3G4 ANXUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



conducted in cooperation with tlie Wisconsin Conservation Com- 

 mission. 



"The Mammals of Panama,'' prc])ared by an assistant biologist of 

 the bureau as one of the results of a cooperative biological survey 

 of the Canal Zone conducted in 1911 and 1912, was published by the 

 Smithsonian Institution (hirin<r tlio year. Other manuscrii)ts based 

 on held work of the Biological Surve\' comi)lete(l, but not yet pub- 

 lished, include the " Mammals of Alabama," " Mammals of New 

 Mexico," "Mammals of North Dakota," "Mammals of Wyoming," 

 "Birds of Alabama," "Birds of New Mexico," and "Birds of 

 Texas." Partial arrangements have been effected for the publication 

 of the three last-mentioned reports by tlie States interested, and it is 

 hoped that those of Alabama and New Mexico will soon be issued. 

 Teclmical studies of several groups of North American mammals 

 have also been conducted during the year, and the results of one of 

 these, a revision of the pikas, or conies, was completed. 



BREEDING GROUNDS OF MIGRATORY WILD FOWL. 



In continuation of the investigations of the breeding grounds of 

 clucks and other waterfowl on the Great Plains, which have been 

 prosecuted annually for several years past, the lakes of North Dakota 

 were visited during July. In this section a great increase in the 

 number of ducks as compared with previous years was noted. 



In the spring of 1920 arrangements were made with the coopera- 

 tion of a private individual interested in the distribution of water- 

 fowl to investigate the breeding grounds of ducks and other species 

 of migratoiy game birds in the delta of the Athabaska River in central 

 Canada. Owing to the unusually favorable conditions in this large 

 area of marsh lands it is frequented during the breeding season by 

 vast numbers of waterfowl which winter to the southward, princi- 

 pally in the United States. This section is probably the most im- 

 ]jortant single area resorted to by breeding waterfowl in North 

 America. A party led by an assistant of the bureau was engaged 

 in an intensive study of conditions in this area throughout the spring 

 and summer. In addition to conducting studies of the abundance, 

 local distribution, and breeding habits of all the species nesting there, 

 it is purposed to band as many as possil)le of the young birds as an 

 aid to determining the lines of fliglit and tlie wintering grounds of the 

 various species. The results obtained by this party will undou])tedly 

 prove of great interest and value in the study of bird migration and 

 in the intelligent administration of the migratory-bird treaty act. 



During the year considerable publicity was given to the sugges- 

 tion that migratory-bird treaties similar in character to that be- 

 tween the United States and Great Britain be negotiated wnth the 

 countries lying south of our border, including South America. The 

 Senate, on February 9, 1920, passed a resolution asking the President 

 to consider the negotiation of such treaties. To this the President 

 replied on INIarcli 13, transmitting letter from the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture, to the effect that lack of definite information concerning con- 

 ditions affecting migratory birds in Mexico and other Latin American 

 countries renders it unAvise to take up the matter of treaties for bird 

 protection until sufficient facts are available to indicate their justifi- 

 cation. It is known that a serious destruction of migratoiy game 



