BIRD BANDING CLEAVES. 476 



was banded as a fledgling by Mr. Harry S. Hathaway at Quonochou- 

 taug, Charlestown, K. I., on June 8, 1912. On being notified of the 

 " return " Mr. Hathaway wrote : 



I well remember this young red wing. I was wading through a cat-tall 

 swamp, looking for redwings' nests, when I spied him clinging to a cat-tail 

 about 2 feet from the water. I made a grab and had him in my hand and a 

 band on in a jiffy. A toss in the air, and he awkwardly flew some 20 feet, and 

 succeeded in grasping an upright cat-tail, and clung there while I went on. 



Who would have supposed that the young redwing, reared in a 

 Rhode Island cat-tail swamp in June, would end his career in a pot- 

 pie in South Carolina five months later ? 



Almost every record that has come in is characterized by some dis- 

 tinguishing feature and would furnish reading matter as interesting 

 as the several returns cited above. Lack of space, however, prevents 

 the publication of tliese embellishments, although the reader may 

 gather much from the banding and return records in their condensed 

 form at the end of this paper. The percentage of returns, contrary 

 to the predictions of some, has indeed been encouraging; and the 

 point that should be emphasized in connection with theee is that they 

 have not in a single instance been due to the handicapping of the 

 birds by the bands. This is proved, firstly, by the fact that the 

 bands have been carried by the birds for such long periods ; secondly, 

 by reason of the ver^-^ conditions attending the taking of each bird ; 

 and thirdly, by the fact that the presence of the band on the bird's 

 leg was not in a single case detected until the bird Avas taken in the 

 hand and examined, and therefore could not possibly have prompted 

 anyone to kill the bird for the purpose of recovering the band and 

 satisfying his own curiosity. This sort of thing, by the way, is and 

 should be strongly denounced and discouraged. It is rather the 

 interest in watching for banded birds and even photographing them 

 that should be encouraged. 



It would not be wise to spring at conclusions with regard to the 

 significance and meaning of the return records that have thus far 

 been secured. The fact that Mr. Baynes's chimney swift returned to 

 its old stand after an absence of nearly a year in the Tropics is sig- 

 nificant in itself; but before stating that, barring accident, chimney 

 swifts invariably return year after year to the same chimney it 

 would be advisable, not to say necessary, to obtain a dozen or even 

 a hundred similar records as corroborative evidence. 



Beyond a doubt the greatest progress in the work of banding birds 

 in America has been made during the year just past, but the pace 

 established in that time must be not only maintained, but greatly 

 increased. Our interest and enthusiasm must not decline for a mo- 

 ment ; the work and aims of the American Bird Banding Association 

 must receive the most zealous support that American ornithologists 

 are capable of imparting. 



