500 All 1 (~~re are tl~ee positions as before. lAJ. 1 (There are four sequences of al'UlI1inumand colored llA 1 (There are one hundred and twenty-five combinations of 111 A ( Aluminum and any three of five colored (five cubed, ( since the first of any one of five colors may be ( coupled with the second of any one of five colors ( and also with the third of any one of five colors)

This system has becn designod for birds with relativcly long tarsus and medium size and it is hoped to put it into practice on common terns during the coming season.

A total of three bands, aluminum and five colors, with a maximum of two on one leg, 182.

A total of four bands, aluminum and five colors, with a maximum of two on a leg (i.e. two on each leg), 671. Rudyerd :Boulton Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois February 3, 1933·

All Aged Wren-tit On March 22, 1925, Mr. :E. D. Clabaugh banded a Gambel1s Wren-tit (Chamaea fasciata fasciata) in Strawberry Canyon, :Berkeley, California. ~is bird was re- captured by me on February 3, 1931. It repeated six times in February, and once in March of the same year· It returned on February 27, 1932, and again on December 3, 1932 and February 14, 1933, each time wi thin a few hundred feet of the location where Mr. Clabaugh first trapped it. As this Wren-tit could not have been hatched later than June 1924, it;must have been more than eight and one-half years old when last recaptured. It may have been more than ten years old. When birds have been banded continuously for a long number of years in the same restricted locations, our present imperfect knowledge regarding their longevity will be greatly increased.

E. L. Sumner, Berkeley, California February 20, 1933 OCtober -- The Los Angeles Cr~pter of the W.~.3.A.held its first meet- ing after the S'UIIIll1ervacatioll on Sunday, October 9, 1932, at t~18home of Mr. and Mrs. John Mc~. Robertson. J'ifteen members were present. Tho moeting was called to order by President Allen and the minutes of the June meeti:Jg were read and approved. Thore was no business to como before tho meoting.

Tho question of bandil'lg tho Chinese Spotted Dove was discussed. The secretary was aSked to write to the ~iological Survey and ascertain the status of tllis bird, and that of the Ring••necked Dove.

Attention was called to the fact that Mr. George Willett is now working on a revision of his Birds of the Pacific Coast, and asks tl~t any information that differs from his publication of 1912 be sent to him.

In the round table talk which followed Mr· Partin reported tbat his recent weights of House Finc~es tallied with those of a year previous ...•.

Mr. Robertson told of some of tho interesting thi.~s he had seen on a trip to Yosemite Park durb1g June. He 'Wontout with Mr. Michael on his daily walk of one hour and saw during that time marc nesting birds than on the rest of his trip~ He also reported the return of a Linnet banded in 1925··.·.···

Mrs. Michener reported they were banding only a few birds. The first Gambel Sparrow for this season was seen in their yard on September 27 .....•

Mr. Calder and Mr. Robertson'reported seeing Gambel Sparrows in Buena Park on September 18, and the sparrows were again seen by Mr. Robertson on September 24, and 29· Mr. Edwards stated that usually an adul t, banded, Gambel Sparrow is the first seen in their yard in Claremont, and was noticed this year on September 27 .•.....•

Mr. Michener reported the annual spring reappearance in their yard of a Mockingbird which was first banded in 1925. He also gave some interesting bird ob~ervations secured during their vacation at Big Bear LWte, and reported the banding of Robins and imnature Brewer :i31ackbirds .....•.•

Mr. calder reported that in Orange County the use of thallium poison has been abandoned for .one yea.r as the squirrels were found to be i.mmwle..•...

Blanche Vignos, Secretar~r .

~ovember --~le Los Angeles Chamberof tlw W.B.B.A. held its 73rd regular meeting on Sunday, Uovember13, 1932, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E'arold Michener, in Pasadena. Thirteen members and two visitors were present. The meeting was called to order by President Allen, and the minutes of the October meeting were read and approved with corrections. A letter from the Biological Survey concerning the desirability of band- ing the Chinese Spotted Dove and tllC Ring-necked Dove was read by the secretary. In the discussion that followed it was brought out that information about the spread of the doves would be of great interest to the Chapter and that few bands VTouldbe used. It VTasmoved by ~i;rs. Law, and seconded by Mr. Robertson, to ask the Biological SUrvey for tho priVilege of banding these doves. Mr. Michener gave an i~teresting review of A Study of TwoNests of ~ ~lack-throated Warblor, by Margaret Morse Nice and L. B. Nice; Are Nesting Terri- tory always available lli Returning JUvenile Song Sparrows, by Charles S. Whittle, and of the report of the Northeastern Bird Banding Association for 1931. In con- nection with the latter paper, V~. Michener compared the N.E.B.B.A. report of 21,202 birds banded with that of t:le \i.:B.B.A. IS ,total of 25,163 banded birds covering 268 species and subspecies. Mr. Robertson then reviewed the paper by O. L. Austin on The ~~l¥. of Tree Sparrows 9.!! Cape .9.2.9:, also that otS.E. Perkins on the Indiana :Bronzed Gra.ckle Migration. All ii ve of these reviewed papers were publ ished in the JUly number of ":Bird j)anding. \I ••••••

Mrs. Law reported that sne had operated her traps 18 days this year and had captured 310 birds, 69 of which were either repeats or returns. In one and a half hour's trapping tllis morning 31 birds had been captured .•.....

Mrs. Michener roported capturing 104 birds last month, but that they wore not abundant during the hot dry weeks. The first Purple Fj.nch of the season 1'1aS captured this morning. Amongthe 17 Gambel Sparrows captured there were no returns. TwoDusky Warblers were captured in a trap baited with seed.

Mr. Calder reported banding and releasing a Turkey V'u.lture. This bird had been Captured :by some boys who had c1ipped its wing. The Vulture was kept three weeks by Mr. calder before it was released .•......

Mr. Robertson called attention to a new book, The Physiology of ~ Temperature of Birds, by S. Prentiss I3aldwin B.ndS. Oharles Xendeigh, which has -been published by the Cleveland Museumof Nat'\.U'alHistory ••......

Blanche Vignos, Secretary.

December -- The 74th regular meeting of the Los A.'1gelea:aird Banding Chapter of the W.J.13.A. was held on Sunday, December11, 1932, at the home of Mrs. J. Eugene Law. Ten members ~ld two visitors were present. In the absence of the president, Mr. Allen, the meeting was called to order by Mr. Calder, vice- president. The secretary, Miss Vignos, being absent, Mrs. Law was made secretary pro-tern. No min.utes of the preceding meeting were available for reading. There were no communications and no unfinished business to be presented.

A Nominating Oommittee of three, Mrs. Law, Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Michener, was appointed by the Chair to prepare a slate of the 1933 officers.

Dr. Tracy I. Storer, a visitor, at the request of Mr. Calder, gave a brief sketch of birds in and around the University Farm, at Davis, california. Mrs. Law reported on her banding on the Huntington Library estate during 118.1f-hourlunch periods. The time given to this had of necessity been most irregular but 11 birds had been b&ldod, and 3 had repeated. A paper ontitled The Status of Cape Cod,Terns in.!.9.lE., written by Dr. Oliver L. Austill, and appear- ing in the October number of :::3ird~ding, was reviewed by Mrs. Law, who also gave a short sketch of Further Contributions l2. the Knowledge of ~ Cod Sterninae, uritten by Oliver L. Austin, Jr., published in the same number of :lird ]anding ....

Mr. Partill told of having bad his traps operating for about 15 to 20 minutes one day and finding 3 dead House J'inches in them, with a very much alive Sllarp-shinned Hawksitting on the fence. The finches were put in a top opening trap and the hawk capturod. Photographs wore mado of tho hawk in zna.nyposes. It ViaS banded and reloased. In this cOlmoction, Dr. Storer spoko of a Sharp-shinned ,:aW4 having recently been brought to the laboratory at Davis ulat lacked all the brown pifJIlent in its feathers. Mr. Partin further reported t~t since he began to use a water trap, he has added AudubonWarblers, Green-backed Goldfinches, and Willow Goldfinches to his list of banded birds. Also, that during the past rainy spell he was able to secure for comparative purposos the weight of a wet Linnet ...

A review of the paper, A Study of ~ Nests of ~ :Black-throated Green Warbler, Part II, by Margaret Mi Nico and L. :3. Nice, published in the OCtober number of :Jird Janding, was given by Mr. Michener .

Mrs. Michel1er reported that this season has been their lowest for band- ing. During the last month but 46 birds were banded at their station •.•....•

State Distribution 2f Returns from 1la.ndedIMclcs, by F. C. Lincoln, in t11e October number of ~ Banding, was reviewed by Mr. Robertson. He also told of baving noted from day to day during the season some 50 to 75 House Finches feeding on tomato seed refuse from the cannery. No previous concentration of ~incl1es had been noted in that section •......

Laura B. Law, Secretary pro tern.

Tho 75th regular meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of the W.:8.:8.A. was held Sunda~r, January 1), 1933 at the home of Mr· Walter I. Allen. Fifteen members were present, President Allen presidillg. Tho minutes of the Uovemberand December meetings were read and approved . . . .

The incumbent officers were re-elected for the e~suing year, namely, Walter I. Allen, President, James A. Calder, Vice-President, a11dBlanche Vignos, Secretary and Treasurer.

There being no further business, the meeting was t:lrown open to a round- table talk.

Mrs. Ellis reported Ba.'1d-tailed Pigeons, Robins and Lark Sparrows at t~eir ranch near Covina

Mr. Michener told of the colored bands nowbeing supplied by the Biological Survey and discussed ways of using them to mark considerable numbers of birds for sight identification. Mrs. Law and. Mrs. Edwards made further s1JE1;gestions as to their use and Mrs. Michener stated that a start of two or three weeks in the use of colored bands on Mockin~birds at their station indica ton that a very inter- esting study of Mockingbirds I territories has boon initiated. Her remarks on Mockingbirds brought forth several observations on the individua~ities displayed by different Mockingbirds, their p1JE1;nacityor lack thereof, one at the present time demoralizing Mr. Partin1s banding work by chasing all otmr birds from the feod table.

In experimenting with foods Mr· Partin has offered bananas, tomatoes, raisins and apples and finds that the first two are untouched by the birds at his station. Mrs. Ellis told of the fondness of Lark Sparrows, Gambel Sparrows and AudubonWarblers for pomegranates which ripened and broke open on the trees.

