A. DECADE OF BIRD BANDING IN AMERICA: A REVIEW 



By FBEDE31ICK C. Lincoln 

 Biologist, United States Biological Survey 



[With 5 plates] 



From its inception in 1885, the study of North American birds by 

 the Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture has continued to be a major activity of this bureau. The distri- 

 bution, migration, and economic status of birds have claimed the 

 attention of its specialists for nearly 50 years, and the leadership of 

 the bureau in these fields of research continues to be demanded. 

 Since practically every method advocated for the development of 

 new information has been thoroughly tested by the bureau, it is not 

 surprising to find that, with the active cooperation of Canadian 

 officials, it is directing one of the greatest studies of avian life ever 

 attempted, namely, that conducted through a continental system of 

 cooperative, volunteer, bird-banding stations. 



In the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1927, under the 

 title "Bird Banding in America" (pp. 331-354, 1928), the author 

 presented a historical sketch and account of the development of the 

 work during the preceding five years. Another 5-year period has 

 now elapsed, and in concluding this full decade of intensive effort, 

 it is fitting, in retrospect, to view the accomplishments. 



Any new field of research is usually divisible into three periods: 

 First, experimentation, when methods are developed; second, data 

 accumulation ; and third, interpretation and report. Properly speak- 

 ing, none of these has an ending, as the perfection of technique and 

 the testing of new methods and refinements continue indefinitely, as 

 may also the collection of usable data. A starting point for the 

 third period is, however, dependent wholly upon the successful prose- 

 cution of the other two, as obviously, no interpretation can be pre- 

 pared until sufficient material has been obtained to permit proper 

 evaluation. The banding work, as applied to North American birds, 

 has only within the last few years entered this third period. During 

 the 10 years many reports of more or less fundamental importance 

 have been issued, but the data applicable to the larger ornithological 



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