Appendix II — Bird Banding 



Frequent reference has been made in this bulletin to bird banding as 

 a means for obtaining information on the migrations and life histories 

 of birds. Since 1920 this work in North America has been under the 

 direction of the Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the 

 Dominion Wildlife Service of Canada. Each year birds to the number 

 of a quarter of a million or more may be marked with numbered bands. 



As anyone interested in birds, either game or nongame, may have 

 a marked individual come into his hands, there are several pertinent 

 details that should be remembered if the recovery record is to have 

 maximum value in advancing the science of ornithology. 



1. The reporting letter should be addressed to: Bird Banding Office, 

 Patuxent Research Refuge, Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Md. 



2. In the letter print the full number of the band, including the 

 series designation and the serial number. The series designation may 

 be a single letter or a two- or three-digit number and may be stamped 

 to the left or over the serial number. The series designation, if a num- 

 ber such as "48" or "50," is not a date and should not be so interpreted. 

 Full numbers are correctly written as: A-678901; 48-345920; 141- 

 543678; 20-167; 496-00517; etc. 



3. If the bird is alive and uninjured, read the number carefully with- 

 out removing the band, and release the bird. It may be reported again. 

 If it is dead, remove the band and, after flattening it out, attach it to 

 the letter with scotch tape or surgical adhesive tape. Should it be 

 desired as a souvenir, it will be returned upon request. 



4. Give in the report the exact date, the location (town, county, 

 State, etc.) and the manner in which the bird was obtained, that is, 

 whether it was shot, found dead, trapped, etc. 



5. Print your own name and permanent address clearly on the 

 letter. 



6. Keep a record of the band number and refer to it should there 

 be any subsequent correspondence about it with the Service. The 

 number is always the clue to any record of a banded bird. 



Some bands may bear the inscription "Notify F. and Wildlife Serv- 

 ice, Washington, D. C." or "Notify Biological Survey, Washington, 

 D. C," and on the smaller sizes these may be abbreviated to "F. and 

 W. Serv. Wash. D. C." or'"Biol. Surv. Wash. D. C." 



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