Mr. Robertson reported on an albino Western Burrowing O;rl which, al tho1JE1;h not pure white, was light enough to be conspicuous and seemed to be conscious of this fact. Whenhe stopped his auto about 300 feet from \"Therethis bird \"Tasstand- ing in companywith another of normal plumage, it ran some dist~"'lce, crouched to the ground and finally flew beyond his observation, while the bird l1ith normal coloring remained.

Mr. Robertson also spoke of the inland appearance of gulls, usually after the first rain in November. This year they did not appear after the October rain and it was not until after the next rain, in December, that they were found at the hog ranches and in the fields. '!he majori ty are Calif ornia Gull s • There are some Ring-billed Gulls and recently about six Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen.

Mr. ~ttlebaum spoke of the scarcity of Band-tailed Pigeons at the time of the annual census this year (December 20, 1932) as compared to last year.

Mr. Calder reported seeing hundreds of Coots f~lting for food on the banks of a small pool, kept open by a rrarm spring, at Baldivin Lake, Bear Valley. This pool was only about 100 by 150 feet and all other lake water in the region was frozen over. Manyof the Ooots appeared to be weak and sick and he was told that they could not live through the winter and that many had been shot to end their suffering- He also reported finding many dead or dying Ellglish Sparrows at his home near Buena Park. l~o dead or sick birds of other species were found.

Mr. Allen reported the capture of 45 Gambel Sparrows six of which were returns from 1931-32 and one, banded seven years ago, has returned five out of the seven winters. Fourteen Juncos were captured of which six i7ere returns from last year. 1\voHouse Finches \'7hich TIere captured together in the same trap when banded in October 1931 were captured in the same trap at the same time one year later . ..Amongthe many Robins at his station one is spotted with uhite allover the body and the tail, when viewed from above, is entirely white. The Gilded Flicker still remains around his station.

Miss Vignos, in reporting on the annual census uuten in December 1932 by the Southwest Bird Study Club, stated that about 6230 birds of 88 species had been counted as compared with about 7900 of 86 species tho year before.

Blanche Vignos, Secretary Classes of W.3 .B.A. and 'Cooper Mombership Ornithological dlub

Associate •...... $ 1.00 $ 3~50 Active .•...... 1.00 3·50 Sustaining . 7·50 10.00 Lifo (total, not yearly) . 50.00 125·00

Membersoutside of tbe United States add twenty-five cents to tl~ first three items of the last column (to pay additional postage on TEECmmaR). If C.O.C. dues have been paid direct, remit difference to W.B.3.A.

The advantages of tlle Government Sparrow Trap are many. It is alwB.¥Sset, a~1dwhen birds come in flocks will trap them to the limit of its capacity.

Our trap is strongly made of hardVlare cloth, with a bottom of the same material to the inner Chamber, so tllat birds are perfoctl~~ safe from the attacks of hawks, cats and other predatory animals.

The dimonsions are 10" :x: 1411 x 28"; the low heig11t makes it difficult for birds to injure thomsolvOs by flying up from tho bottom of the trap and striking tnoir Aeads against the top.

In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $4.50 East of the River and in Canada.- $5.00 postpaid.

This trap, measuring 7i" :x: 8" x 10" is divided into two compartments, each l)rovided with a drol) door and automatic treadle. Adjustable feet are attached so t:lat the trap will rest firmly on any approximately plane surface. The trap is very strong, being welded throughout, and is painted with a good green enamel.

In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $1.50 postpaid East of the River and in Canada - $1. 75 postpaid With ~ire bottom, as trap and gathering cage, add - $.25

W.D.:a.A. Warbler Trap---Top Opening Like our two-compartment trap, this is made of vertical wires, is strong, being welded throughout, and is painted green.

In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $3.00 East of the River and in Canada - $3.25 postage paid

Hoffman's ~irds of the Pacific States - $5.00 Plus Postage By far the most useful of the West Coast Manuals

Emergency Band SU~)':>ly In cases wben time does not permit of application to Washington, the W.B.B.A. issues bands in reasonable numbers in the Western Territory. Address all co~~icati0ns to - Western Bird Banding Association, Museumof Vertebrate Zoology, Ber~eley, Califor~ia. Issued Quarterly by the Western Bird-Banding Association at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Berkeley, California

Miscellaneous Information Regarding Membership, Dnergency :Band Supply, Traps, and Publications will be found on the Back Cover It is safe to ~ that American bird banding is today the greatest co- operative offort in tho history of ornithology. The word "great,1Ihowever, is used in a general sense, and does not mean that the greatest number of individual workers are involved, for other schemes have included ovor twice as many. :But considering size, sustained interest, efficiency, growth, and the soundness of the results (which last is the only point really worth con- sidering) American banding holds a preeminent place. At the end of 1932, 1,976 cooperators were at work. During that year 212,146 birds had beon banded, and 11,789 returns recorded. The grand total of birds banded since the beginning was 1,123,528. Both the private individuals who laid the foundations and the agencies and public servants who have organized and ad- ministered have built well.

But large-scale cooperation is a powerful instrument in the study of natural history, and bird banders are not the only ones to resort to it . .l\.t this moment there is a rapidly accumulating wave of similar efforts in other departments of ornithology, many of which deserve study and imitation. We cannot, in the space available, extract tho obscure bcgirulings from the penumbrae of scientific history, but consideration of the more important recent efforts is well wort!l while, especially where gatherings of ornitholo- gists, such as museum groups or banding chapters, offer possibilities for the application and improvement of similar methods.

Whatever historical interest might attach to sporadic earlier efforts, the genesis of the modern cooperative movement, which has grown steadily and without interruption until it has embraced modern census work, with its many ramifications, bird banding, and periodical records of bird movements such as those of Bird Lore or O. A. Stevens I North Dakota Bird Notes, is to be found in the effO'rts"""'(;'f"thelate W. W. Cooke:-;hom both Palmer and Chapman have called lithefather of cooperative study of bird migration, IIin America in 1881 to study the migration of the birds of the Mississippi Valley. Cooke's original intention had been a study of migration in Iowa, but before being put into practice the scheme had grown to include the larger area. For the spring of 1882, 26 persons agreed to help, but only 13 actually forwarded ob- servations, from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In the follOWing year, largely as a result of news- paper publicity, 42 observers undertook to help, and 26 actually did so, scattered through Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

In 1884 the American Ornithologists Union was founded, and a Committee on Bird Migration was appointed at the first meeting to cooperate with Cooke in his study of migration in the Mississippi Valley. It is of great historical interest that the chairman of this committee was C. Hart Merriam, who, as "Ornithologist" to the "Division of Economic Ornithology" of the Department of Agriculture devoted a year and a half between 1885 and 1887 to editing, in a highly critical, almost controversial, manner, Cooke1s Report (1888), and who may perhaps be said to have carried such a point of view and such labors to their logical conclusion by founding, in 1896, tho Bureau of Biological Survey.

For the years immediately following the publication of the Report ~ Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley Cooke's time was too much absorbed by professional work to maintain control of the rapidly growing cooperative scheme he had initiated, but the work was continued, by the A. O. U., the Division of Economic Ornithology, and by the Survey. In 1901 Cooke was him- self called to the Survey, and for the rest of his life (which ended in 191,6) his strength was largely devoted to the killing task of indexing the incoming information from cooperators who, by 1915, numbered 2,000. During that year Cooke announced that the cards in the migration index had reached the million mark. As an illustration of the comparative value of great masses of material pigeon-holed and forgotten and infinitely smaller amounts obtained purpose- fully, in hot pursuit of a definite problem and immediately "worked up" to their elastic limit, -- it is an open question today whether Cooke's findings of 1888 or the gigantic accumulations of facts now on record at Washington have played the largest part in interpreting the phenomenon of migration. Since the death of Cooke the most important single use to which his great collection of facts has been put is to supply the ranges and seasonal move- ments for Bent IS serios of Lifo Histories of North American Birds, of which g titles (9 volumes) appeared between 1919 and 1932. ~c necessary material was extracted and organized by F. C. Linooln, who has been long in charge of the banding office. According to T. S. Palmer's obituary (Auk 1917) Cooke himself "paid scant attention to the work of banding birds, II though "only a few weeks before his death he had oooasion to alter materially his views re- garding the routes of certain species of ducks on accOWlt of data derived from this source."

Another branch of cooperative ornithology in addition to the study of migration and bird-banding has, however, been developed in the United States, and in this,too, Cooke was a pioneer. To quote his brief pamphlet of Feb- ruary 11, 1915, "During the summer of 1914 the Biological Survey took initial steps toward a census of the birds of the United States for the purpose of as- certaining approxtmately the number and relative abundance of the different species. II For several years previous a tract of land near Washington had been used to develop and test methods of census taJr:ing.As a result it was felt that in 1914 it would be possible to begin wo~~ ona nation-wide scale, and 250 form letters were sent out to selected individuals on the list of mi- gration observors, signed by H. W. Henshaw, then Ciliof of the Survey, explain- ing the nature and object of the work (With strong emphasis upon its agricul- tural importance), the lack of funds, and dependence upon volunteer workers. What was asked was an enumeration of nesting pairs on, first and most impor- tant, a plot of 40 to 80 acres of the most representative average farm condi- tions of the locality, including building, but without woodland, second, 10 to 20 acres of isolated woodland, and third, an area of definite Size, perhaps 40 acres, forming part of a muoh larger timber tract, decia.uous or evergreen.

Nearly 200 reports were returned, of which, however, a certain fraction were ineVitably unsatisfactory, and of WhiCh the vast majority came from the northeastern states, leaving the south, the west, and the plains very ill- represented. Hence Cook,,'s 1915 report, just mentioned, dealt for the most part with birds on farm la.:.idsnorth of North Carolina and east of Kansas. The results were summarized in the following paragraph.

".... 58 acres on tlleaverage census-covered area of farm land is divided into 17 acres of plowed l~ld, g acres of hay land, 4 acres of orchard, 3 acres of woodland, and, after deducting the land immediately surrounding buildings, about 26 acres, about one third of which is permanent meadow and two thirds pasture land. These 5g acres support a bird population of 69 nesting pairs." Only one report came in (from Coeur dl JUene, Idaho) on a true forest population, which showed 254 pairs of breeding birds on 768 acres, or one pair to 3 acres. ~e general conclusion is that:

lI~e results of the consus show that the numbers of birds aro too fow, and it is believod that with adequato protection and encouragemont they can be materially increased. The record for density cames from Che~J Chase, Md., wllere 161 pairs of 34 species were found nesting on 23 acres. II Manyother examples are given to illustrate the high potential carrying capacity of the land.

