j^ote£ from iftelb anb J>tubp 



Bird-Banding Work Being Taken Over 

 by the Biological Survey 



The Bureau of Biological Survey, at 

 Washington, I). C, has taken over the 

 work formerly carried on under the aus- 

 pices of the Linnaean Society of New York 

 by the American Bird-Banding Associa- 

 tion. In taking over this work, the Bureau 

 feels that it should express the debt that 

 students of ornithology in this country owe 

 to Howard H. Cleaves for the devotion and 

 success with which he has conducted this 

 investigation up to a point where it has 

 outgrown the possibilities of his personal 

 supervision. 



Under plans now being formulated, this 

 work will give a great amount of invaluable 

 information concerning the migration and 

 distribution of North American birds, 

 which will be of direct service in the ad- 

 ministration of the Migratory Bird Treaty 

 Act, as well as of much general scientific 

 interest. 



It is desired to develop this work along 

 two principal lines: First, the trapping 

 and banding of waterfowl, especially Ducks 

 and Geese, on both their breeding and 

 winter grounds; and, secondly, the syste- 

 matic trapping of land-birds as initiated 

 by S. Prentiss Baldwin, the early results 

 of which have been published by him in 

 the Proceedings of the Linnaean Society, 

 of New York, No. 31, 1919, pp. 23-55. It 

 is planned to enlist the interest and services 

 of volunteer workers who will undertake 

 to operate and maintain trapping stations 

 throughout the year, banding new birds 

 and recording the data from those pre- 

 viously banded. The results from a series 

 of stations thus operated will undoubtedly 

 give new insight into migration routes, 

 speed of travel during migration, longevity 

 of species, affinity for the same nesting-site 

 year after year, and, in addition, furnish 

 a wealth of information relative to the 

 behavior of the individual, heretofore im- 

 possible to obtain because of the difficulty 



(1 



of keeping one particular bird under 

 observation. 



The details of operation are now receiv- 

 ing close attention, and as soon as possible 

 the issue of bands will be announced, with 

 full information regarding the methods to 

 be followed and the results expected. In 

 the meantime, the Biological Survey will 

 be glad to receive communications from 

 those sufficiently interested and satisfac- 

 torily located to engage in this work dui 

 ing their leisure time, for it is obvious that 

 a considerable part must be done by vol- 

 unteer operators. It is hoped that a suf- 

 ficient number will take this up to insure 

 the complete success of the project. — E. W. 

 Nelson, Chief of Bureau, Washington, D. C. 



Winter Notes from West Medford, Mass. 



Our house in West Medford, Mass., is 

 situated in a cedar pasture (where sumac, 

 barberry, privet, and woodbine berries 

 are abundant) between Middlesex Falls 

 and the Mystic River. In this exceedingly 

 cold winter, when the ground is covered 

 with deep snow, hiding the food-supply of 

 our birds and driving the northern birds 

 south, we have had such an unusual ex- 

 perience that it seems worth while to 

 record it. 



From January 1, Redpolls have been 

 here in great flocks; then a Snowy Owl 

 and Northern Shrike appeared in our 

 neighborhood. The particular events of 

 the season have been since February 12. 

 On that day my telephone rang to ask me 

 to identify a large flock of white birds 

 which proved to be Snow Buntings (fifty- 

 two, by actual count) which are being fed 

 regularly by one of my friends two minutes 

 away from our house. At the same place 

 are 17 Pheasants. These birds have been 

 a continual delight to many people for the 

 last month. During the blizzard of March 

 6, the Snow Buntings went under a hedge, 

 dug away some of the snow, and settled 

 down to rest comfortably, first, however, 



57) 