~1s work also was continued after the death of Cooke, but on a decreas- ing, rather than an increasing scale, perhaps owing to the diffieu.l ties and preoccupations of war time, perhaps orring to doubt of the soundness of the re- sults.

MayThacher Cooko, the daughter of W. W. Cooke, published in 1923 (U.S. Dept• .Agriculture, Dept. Bulletin No. 1165) a Report En. :Bird Censuses in the United States,.J:.91§. iQ. 1920, and in the same year a leaflet for distribution to cooperators on The Purpose of ;Bird Censuses and Howi2. Take~. A re- vised edition of the latter was printed as late as 1927. Miss Cooke also published in the Condor for September, 1926, a discussion of the value of bird censuses, with some information on early proposals and attempts in the :BritiSh Islos and in Australia. Tho censuses wore still arriving in Washington, as noted in the report of the Chief of the Survey, in 1931, and may, in decreasing numbers, still do so.

Even at the time of the 1923 report tho west and southwest were too ill- represented to be of much import&lCe, while s~ificant comparative figures in a spatial or temporal sense, for the northeastern and north central states were very hard to adduce, on account of the variablo size and character of the areas covered. In the northeastern states the average bird populations found on 100 acres in 1916, 1917, 1918 alld 1920 were respectively 159,124,95,149, averaging 132. In the north central states similar figures (including 1919) were 139, 129, 150, 135, 124, averaging 135. Tho highest individual record this timo came from Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, "where 404 pairs of birds, repre- senting 36 species, were found breeding in 1916, something over ten pairs of birds to the acre. II Chevy Chase, Maryland, fell to second place.

~e natural death of the original bird census plan was also perhaps, partly owing to the shift of interest in official circles to the pressing and popular problem of wildfowl conservation. In the report of the Chief of the Survey for 1927 plans were announced for a ner! census, again depondent upon volunteer ob- servers, but this time to concern itself entirely with ducks and geese, which meant, since few bird students cover both fields, an almost completely new personnel of observers. The old census-takers had for the most part been private bird-lovors, -- in the new list of cooporators servants of other government bureaux, game officials, and game or fish clubs, figured largely. Mr. Redington remarked that "Its expected result uill be the establishment of comparative figures on increase or scarcity of birds in tho various regions, to serve as a basis for future safeguardil1g measures. In 1928 it uas announced that IIMorethan 3000 obserVing stations had been establishf3d roprcsonting every state in the union and all the Provinces of Canada, as well as Alaska and Porto Rico.1I In 1929, besides much work by the field staff, 4,000 volun- teer cooperators were at work and some 20,000 monthly reports rrere roceived in the course of the year. In 1930 the work was continued, and the reports averaged about 1800 a month. A change was announced from monthly to quarter- ly reports. In 1931 such quarterly reports were rece i ved from about 1,600 observers, and the alarm of grave d.anger to the wildfowl through acute con- ditions of drought on the breeding grounds sent an increased number of trained investigators into the field from Washington and from Ottawa, and increased the importance of the previous work by creating a sudden d.etnandfor definite information on breeding areas and movemonts. In 1932 quarterly reports were received from about 1,500 observers in the United States and 1,000 in Canada. Beyond a general and somewhat formal statement by Mr. Redington that such information has been of prime assistance in formulating safeguarding measures, we have as yet no means of estimatiDg the value of so muChactivity to the science of ornithology. It is probably not too much to say, however, that ornithologists in general look askance at so loose and inexpert an organization as a purveyor of scientific data. Granted that so large a picture must be painted in broad strOkes, that completeness or scrupulous accuracy of detail would be out of the question, and that the relative figures from locality to locality, and from year to year, have broad significance, -- yet the fortuitous elements are too numerous and too impos- sible of compensation to make such information desirable. For years the writer watChed a minor game official 01 his acquaint~lce send in solemn and worthless; if not positively misleading, reports, \nthout being able to tell a mallard from a tea]., or indeed a duck from a grebe. He knew of other approximately similar cases in the same region. Granted that many such cases would be lost in the grand averages of hundreds of more capable cooperators, yet it is bard to ima€1ne any but the most superficial conclusions based upon data tn· which almost any detail it becomes necessary to seize upon may be both false and misleading. ~e schome is too ambitious, -- it is the cooper- ative idea exploited. Furthermore the results that were aimed at, which were bare population statistics of tile most superficial sort, are unworthy of so much effort and are toda;y understood to have little value e~cept as accompan- ied by the wealth of collateral data upon which emphasis is laid. in the more limited but highly successful censuses which have been carried through else- where.

The first 0 f these 'NaSthe Census 2! British Heronries, decided upon in January, 1928, on the suggestion of E. M. Nicholson, and carried out by the magazi:.De"British Bird" under the editorship of H. F. Witherby, with the as- sistance, in the matter of publicity and the broadca3ting of appeals, of many other periodicals. T.b.iscensus, as far as England was concerned, was admir- ably reported upon by Nicholson in Bri tish Birds of .April 1, 1929. Reviews of the report will be found in the Condor of January, 1931, and the Auk for October, 1929. ~e opening sentence gives the key to the point of view which is dominant. n~e want of satisfactory data regarding the numbers of animals in relation to space and time is an obstacle of which biology is becoming acutely awaro. tl Difficulties are fully understood. liThosmall number of ob- servers who are available for any such task, and tho obvious difficulties in practica, make it essontial at this stage for the object of any national cen- . SUB to be large, conspicuous, and easily identified. For such a purpose the commonHeron, Ardea cinerea cinerea, is very nearly ideal. II

The project, even in its cooperative aspects was not new, for The Naturalist as long ago as 1851 had run a similar campaign for information on the same subject, with broadcast appeals, and Nicholson in his briof histor- ical introduction, follows a sequence of various efforts in the same direction down to the present one, in which nearly 500 observers took part. ~ere are, or were, 3,744 to 3,g43 pairs of Ardea £. cinerea in England. Never before had so round and succulent a fact been dropped into the mouth of statistical ornitho1oQ'. Yet the exact present utility of this scientific ob,ioct 9.! virtu, beyond the delight of handling it, mq be open to some question, as is admitted by Mr. Nichelson whenhe says that if this consus is to have real value another should follow about 1940. Of its "real value" in such an eventuality thero is no question whatever.

No such temporary criticism is to be made of the accurate mapping of distribution and the analysis of preferences for Bites, of fertility and mortal it,. and non-breeding ratios, of foraging range (which undoubtedlY' reaches as high as 12, and ~ reach as muchas 60 miles from the rookery, with some evidence for definite individual "standslt) or for the studies of relationships with other animals and with man.

Furtbermore, in so thiCkly settled a country, and dealing with orni- thological units which had often been well knownfrom ttme immemorial, it was possible to draw some definite conclusions on population trends at once, the most important of which were that no general decreaSe was in progress, though serious local situations were frequently created by human persecution, notably by fishermen, and by timber-felling, especially in wartime. Further protective measures, it was felt, should wait the results of a second census and the trends or responsos to changing conditions it will reveal.

The Great Crested Grebe enquiry, again in Britain, had an oven more immediate and intriguing object than the Horon census, viz., to study the extraordinary spread and increase of that bird in Great Britain in the past 50 years. The species was thought in danger of extinction in Britain in 1960 as the result of slaughter for "grebe turs.n The enquiry was initiated by a small organization founded in Surrey in 1930 by T. H. Harrison and P .A.D. Hollom, the result of a more general ecological study of aquatic birds in that county. The plan was soon extended to a scale even more am- bitious than that of the Heron investigation. Mr. Witherby again used his influence, and the experience of Mr. Nicholson was at the deposal of the organizers. British Birds ran a schedule form with detailed instructioIS and questions and enclosed a return post card in its February 1931 issue for the use of volunteer cooperators. Innumerable periodicals and news- papers lent their assistance. The authors remark in 1932, "Wecan recom- mond this sort of a hobby for those who find 11fo dull. It has involved us in some five thousand letters from 15 countries.'" Cooperators were accepted on the understanding that they could undertake to cover all waters in their area downto a minimumof 5 acres. Emphasis was laid on notes on habi te and on food. :Bandingis considered desirable, but difficult. June and July are the proper months for counts, and Maycounts, with their chance of including migrants, are tabooed. The scheduled points cover name of observ- er; location; number of breeding pairs at a given date in 1931; date of colonization of water or earliest observation there; number of breeding pairs before 1931. if known; waters evidently suitable but not colonized; waters previously used but abandoned; other evidence of increase or decrease of population. Supplementary data on eight other suggested points was welcomed.

The numbers for the one year (1931) were not expected to possess in- trinsic value, but to act as a standard for comparison with later, and some earlier, counts. The general point is made that the bird is large, con- spicuous, and unmistakable. Appeals for more and more help continued to be run in Eritish Eirds and elsewhere for some18 months after the original announcement of February 1931. Finally in M~ 1932, it was announced that an extraordi- na:ry quantity of material had been receivod and it was hoped to produce the report early in the ensuing year. It ¥paared accordingly, under the authorship of Messers Harrison and Hollom, and occupied the bulk of Eritish Eirds for August, Septembor, October, and November, 1932, with an addendum on the results in Scotland following in March, 1933.

About 1,300 observers reported on over a thousand lakes. At the be- ginning of the report the authors tell us:

"Our hopes, then, were fully justified. It has been possible not only to make a satisfactory census of the species in every county, but also to investigate the whole cycle of past history, increane phases and factors, recent docrease and increase, factors conaolling distribution, future pros- pects, and so on. It has been possible to give f~gures for such Widely separated points as the non-breoding population, young ratios, mortality rate, longevity and total annual food consumption. Wehave been able to compute and specify the relative importance of such matters as the various factors (covert, food, depth, etc.) in distribution, various species in competition, territorial instincts, and colonial nesting. Throughout we have stressed the psychological developmental factors, whose influence 1s seldom appreciated by ornithologists •..• "

The total population for England and Walos in 1931 works out as about 2,650 adults (of which 347 were non-breeders) with about 175 adults in Scotland. One of a hundred points of great interest is the fact that while there was an apparent increase in 1931 over 1930, and other recent years back to 1925, the counts available for the earlier years proved an actual deCrease, combined with a continuing spread which created the illusion of increase. Colonization of S. W. England and northern Scotland has been at the expense of other populations. Howoften, we wonder, has territorial instability and shift of ground been interpreted and reported as an "in- crease?"

There is evidence of similar shifts of population back as far as 1880. Of the many causes considered only one, food, seams to offer a cogent ex- planation. In the studies of food it is shown that a pair and yourlg ~ take 630 pounds of fish from one lake in one summer,and it is not surpris- ing that depletion may result. Yet, like almostal1 the theoretical con- clusions based upon those surveys, this must end with a question mark. lJ:!b.oreis much evidenco that fish are not essential, as small crustaceans alone are adequate, and the bird highly adaptable. Indeed it is excessive depth alone, (over 15 foet, 10 is ideal),that soems to be the important factor in the food question.

It is impossible in a review of this length to do more than sample one or· two of the many topics of this nCensus" which far surpasses, in its awareness of scientific problems and determination to organize its data in a significant manner, any other cooperative effort which has been undertaken. Every ornithologist must sincerely hopo for its early appearance in book form, and if possible in an even more oxpanded state than is represonted by the 92 pages in Eritish Eirds. Since at least as early as 1922 the ready availability of the rook, with its Conspieuous character, wide distribution, and colonial habits, for studies of population, ecology, and behavior has been appreciated in the British Isles. Following, or contemporary with, isolated studies by Stewart (Scottish Naturalist, 1923, pp. 141-146 and 1930 pp. 15-21) in Uularkshire, and Roebuck (British Birds, XXVII, pp. 4-23) in a group of midland counties, the problem was taken Ul) by the Oxford group of ornithologists and a care- fully selected series of localities worked under the auspices of what is now called the Oxford Bird Census.

Already certain surveys have been repeated after an interval, and others are in the process of repetition. Thus Stewart worked Lanarkshire in 1922 and again in 1929. Roebuck worked different counties in 1928, 1929, and 1930 and started his re-survey in the same ordor in 1932. The area worked b;Vthe Nicholsons (Journal of Ecology XVIII, 1930, pp. 51-66), covoring 224 square miles in the Oxford district in 1927 was included in the larger area covered by the Oxford Census and reported upon by its director, W. B. Alexander (Journal of Animal Ecology II, 1, May1933, pp. 24-35), in 1931, in the course of a much larger survey of 910 square miles of the upper Thames country. In addition to these, other areas, carefully selected for topo- graphical and geographical variety, were assigned by the Oxford Census to B. J. Marples (the Wirral Peninsula, in Choshire, betwoen the mouths of tho Mersey and tho Dee, Journal of Animal Ecology, I, l, 1932, PP' 3-11) and to J. F. Wynne(the Isle of Wight, Journal of Animal Ecology I, 2, 1932, pp. 168-174).

In 1930 a private donation was made in support of the work, conditional upon additional funds being secured. That scientific pursuits should involve economic problems is by no moans generally advantageous, but in this Case the moot question of the economic status of the rook made it possible to obtain the additional funds from government agenoies, and the future of the under- taking is assured. None the less. eoonomic factors have not been given more than their normal share of space.

Perhaps the central problem in tl1e minds of most of the authors of the reports is that of the preferences or limiting factors in distribution. The Oxford Census in particular emphasizes geologioal factors, doubtless working for the most part through the flora, but described in technical geological terminOlogy. Most writers have emphasized a rather inexplicable proximity of most rookeries to river banks, but Alexander shows that while rookeries in the most favorable geological formations are apt to be close to rivers when the latter are present, the number of rookeries per unit area of suCh forma- tions is not greater when rivers are present than when they are not.

Alexander extended the large study of the upper Thamesregion to in- clude Winter flocking and the great Ilroosts" which are occupied in commonby the birds of many breeding rookeries during tho "nomadic" period from the broeding season until the first hints of new breeding bohavior in tho follow- ing winter. Observations of the roosts, and the mapping of their distribu- tion, shadow for$. a theory of a new phase of "territory" on a grand scale, territory of a colony which may number as many as 12,000 birds. Counts of the roosts made by surrounding them by a number of observers as the birds arrive in the ovening agree surprisingly closely with the counted nests of the rookeries of the same territories in the breeding season. The average number of eggs appears to be four, the average number of young reared, two, of which one on tho average is shot (rook Shooting appears to 'be a regular and inevitable part of English agriculture), leaving one to . accompany the adults in the nomadic late S\JIm1l6rmovements. Further mortality leaves, by mid-winter, about one young to four adults. In a stationary popu- lation one of these five must succumbin the course of the year.

The movementat Oxford which has had SO large a share in the development of cooperative work still continues to add project to project. An appeal has been printed in "British Birds" (XXVI,12, May1, 1933) for aid in the founda- tion of what is called a British Trust for Ornithology the object of which is to "act as permanent trustee and to raise through every possible channel funds to support an Institute of OrnitholoEq at Oxford as a national centre. II Part of the announcement reads as follows:

"In the united states a government-run Biological Survey supplies re- sources and direction; here the field worker has no such machinery, either official or unofficial, for reinforcing his individual efforts. Tho elementary cooperative services--a commonlibrary of books, MSS.and photographs, a clear- ing house of information and contacts, a national fiold centre which can col- laborate with other field centros ovorsoas, a permanent experimental reserve for long-torm rosearch--still romain to be provided.

At Oxford six years ago a series of researches was begun on the numbers, habits and economic status of certain Midland species, and these researches have recently depended to a large extent on government grants. Owingto the termination of these grants at the end of September, the future of the work (papers on which have appeared or are pending in British Birds, the Journal of Ecology, the Journal of .AnimalEcology, and the Journal of Agriculture) is imperilled. After consultation between representative field ornithologists it has been decided to try to turn the emergency into an opportunity •••• "

Amongthe eight signers of the appeal, the best knownare H. Eliot Howard, the greatest of the students of behavior and territory, Julian S. Huxley, until recently Professor of Zoology at the University of London, whose pioneer papers on the breeding behavior of a number of birds (first and most notable of the Great Crested Grebe) have been of great importance in the establishment of the science, P. R. Lowe, Curator of Birds at the British Museum,and H. F.Witherby, senior partner in the publishing house that bas done so muchfor ornithology, editor of "British :Birds" and father of the British :Birds "marking" (banding) organization.

The scheme is wisely organized to depend upon small subscriptions from a large number of contributors, and will probably succeod, even in 1933 and in England. Tho immediate object is a sum equivalent to somthing between thirty- five and forty thousand dollars to carry on with for five years while permanent endowmentsare arranged.

If this is to"be an organization to develop concrete research programs of the sort just described, or to advise and assist individuals who are capable of such work, the small world of bird students must wish it well, and many have faith in its success. If it is merely to attract to itself mountainous but inchoate masses of material, belonging to no one in particular and dedi- cated to the solution of no immediate and concrete problem, our . expectations are qualified. Cooperative research will perhaps be the most powerful tool of the ornithology of the future, but the organization cannot dispense with the individual, the collection of material obliterate the problem, or quantity re- place quality, in science more than in art.

As all readers of the May issue of ~ :BandingNotes are aware, bird banding, like most occupations, has felt the pinch of the times and not only continued expansion but the continuation of the band supply itself has been in doubt. We are very glad to say that more recent correspondence from Washington has been far more optimistic in tone. We are not officially authorized to make announcements of any sort, but there seems to be little remaining doubt of the continuation of the band supply to present cooperators, and while the policy must be one of strict conservation of bands, of weeding out inactive stations, and stricter selection of new applicants on a basis of assured productiveness, there is good reason to hope that prospective banders uho can show unquestion- able promise of really productive activity will still be acceptable.

In the coast states, uhere almost eve~rone but the apartment dweller' has a garden, and where the gardening season so often lasts the year around, it be- hooves bird lovers to consider more often the art of planting for birds, an art highly developed in the east, both by individuals and bird clubs. Our fellow member, Mrs. Frederick T. Bicknell of Los Angeles, has been a pioneer in this respect, although her gardens, like the Michener gardens, are not far removed from roaring boulevards. Her planting to attract birds has been described by Stanley Zadach in tho Sunset magazine for December, 1932. Mr. W. L. McAtee, in charge of the Division of Food Habits Research of the Biological Survey, is the author of a series of Farmers' Bulletins, num- bers 621, 760, 844, 912, and 1644 dealing with the subject. These are obtain- able from the Superintendent of Documents in Washington D. C. A charge of five cents is made for number 1644. These cover the northeastern, north- western, middle Atlantic, and middle western states. California is not specifically covered but can, as usual, draw from all districts almost what she pleases.

More extensive discussions of the same subject are to be found in the fol- loWing publications.

Trafton, G. H. Methods of Attracting Birds. Published u."lderthe auspices of the National Association of Audubon Societies. Boston, 1910.

Masslngham, H. J. London, 1924. Digest of the Minutes of the Los Angeles Chapter Meetings

February. - The 76th regular meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of the W.B.B.A. was held Sunday, February 12, 1933, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Partin, West Los Angeles, with 15 mombersand gu'Osts present, President .Allen presid- ing and Mrs. Lawacting as socrotary pro tem. The minutos of too January meeting were read and approved as corrected.

Mr. Michener, in calling attention to the requirement that all birds banded during 1932 should be reported to the W.B.B.A. not later than February 15, gave, as the record for their station, 2923 birds banded in 1932 as compared 1653 in 1931 and a total of 22875 since operations were begun in November, 1924. A. linnet banded by them July 24, 1932, was reported by a hunter as being one of 100 killed in one shot on the Garvey Bauch at E1 Monte.

Dr. Leye Miller reported some interesting observations of a female Spar- row Havtkwhich he has been watching for about a month. ~ hawk is very regu- lar and sooms to push along her t me sched:ulo to approximatoly that of the sun. She appoars about 11 minutes after sunset evory evoning. (This time varies from 20 minutes to 6 minutes.) Weather conditions, sunshine or rain, apparent- ly make no difference. The hawk C0l'JS8 first to a telephone pole, spends 10 or 15 minutes sitting there, and then flies to her roost. Clocked one morniDg, she left about 15 minutes before sunrise. Apparently the interval between de- parture and BIlUrise is the same as that between sunset and arrival. A. nest box has been put up with the hope that the hamc will make use of it. Chinese Spotted Doves were recently seen by Dr. Miller in \7est\ToodHills, West Los Angeles, for the first time in the 3t years he has lived there.

Mr. Robertson commentedon the tameness of a captive Red...tailed Hawk which he and Mr. Cald.or arc studyi~ and told of some of its food habits.

lIr. Partin banded 774 individuals of 8 species during 1932. Audubon Warblers trapped in his yard are lighter in weight than those taken in the Michener yard. His linnets are nowbeginning to go up in weight for the pre- nuptial period.

Charles Michener gave a very interesting progress roport on too study of Mockingbirds marked with colored bands.

Mrs. Lawreported 18 species, 245 individuals, banded during 1932. She told of a San Diego Towheethat WaSbanded January 10, 1927, repeated January 30, 1927, and was not recaptured until Febru.ary 6, 1933; also of a San Diego Towheenow weariDg its third band. The two former bands both show woar on the inside rather than on the outside.

Mr. Allen reported Band-tailed Pigeons, Robins and GambelSparrows more abundant and Golden-erowned Sparrows less abundant in his yard this year than last. The Gilded Jlicker has been seen by him since the January meeting but not within the last week.

Mr. Robortson exhibitod a pamphlet entitled "The Birds of Prey" propared by George E. Hix, Scoutmaster, as an aid for Boy Scouts in the identification of such birds. He also reviewed, from the January number of Bird llanding, Mr. Lincoln's second article on "State Distribution of Returns from Banded Ducks." A paper on the weights of small birds in the same number of Bird Banding was brought to the especial attention of Mr. Partin.

April 1933. - The 78th regular meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of the W.B.B..A.was held on Sund.a;y,April 9, 1933, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harlan H. Edwards, Claremont, California, with nineteen members and guests present and President .Allen in the chair. The minutes of the March meeting were read by the Secretary, Miss Blancho Vignos, and approved.

MisS Vignos reported the disappearance of a nest and family of the Pied-billed Grebe and the nest of a Coot in Echo Park, Los Angeles, caused by the cutting by park employees of tho rushes in which tho nests were lo- cated. A motion by Mr. Edwards, seconded by Mr. Piorce, was passed instruct- ing tho secretar~ to urite to the Park Commissioner reciting the incident and asking if some measures could be taken to protect the nesting birds and avoid such occurrences in the future.

The usual items of experiences since the last meeting were interspersed with three prepared papers. One, read by Mr. Michener, gave an analysis of the ages of House Finches trapped at the Michener station during February 1933. The two oldest \7ere banded as adults in 1924 and V1ereat least eight and one-half years old. Charle s Michener presented a graph showing the ter- ritorios occupied by four pairs of Mockingbirds at tho Michener station and told of their behavior. Mr. Wright M. Pierce read a most interesting paper on "Life History Studies of the Red-bellied Hawk"and followed the paper with two reels of motion pictures giving splendid vie~s of the nest and young as they were visited from Vlockto wcck.

MaY 1933. - The 19th regular meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of the W.B.B•.A. VIaSheld on Sunday, May14, at 2:30p.m. at the ranch home, El Bincanado, of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Ellis, after many of the membershad enjoyed a few hours of bird observation and a picnic lunch. Twenty membersand guests were pres- ent. The meeting was called to order by President Allen and the minutes of the April meeting were read by Miss Blanche Vignos, Secretary, and approved with corrections.

The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Frank Sl"J.earerof the Department of Parks, Los Angeles, suggesting that the .Association consult with tho foreman of Echo Park in regard to the protection of the birds of that park. No fur- ther action was taken at that time. On motion by MisS Vignos, seconded by Mrs. Ellis, it was agreed that Mr. Michener should receive a copy of the minutes of each meeting from whiCh to prepare a digest for publication in The News from the Bird-Banders when and if the editor chooses to do so; Mr. Michener to forward the copy of the minutes and the digest to the editor.

I Mr. Robertson gave a resume of the Annual Meeting of the Cooper Club held in Berkeley on May5 and 6, stating, amongst other things, that papers giving the results of studies on banded birds formed a rather prominent part of the program.

Twounusual occurrencos of Vaux Swifts were reported. Mr. Robertson saw large numbers flying around Eo.calyptus trees on San Gabriel Boulevard, near San Gabriel, as if they intended to roost there. Miss Vignos learned of hun- dreds of them having gone down the chimney and into the rooms of a vacant cot- tage in Mission C~on, Santa Barbara. They were released through the doors and windows and the bottom of the chimney was stopped With sacks to keep them out of the rooms. A fev7 days later it was found that they had returned and 1500, by actual count, \7ere removed fran the bottom of the chimney, only six being still alive. Miss Vignos arrived about this time and took the sacks of swifts to Mr. Rett of the Santa 13a".bara)lu.seumwho photographed them. He ex- amined a few of their stomachs and found them to be empty from which he con- cluded that they died from starvation. However, it seems that suffocation might have been at least partially responSible. Both of these occurrences were during the week beginning May 7.

Unusual numbers of Russet-backed Thrushes were reported at Mr. Allen's, MiSSAmes' and the Micheners' stations.

Mr• .Allen told of an encounter between a Red-shafted Flicker and a California Woodpecker which took place in a nest hole which the Flickers had enlarged from a last year IS California Woodpeckornest and then had apparent- ly abandoned. rrhe Woodpeckers took possession and Mr. Allen happened by in time to hear a great squealing and scuffling in the hole and to see two birds emerge, the Flicker holding to the leg of the Woodpecker. The Flicker now owns the nest.

Charles Michener told of unusually large numbers of Black-headed Grosbeaks working in the Elm trees along the street during the last two weeks of April. Investigation shoued thom to be eating large, soft, brown scale that were quite abundant.

Mrs. Calder told of seeing a Crowcarrying a young Mockingbird from its nestand the adul t Mockor chas ing the Crow. Classes of W.B.B.A. and Cooper Membership W.B.B.A. Ornithological Club Associate ••.....•...... •.... $ 1.00 $ 3!50 1.00 3~50 Sustaining •••••.•.•••...••••••.•..• 7·50 10.00 Life (total, not yearly) •.••...•... 50.00 125.00 Members outside of the United States add twenty-five cents to the first three items of the last column (to pay additional postage on THE CONDOR). If C.O.C. dues have been paid direct, remit difference to W.B.B.A.

New W.B.B.A. Government Sparrow Trap The advantages of the Government Sparrow Trap are many. It is always set, and when birds come in flocks uill trap them to the limit of its capacity. Our trap is strongly made of hardware cloth, with a bottom of the same mater- ial to the inner chamber, so that birds are perfectly safe from the attacks of hawks, cats and other predatory animals.

The dimensions are 1011 x 14" X 2811; the low height makes it difficult for birds to injure themselves by flying up from the bottom of the trap and striking their heads against the top. In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $4.50 East of the River and in Canada - $5.00 postpaid.

i.B.B.A. Two-compartment Trap

This trap, measuring 7!1I x 811 X 1011 is divided into two compartments, each pro- vided with a drop door and automatic treadle. Adjustable feet are attached so that the trap will rest firmly on any approximately plane surface. The trap is very strong, being welded throughout, and is painted with a good green enamel. In the United States, west of the Mississippi River - $1.50 postpaid East of the River and in Canada - $1.75 postpaid With wire bottom, as trap and gathering cage, add - $.25

Books Hoffman's Birds of the Pacific States - $5.00 By far the most useful of the we st coast manual s.

Audubon Bird Cards - each season $1.00 Four sets of fifty cards each representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter birds, from color draWings by Allan Brooks, with text on the back of each card. Eastern races are shown, but the sets arc unsurpassed in value to the beginner in any part of the Unitcd States or Canada.

Emergency Band Supply In cases when time does not permit of application to Washington, the W.B.B.A, issues bands in reasonable numbers in the Western Territory. Address all communications to - Western Bird Banding Association, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California. Issued Ql1arterly by the Western Bird-Banding Association at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Berkeley, California

Miscellaneous Information Regarding Membership, llmergency Band Supply, Traps, and Publications will be found on the Back Cover Mr. Lincoln has recently sent us a soparate of his admirable, if all too brief, reviow of the recent achievemonts of bird-banding. (A Decado of Bird Banding in .America: a Review. Smitl1sonian Report for 1932, pages 327-351.) We hope it has been possible to distribute this to the whole banding fraternity, for the paper emphasizes, for the most part, results, in a scientific rather than a numerical sense, and takes another step in the direction of bringing the average bander into tho drift of ornithological research and discovery.

It is probably not too much to say that Mr. Lincoln personally brought wildfowl banding in .America to its present state of efficiency, and his experi- ence in that field is very great. Furthermore, the Washington office has had to ransack its resources to meot heavy damands for evidence on prossing matters of national importance in regard to wildfowl. It is not surprising, therofore, that the freshost and most personal part of the present paper deals with such matters. Most surprising material is brought forward, for instance, on the question (on which our own ignorance hitherto has been complete) of the sex ratios of the ducks. 'l!b.isis perhaps one of the many departments in which the sportsmen have been ahead of the ornithologists, for there has long existed a deep-seated belief among huntors that tho males were greatly in excess in num- bers. On the rare occasions when this reached the ears of the ornithologists they havo contented themselves with the explanation that hunters, intentionally or mechanically, picked tho bright-colored birds, which thorofore made up the bulk of their bags. Such an explanation has no application to the teChnique of banding, yet Mr. Lincoln tabulates 40,904 banded ducks according to sex, of ten species, Culled from the reports of banders of known ability to distinguish plumages, and shows striking, and often extreme, discrepancies in favor of the males in every case but that of the wood duCks.

It is natural to wonder whether sexual difference in degree of suspicious- ness may not be inVOlved, but Mr. Lincoln, from long experience with pintails in particular, is inclined to believe the females less suspicious than the mal os , whom they often lead into the traps. Yet the pintails are among the ex- treme cases, with 6308 males to 3759 females. Female leadership might be ex- pected to prevail for a period just before nesting, while at other seasons we might expect the males to assume a greater boldness and to forage in the fore- front of the flock. Yet MJ;'. Lincoln's experience has certainly not been re- stricted to the breeding season. The case of tho wood ducks, which have had almost absolute protection for many years, suggests that the situation is some- how the result of overshooting. Yet all that we know of shooting bags indicates a greater kill of males.

In point of fact, sex ratios in birds have probably not been studied with scientific accuracy in any case except the domestic fowl, wherein practical equality has been shown by Darwin and by Professor :Raymond Pearl. If such a situation as is indicated in the case of the ducks exists normally in the bird world, it is superlatively important that it Should be substantiated as soon and as fully as possible, and duck fanciers should be urged to keep the fullest possible records of their broods, and to publish them. Furthermore, if anyone who is compotent to dotermine tho sex of nestlings finds himself in a locality where birds are being destroyed, such as English Sparrows, Starlings, or crop- raiders which have been condemned beyond reprieve, he has an opportuni ty, by sexing a few hundred broods, to produce a piece of concrete information of unique simplicity and great value with a minimum of effort. Weare told that a detailed investigation of the distribution of the mallard and black du.ck is in progress, which is most welcomenews, and the general prob- lem of the stu~ of wildfowl by banding is discussed. Perhaps the most interest- ing point which is raised, both from the scientific and conservationist view- point, is that there seems to be little evidence of interChange of wildfowl be- tween the eastern and western halves of the country within the United States, "even with those species that have a more or less general continental distribu- t ion.1I In other words ducks,ave.1 though breeding toga ther in Canada., separate in the fall into many components, eastern, western, and central, and, regardless of summerassociation, "each group aOheres to its ancient flyways." SUcha fact, of course, carries the threat that if in one region, say the central far west, . the migratory wildfowl are wiped out by overshooting, drainage, disease, or a:n:y other causes, the region would be restocked very slowly if at all from other par ts of the country or from the northern sources.

Unfortunately, the map on page 321 demonstrates this general point rather inadequately. Here about 80 returns from (presumably breeding) mallards banded at ~wostations in east central Alberta are shown, scattered from Xen~, Louisiana, and central 0alifornia, back to the environs of the points of band- ing. 'l!b.ereis at least a strong indication of two main avenues of flight, one toward central Oalifornia and one toward the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention sug- gestions of secondary intermediate branches. None the less, even within the avenues the lateral scattering of the rather small number of returns is very wide, and it seems probable that a great increase in the data might not only in- clude the two divergent avenues in a single fan, subdivided only into favorable and unfavorable localities such as mountains and drainage levels, but spread the fan over a very much increased area.. It is, as always, difficult to know whether the map represents the distribution of the ducks or of the guns or traps, which in turn mark small and particular points of concentration of ducks or of human beings.

Also, we either fail to understand or to appreciate another feature of this map. The general areas outl ined by returns are also shaded with fine dots, the densi ty of which, according to tho title of the illustration "shows the relative density of the flight in the different regions." :But as this population density is preB'U:m&blymade up of ducks from a thousand scattered sources, and not from the region of the banding stations, it is hard to see the implied correlation or the purpose of such a graphic technique .

.Aningenious method for computing the total number of ducks, and hence for following the annual fluctuations, is proposed, which may or may not be accurate enough for the latter purpose. This depends upon lithe constant relation that seems to exist between tho number of ducks banded and the number of those killed duri~ the first succeeding hunt ing season. II In other words, if, say, 13% of the ducks banded in one year are returned through shooting, then the total num- ber shot should represent about 13% of the grand total of ducks alive at the be- ginning of the shooting season. Without questioning the val idi ty of the mathe- matics, it seems doubtful that a degree of accuracy sufficient to catch annual fluctuations can be achieved in this way. None the less I increasing figures will bring increasing accuracy, -- in so hopeless a sea of estimates and guesses we are glad to snatch at straws of fact and method. !!he results are well worth the thought and ingenuity devoted to them, and well worth printing. 1be longer one has to do with banding from an administrative .angle and deals with large ntlmbers of reports from a large number of sources, the more he learns to anticipate inaccuracy, almost as the rule ra.ther than the exception, and . dreads the ~ when some numerical error may slip through and falsify an impor- tant record. Fortunately there are strong barriers against such a contingency. A misquoted number has to stand checking as to its existence, its recipient, i~s size, or thE)part of the country whence it is reported, by Washington and perhaps by a local association, and any improbability of course leads to close scrutiny and enquiry. Furthermore it must ultimately stand checking, if a return, from the original bander, both as to whether it has been used and as to the species it was placed upon. None the less, in cases when a return report, though erroneous, happens to hit the right species, or when it carries no identification by the finder ,and the bird which really carries the number reported never returns, an error ~ be recorded. Our ownrecord of mistaken readings is really extraor- dinary. At one time, out of thirteen successive reports made to us, eleven were mistakes. These wero automatically caught in a variety of w~s. Twomen report- ed a number which had never beE:lnissued. In other caseS the bands were obtained and did not agree with the numbers preViously reported. A band was reported from Los Angeles which was found to have been attached to an English Starling on the Atlantic coast. Oertain individuals turn out to be literally and habitually in- capable of reading a band number, but quite unable to believe that such is the case. It must be realized that reading a band number is a really difficult feat, and that no one of us has the right to be cock-surE) of his ability to perform it or to forego the most meticulous checking and re-checking. The letters have been variously located, and are easy to miss. Sixes, nines, and zeros, offer almost endless chances for mistakes. The beginning and end of the number on small bands are easy to fall short of Or overrun. Reading the number is as elaborate a trick as attaching the band, and cannot be done in a perfunctory or absent-minded way without disaster.

The ~oming Instinct", Winter Territory and Individual Flight Lines E· L. Sumner, Sr.

The homing instinct of birds has been a matter of record for at least 2500 years, for the earliest knownmention of the use of homing pigeons is found in the writings of Anacreon, about 500 B.C. Dlring tho Middle A€es homing pigeons were used in Europe, Asia and Africa by the governments of many countries. But pigoons are trained to return to their cotes, and in this paper we shall deal only with the movements of wild birds.

J.B. Watson in 1907 and 1910, and Watson and K.s. Lashley in 1913 experi- mented in the removal of Noddy and Sooty Terns from nesting colonies in the Tortugas, off the Florida coast. (Vol.VII, Papero from the Department of Marine Biology, Carnegie Institution of WaShington). Profezsor Watson, in his preface to this book, states "our experiments and conclusions on homing proper will be found on pages 59 and 60. These results, while not settling the question of the sensory mechanism by means of which birds return to the nests, do remove all doubts about the fact that the Noddy and Sooty Terns can return fr·omdistances up to 1000 miles in the absence of all landmarks (at least insofar as the term landmark is understood at present). The problem of homing has thus become de- fined, and exper imental work of a definite kind is needed for its solution." These birds were all taken from nesting colonies, and thus had the strongest possible urge to return with all speed. It would be interesti1}g to learn what the results would have been if the exporiments had been carried on after the young had boen raised, and before the birds left normally in September. Wells W. Cooke, in U.S.Department of Agriculture Bulletin 185, "Bird Migrationlf gives an interesting instance of this ability of somebirds to find their way direct- lyto their obJective, without the aid of known landmarks: "In Alaska a few years ago members of the Biological Survey on the Barritnan expedition went by steamer from the Island of Unalaska to Bogoslof Island, a distance of about 60 miles. A dense fog shut out every object beyond a hundred yards. Whenthe steamer was halfway across, flocks of murres, returning from Bogoalof after long quests for food, began to break through the fog wall astern, fly parallel with tho vessel, and disappear in the mists ahead. By chart and compass the ship was heading straight for the island, but its course was no more exact than that taken by the birds.1f Is there any essential difference between. these movements of terns and murres and the annual return to the nesting colony of wide-wandering gulls, terns, and alba- trosses? One theory to account for the ability of birds to find their way to a definite objective, in the absence of any known landmark, is that their sense of direction is developed far beyond the comparatively slight sense of direction possessed by mam- mals. If this is true, would the result have been the same had Watson and Lashley's terns been placed for a short timo in a rapidly rovol ving cage? Somewhatallied are the problems of tho fixity of winter residence or territory of migrants, and the fiXity of migration routes of individuals or local groups. rrhe evidence on these subjects, is, so far as the writer can ascertain, confined to land birds. There is little literature regardl~ the first of these matters, and practi- cally none on the second. Yet the records of most active stations are mines of in- formation neither digestod nor correlated, nor evor likely to be. MIlchof the following appoars to have some bearing on both of these problems: Wright M. Pierce (Condor XXVII, 120) on March 10, 1925, took 12 GembelSparrows captured at Olaremont, Calif., elevation 1200 ft., and released them at Canp Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains, at an elevation of ~700 ft., and abou.t eleven miles distant. Up to March 23 of the same year, four of them bad been retaken in Clare- mont. I can find no record that any more of these birds were everremptured.. On March 25, 1925, Pierce took 20 Gambel Sparrows from Claremont across the San Gabriel Mountains to a point on the MohaveDesert about fifty miles east of Olaremont in an air line, and released them there. Five of the birds flew to the ground and began feeding; fifteen flew into the air 50 to 75 feet, and flew across the descrt in the direction of Claremont. None had been recaptured up to the time Mr. Pierce wrote his article, and I can find no record that any wero recaptured later. E.L. Sumner, Jr. and Wright M. Pigrce (Condor JqJX, 115) released 44 Sierra . Juncos during seven ~s in August 1920, at points l~ to 10 miles from the point. where the birds were band§d, near Pine Knot in the san :Bernardino Mounta;ns, Calif., at an elevlJ.t~on of abou.t b750 ft. Fifty percent of the birds released 1 miles away Teturned; LJ.3, of these released at a distance of 2 miles (over land only returnod, 4% of those taken 2 miles aWfq across Big Bear Lake, and l4~ of thoso romoved to a distance of 6 miles. It is interesting to notice that the authors state that the percentage of returns of immature birds, which could hardly have been in the new territory before, was practically the aame as that of adults. E.L. SUmner, Jr. and J.L. Cobb, (Condor XXX, 317) between October 21, 1927 and March 7, 1928, removed 326 birds of 10 BEecles from Claremont, calif. to points not more than four miles distant. Of these, 51, or l5~ were reeaptured in Claremont. In the same article it is stated that Carl Levingston, from November13 to December4, 1927, took 16 birds of 4 species which he had trapped in Redlands, 34 miles away, and released them in Claremont. The only bird recaptured by Levingston in Redlands, was one of 7 Gambel Sparrows; this was trapped again 28 ~s later. Of 27. Valley ~il trapped in Olaremont by E.L. Sumner, Jr., and released from January 12 to March 7, 1928, at three points 2/5, 1 and 5 miles away, none was ever recaptured. As 90%.of all the Sumnerand Cobb birds were released after dark, it is quite likely that there was some mortality on this account. Between October 16, 1930 and November22, 1930, the writer released 100 birds

trapped in Strawberry ca.nyonf Berkeley, in the University of California experiment gardens, in the residence section of Berkeley, about one mile northwest of the area where the birds were trapped. The gardens occupy two city squares. The Universi ty Campus, containing many trees and mu.chshrubbery, is in a direct line between Straw- berry Oanyonand the gardens. There is a small canyon just east of LeConte Avenue, which is nearer the spot where the b-.~J;"dIwere released than where first trapped. Comprising the 100 birds were 36 Goldon~c!iowr1odSparrows and 32 Fox Sparrows (both species migrants), 13 Samuel's Song Sparrows, 11 San Francisco :BrownTowhees, and 8 San Francisco spotted Towhees. Sixty-ono percent of the Song Sparrows, 28%of the Golden-crowns, 53~ of tho loX Sparro\7S, and 38~ of the entire number repeated up to .April 7, 1931. Five more birds wero recaptured in the follomng aut'UlDllor 'Winter making a total of 43~ which Vlerc recaptured. Only one :BromlTowheeand one Spotted Towheewere again trapped. As my traps tvere in operation in this locality for the entire year 1931, it seems probable that I recaptured much the greater part of the birds Which re~rned to Strawberry Canyon.

E.L. Sumner, Jr. at various times has released near 1!J1 traps in Strawberry Can- yo~ a total of 65 Golden-crowned Sparrows which he banded near Menlo Park, about 25 miles south of. :Berkeley, across San l'rancisco :Bay. Of these 65, I trapped several a few ~s after their release in Strawberry Canyon, but only two that remained more than four dqs. Only three have been retaken in Menlo Park, and all three of these during the next southward migration •.

In 1932 I kept 53 Golden-crowned Sparrows in cages in the Life Sciences build- ing on the University of California campus (Condor XXXV, 181). These birds were trapped in Strawberry Csn1'onfrom March 1 to .April 12, inclusive. Three escaped oJ?uriknowndates and were not trapped again. Twenty-five were released on June 12, and 25 on JUly 22. :Both dates are long past the usual time of departure in the spring exodus--the latest recorded date for a Golden-crowned Sparrow in California being May18. Twelve of the birds were released on the University Campus, the re- mainder in Strawberry Canyon. Fifteen of the fifty repeated the following fall and winter. Where did these birds go after they were released? To their usual breod- .ing places in :Britisb Columbia and .A:J,.aska?·Or did they meroly sproad out over ad- joining territory? However this may be, 3~ of them were recaptured during the next few months (but none before the U8'Il8l time of southerly migration) compared With a repeat percentage of· 7.6 for 474 Golden-crowns banded during 1930-31 and 1931-32.

Golden-croWned Sparrows c161333, which 1 trapped at the University botanical gardens in Strawberq Canyon on March 18, 1933, and which repeated 23 times to April 5, I took on the 6th to Southern California with nine other birds of the same species, and released them about 5 P·M. the same dq in a small wooded canyon near Holl7wood, about 400 miles south in a direct line. The bird was recaptured at the botanical gardens on October 23, close to where it was first trapped. It was released in Hollywood at the same time many golden-crowns were migrating north, and was recaptured at the time of the next southward migration. P:erhaps I only added 400 miles to this unfortunate birdie migration flight, perhaps the increment was clipped off the end of the route.

"I have frequently taken Golden-crowns trapped on the poultry laboratory grounds and released them at the Univerlity botanical gardens, about half a mile up tho canyon; and I have brought those trapped at the botanical gardens to the poultry grounds and released them there. In me,t cases the birds returned promptly to the place where first trapped, but a few remained for some weaks in their new location. One bird which I trapped at 5 P.M. at the poul try grounds, I carried in a cage at the bo~of my closed car, and released shortly before sunset at the botanical gardens. The next morning at ~ight o'clock I found it back in a trap at the poultry grounds. Did this bird return to the poultry grounds that evening, or did it spend tho night at the botanical gardens' And when it left the botanical gardens did it fly high into the air, circle around until it recognized its formor territory, or did it fly straight back, guided by some instinct or sense unknownto us?" (Sumner, Condor XXXV, 181). A male Sparrow-hawk, trapped December28, 1930 by Harold Michener on his grounds comprising about three-fourths of an acre of land in the heart of the residence district of pasadena, was taken by Wright M. Pierce to his home in Claremont, abOllt twenty-five miles east of Pasadena, and released by him that evening or next morning. The hawk was recapturod by Mr. Michener at his home on January 18, 1931. It was later released in the Los •.mgeles River bottom, about nine miles northwest, and has not been seen since.

Frommy banding operations I have a number of records which at least suggest a fixity of the migration routes of individ'tlB.ls. During the past three years I have banded 836 Golden-crormed Sparrows in Strawberry Canyon. ~ traps have, most of the time , boen placed at intervals from noar tho mouth of the ca~on to the botanical gardens, about one mile up the canyon in an air line. Of these Golden-crowns, 416 have been trapped more than once, and 18 of them have apparently stopped off in the vicinity of my traps only for a day or two, or less, on the northerly or the southerly migration, or both. As an example of this I gi ve the trapping record of Al81295. This bird was first trapped on Nov~mber7; 1930. It returned to one of my traps on March 6, 1931; again on March 25, 1932; once more on October 3, 1933. It did not enter a trap on any other date. In the case of six Golden-crowns trapped in the month of November, in 1930, 1931 and 1932, and returning the following March or April, the number of days the birds were absent from my traps on the southward flight was 119, 129, 144, 129, 114, 110, a maximumvariation of 34 days in the per iod of absence, with five of the six within a variation of 19 days.

Of course, in all the cases I have mentioned which were taken from my band- ing records, there is no oertainty that any of the birds entered my traps as soon as they were near them, or continued to enter them while they remained in Straw- ber17 Canyon. Someof them may have returned by a different migration route, and some which returned to the c~on may have remained in another part of it. The records furnish grounds for an interestiDg speculation, however, and it is to be regretted that more similar figures have not been published. ~re MIlst be ma~ of our readers who can dig out from their banding records . items that may perhaps confirm the idea o;f the fixity of individual migration routes. Wohope that they will do so and send their findings to us; this is an almost unexplored field, and this and other problems can be solved only by long-continued banding by banders who will not only "just band," but who VTill bend their efforts towards the ad- vancement of ornithology.

Banding stations almost invariably cover very restricted areas, and it seems probable that with equally intensive work on an area say ten miles square, these comparatively rare and spectacular examples might become the rule rather than the exception. It is not impossible that the ornithology of the distant future will be able to pinpoint a winter territory for overy breeding territory, connected by a fully-mapped night line?

In this day of enlarged sChool curricula and overcrowded classes, the out- sider often raises the question HArethe essentials really being accomplished with all the extras (somet~s called 'frills')?" At the same time administrators and teachers are agreeing that established methods must be modified to meet the chang- ing conditions, and they are asking the challenging question: "Whatnew methods shall we usa to take care of our largo classes and :tUll progra.ms?"

This is an era of experiment and discovery in many fields. The field of education is no exception. Modernpsychology teaches us tha.t interest in the sub- ject to be learned is an important factor in the learning process. Howthis in- terost is to be aroused and held is then tho question at hand.

In the field of biological science, there are, perhaps, more avenues of es- cape from the set routine of text books than in any other high school subjoct. And yet oven there we find difficul tios. 1ho majority of students are interested in living things, especially active things. Boys as a rule like snakes and toads, girls I interests tend toward flowers and shells; but, both boys and girls of high school and elementary school age seam to agree that insects and birds are about tho most interesting forms of life to studT. Insect study presents no particular difficulty for class work since insects can be easily raised and studied in the laboratory.

Downthrough the ages boys have enjoyed robbing birds nests and using birds as targets f~r guns and sling shots. Not until fairly recent years 'have the people of this country realized the necessity of wild life conservation. Howis this economic importance of birds to be taught the youth of this country so that they will Bee the value of the present protective laws and be willing to livo up to them?

The following problems have presented themselves to me in T1f3' teaching of bird study both in High School and Elementary School. First, the boy who liked to impress the class with his various cruel methods of killing birds; second, the far~r 's son whohas grown up to think that all hawks and owls are destructivo and birds in general rather a nuisance; third, the girl who ndoesn'tknow a humming-bird from a turkey buzzard" and is rather proud of it; fourth, man:;yothers who just aren't interested. The ordinaI7 school science laboratory does not have the facilities for keeping live birds for study, and a teacher finds it difficult to stimulate interest in preparing bird skins for a ItiUseumandat the same time teach conservation. Students are l1kely to let the collectiD$ instinct be upper- most.

In February of this year, as a new eJq:leriment, we took out a bird-banding permi t and set up a bird-banding station at the High School.

Briefly, the results are as follows: between February 23 and Juno 9, we banded sixty-four birds -- twenty-four Gambelsparrows, one goldon-crowned spar- row, one California shrike, one tulo wren, one greon-backodgoldfinch, two western mockingbirds, eighteen 1innets, one western mourning dove, two western meadowlarks, three screech owls, one California quail, one Brewer blackbird, one yellow-billed magpie, four .Americansparrow hawks, one western lark sparrow, one western savannah sparrow, one red-winged blackbird, and one· crow.

One bird was caught in a trap on the school bird feeding table, several yo'UIlgwere caught by hand in the school yard, and uere banded in a nest in the front of the school. All the rest were brought by the students from their yards or from the road or trees near the bus stops.

"These are interesting statistics," you will say, "but what is the value to the student? Isn't this another frill?" I have seen the follOWing results from VIII, 4, November, 1933

our brief experiment, which would lead me to think it a worth while teaching de- vice: first ,an a~ened interest in birds not only throughout the science classes but a180 the res~of the school; second, this interest carried,home and extended to watch,1ngnest ;pidldingandeggs (not destroying); third~ timing. the growing period of ~ Y0un&.and etu.d¥lng the activities of the parents. These activ~t~s ~f1nitely bring a,bo'U.t~~e, in attitude from destructive to protec- ti ve, interest in b~rd ~tog,rap~, incroaso in ability to recognize birds from sight, and.intol'ea.t 1n &ird m1grat~on. .

The last week:of school the students wrote what they thought of bird banding as part of a h~ school science course. I quote a few statements.

"Bird-banding enlarges your knowledge of birds."

"It helps the students know Vlb$,tbirds are found. in their district and also helps them understand how birds are helpful or harmful."

"It keeps people fran robbing nests, because if they take the eggs the young wonIt hatch and then they wonIt have any birds to bring to be banded. 11

One youth, "whowould be commendedby the local Chamberof Commerce,states that "Bird banding helps advertise the school. "

perhaps the' most telling fact .is t~t .as far as I know only one' nest on the school grounds WM robbed this spring, and,in spite of the noisy crQwdswaiting for buses, the birds were not fri~tened aWaf but many'different kinds of birds brought up fami! ies in the shrubbez7 near' the .school- Also reports came back from parents about the enthusiasm with which birdsv/ere watched at home.

'!be new schQol year started auspiciously with one owl, one mockiDg'bird, one red-shafted flicker} ~d two sparrow hawks banded within the fir,t three weeds, and Itudent. h/J.vebeen watchiXl« anxious1y' foX'.the return of the first winter migr~t8 to Bee if any of .their friends are returning, One st\l~nt saw some of his banded linnets in his yard duriXC tho swmner.

It by this awakened interest ~ few le'~ nests are robbed, a few l~ss birds killed or wounded each year, and a few more students become interested ~n a scientific stuQy of bird habits, bird band~ng in school may be considered not as a trill but asa valuable tOaching device.

Elk Grove, California October 25, 1933

June: - The 80th regular meeting of the Los AI1geles Chapter of the W.B.B.A. met Sunday, June 11, at Fox Ridges, Altadena, 27 members and guests being present. The minutos of the Maymeeting wera read by the Secretary, Miss Blanche Vignos, and approved, President Allen being in the chair. Mr. Robertson spoke 'of the notioe in the last number of 13ird 13andingNotes stating that for a period of one year no more permits for banding will be issUed on account of the lack of funds. At the t!me of the .Annual Meeting of the Cooper Olub ho and. Mr. Sumner discussod the 'd.ecidedhandicapthat this will be to the W.13.13.A.in its offor t to interest now banders and to :.enlarge the scope of its work. Mr. Sumner, expecting tobe in southern California during the S'UIIllIler,ex- press~d the desire to meet with the membors oi' the Los Angeles Chapter to discuss possible ways of overcoming this dlffioul ty. ![he secretary waS instructed to write to Mr. S'IJJIIIl8rstating that a meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter will be called at such time as will be convenient for him and asking him to set the date.

Miss .Amesreported seeing five We-sternTa.nagers on her back steps feeding on oranges which were placed there for them. She had seen no Thrushes since June 6.

Mr. Avis told of his interest in game birds, of conditions as they were in the ear:l.Ydays and' of the marked changes in the conditions to~.

Mr. Edwards reported the Phainopoplas now in Claremont in their usual num- bers (previously reported as unusually scarce for the time of year) and the Orioles maintaining their appetites for jellies and jams. Mrs. Edwards stated that the Orioles are now bringing their young to' the feeding table and that the evidence indicates that a cat had taken the young Mocking birds from their nest over the window.

Mr. Robertson exhibited a copy of "The Fa~ of the National Parks of the United States - A Preliminary Survey of Faunal Relations in the National Parks," by George M. Wright, Joseph S. Dixon and Ben H. Thompson. This is the first of a series of reports deal ing with the vertebrate fauna of the national parks to be preparod in the :Branch of Education .and Research of the National Park Service, Department of Intorior. It can be obtained for 20 cents from the SUperintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. and Mr. Robertson recamnended its purchase by all who are interested in wUd life.

Charles Michener gave a further report on observations of Mockingbirds wear- ing colored bands and David Michener showed two unusual photographs, one of a House Finch with no feathers on its head and tho other of a California Thrasher with both. mandibles broken off behiId the bend and flared apart at the existing ends. This bird had preViously been seen apparently feeding from the ground in a yard near by and it seemed to be in good condit1on when trapped. Mrs. Michener reported the banding of a White-crowned Sparrow (Z. 1. leucophrys) on May28. The previous year one was banded on May29. An unusua,J.number of Brewer Blackbirds in the traPs gavo an opportunity to verify hor previous observations on the colors of their eyes. The eyes of the adult male are Whlte and those of the immature male are light. 'lbe eyes of the females are brown both in the adult and the young, those of the young being slightly darker.

Mrs. Hall told of a Mocking bird chasing all the other birds from her feed- ing table until she stopped putting out the food it particularly liked. It then stopped coming to the table. She told of youne; swans in Echo Park and as an instaznce of the devotion and care given by the male bird she stated ~hat when the young wero being cMsed by a small dog the male took the dog by the neck, waddled into the water and held the dog under until it was drowned.

Mrs. Law tol d of the birds seen on a recent trip to .Arizona, amone them the Broad-tailed Hummingbirdand the Hepatic Tanager. At her home she had seen a Cowbird on 1'2 r feeding tray for the fir st time. Mr. Partin told of a Shrike being so intent on trying to get at a House Finch in one of his traps that he was able to pick it up in his bands. It was banded and weighed. He also reported the banding of four young Killdeer from a nest on the U.O.L.A. campus within a few feet of a path where hundreds of people pass every day.

Mr. Allen told of capturing one of the Micheners I House Finches and a Black- headed Grosbeak that Mrs. Law thOught was one that she had banded. The Ash- throated Flycatchers are nesting in the same place as last year but, whereas last y~ they used the fluff from the vacuumcleaner for nest material, this year they used rabbit fur for .the entir.o nest. Where this was obtained he could not say. ~ey are very secretive and 'seldom seen until the young are being fed. One pair of Band"-talled Pigeons areaUll remaining, thi1lbeill« later tha.n.he has ever before known them to stBl'. He has ne'Nr knO\7n them to nest there.

A number of the members came early to 'study the birds and othe~ wild life. Only one nest, that of a western WoodPewee, was seen. .Aninteresting observa- tion was that of a California Racer swallowing an Alligator Lizzard.

i!:Yz: .- A special meeting of the Los .Angeles Chapter of the W.13.13.A. was held on Sunday, July 30, 1933, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Michener at Pasadena, Mr. E. L. Sumner, Business WanS8erof the '.13.;8 .A., President .Allen, Secretary Miss Vignos and t~e1ve membersbeing present. .

ihe meetUig 188 called pr1max"ily for the purpose of disculsillg- with Mr. S'WI1IJerthe prqblems of t~'estern"B1rd :Banding.A.ssociat1on, particularly as ef- fected by the .rec~trul1ag of t~ Biological Survo7 that, for the period of one year, no new banding permits 'fIill be issued. He told of the increase of member- ship in the Association whieh,it aeema, Will be practically stopped if no new permits are to be 18.ued. One new permit had been granted on the showing that the applicant would do special wbrk and it was hoped that other especially desirable applicants, ~han found, would be given special consideration and granted permits as emeptions to the general rule. Mr. Sumner had written to Mr. Lincoln asking for suggestions of weY' in which the Association, or some of its members, might be of assistance u,. the present emergency but had. not received a reply.

Mr. Sumner stated that of 25 new members of the Association 16 are active banders and that the work at headquarters, such as the distribution of bands from the .m.rge~cy supply, the sale of traps and the answeri~ of inquiries bt s in- crea$ed.to a considerable volume.

Mr. Michener spoke of a scheme for informing the public about bird ban"ding and about the reports that should be made when banded birds are found. The scheme contemplates the use of displays of banded birds with sui table descripti va placards in prominent display windows and in museums. He was delogated to work out this plan. Classes of W.E.B.A. and Co~per Membership W.B.B.A. Ornithological Club $ 1.00 $ 3;50 1.00 3!50 Sustaining . 7·50 10.00 Life (total, not yearly) ..••...•... 50.00' 125.00 Members outside of the United states add twenty-five cents to the first three items of the last column (to pay additional postage on THE CONDOR). If O.O.C. dues have been paid direct, remit difference to W.~.B.A.

New W.B.B.A. Government Sparrou Trap The advantages of the Government SparrO\1 Trap are many. It is alwa-;rsset, and when birds come in flocks l1ill trap them to the limit of its capacity. Our trap is strongly made of hardmu:e cloth, with a bottom of the same mater- ial to the inner chamber, so that birds are perfectly safe from the attacks of hawks, cats and other predat ory animal s •

The dimensions are 10" x 14" x 2g"; the 10\7 height makes it difficult for birds to injure themselves by flying up from the bottom of the trap and striking their heads against the top. In the United states, ~est of the Mississippi River - $4.50 East of the River and. in Canada - $5.00 postpaid.

W 0] 013.A. T'."1o-compartmentTrap This trap, measuring 7~" x g" x 10" is divided into two compartments, each pro- vided with a drop door and automatic treadle. Adjustable feet are attached so that the trap will rest firmly on any approximately plane surface. The trap is very strong, being welded throughout, and is painted with a good green enamel. In the United states, west of the Mississippi River - $1.50 postpaid East of the River and in Canada,~ $1.75 postpaid With IIire bottom, as trap and gathering cage, add - $.25

Books Hoffman's Birds of the Pacific states - $5.00 By far the most useful of the west coast manuals.

Audubon Bird Cards - each season $1.00 Four sets of fifty cards each representing spring, summer, autumn, and winter birds, from color dra.wings by Allan Brooks, with te~d: on the back of each card. Eastern races are shown, but the sets ara unsurpassod in value to the beginner in any part of the United states or Oanada.

Emergency Band Supply In cases when time does not permit of application to Washington, the WoB.B.A. issues bands in reasonable numbers in the Western Territory. Address all communications to - Western Bird Banding Association, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California.