﻿BIRD 
  BANDING 
  LINCOLN 
  339 
  

  

  operation. 
  Early 
  in 
  1925, 
  this 
  group 
  was 
  definitely 
  organized 
  as 
  the 
  

   Western 
  Bird 
  Banding 
  Association, 
  with 
  J. 
  Eugene 
  Law, 
  of 
  Alta- 
  

   dena, 
  Calif., 
  as 
  president. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  observed 
  that 
  each 
  of 
  these 
  associations 
  includes 
  in 
  its 
  

   area 
  at 
  least 
  one 
  important 
  migration 
  highway, 
  along 
  which 
  trap- 
  

   ping 
  stations 
  may 
  furnish 
  data 
  on 
  certain 
  specific 
  problems. 
  Such 
  

   information 
  will 
  supply 
  the 
  stimulus 
  for 
  the 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  

   work, 
  and 
  in 
  time 
  will 
  help 
  solve 
  other 
  problems 
  some 
  of 
  which 
  can 
  

   not 
  now 
  even 
  be 
  anticipated. 
  To 
  further 
  such 
  plans, 
  the 
  Eastern 
  and 
  

   Northeastern 
  associations 
  have 
  both 
  issued 
  bulletins 
  setting 
  forth 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  results 
  obtained 
  by 
  their 
  members 
  and 
  other 
  material 
  of 
  

   importance 
  in 
  the 
  work. 
  Similar 
  information 
  is 
  made 
  available 
  by 
  

   the 
  Inland 
  and 
  Western 
  associations 
  through 
  the 
  pages 
  of 
  two 
  well- 
  

   established 
  journals. 
  The 
  Wilson 
  Bulletin 
  and 
  The 
  Condor, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  

   by 
  special 
  mimeographed 
  circulars 
  or 
  news 
  letters. 
  

  

  RESULTS 
  

  

  General. 
  — 
  Among 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  these 
  studies 
  there 
  is 
  one 
  that 
  

   while 
  purely 
  incidental 
  nevertheless 
  is 
  important. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  benefit 
  

   to 
  the 
  birds. 
  It 
  seems 
  scarcely 
  necessary 
  to 
  state 
  that 
  bird-banding 
  

   methods 
  are 
  neither 
  cruel 
  nor 
  harmful, 
  as 
  the 
  approved 
  traps 
  are 
  

   merely 
  cages 
  of 
  wire 
  netting, 
  while 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  the 
  bits 
  of 
  alumin- 
  

   ium 
  from 
  which 
  bands 
  are 
  made 
  is 
  utterly 
  insignificant. 
  Further- 
  

   more, 
  a 
  successful 
  banding 
  station 
  necessarily 
  must 
  be 
  the 
  highest 
  

   type 
  of 
  bird 
  sanctuary. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  the 
  bander 
  to 
  attract 
  more 
  

   and 
  more 
  birds 
  to 
  his 
  station 
  in 
  order 
  that 
  he 
  may 
  extend 
  his 
  studies, 
  

   and 
  to 
  that 
  end 
  care 
  is 
  taken 
  to 
  keep 
  it 
  free 
  from 
  natural 
  enemies. 
  

   This 
  coupled 
  with 
  abundant 
  and 
  varied 
  food 
  and 
  water 
  for 
  bathing 
  

   and 
  drinking 
  will 
  ultimately 
  make 
  the 
  trapping 
  station 
  a 
  mecca 
  for 
  

   the 
  birds 
  of 
  a 
  wide 
  area. 
  A 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  conditions 
  at 
  certain 
  sta- 
  

   tions 
  has 
  demonstrated 
  that 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  fact. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  a 
  banding 
  

   station 
  is 
  a 
  sanctuary 
  or 
  refuge 
  that 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  yield 
  information 
  

   that 
  serves 
  for 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  knowledge. 
  

  

  Occasionally, 
  it 
  is 
  true, 
  a 
  bird 
  is 
  injured 
  or 
  even 
  killed 
  through 
  an 
  

   accident 
  at 
  the 
  traps 
  or 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  the 
  operators. 
  Such 
  

   cases 
  are 
  decidedly 
  rare 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  average 
  one 
  to 
  each 
  thousand 
  

   birds 
  handled. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  surprising 
  features 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  rapidity 
  

   with 
  which 
  new 
  cooperators 
  have 
  mastered 
  the 
  technique 
  of 
  properly 
  

   handling 
  living 
  birds. 
  The 
  small 
  percentage 
  of 
  fatalities 
  accordingly 
  

   may 
  be 
  heavily 
  discounted, 
  for 
  by 
  no 
  other 
  method 
  would 
  it 
  be 
  

   possible 
  to 
  examine 
  such 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  individual 
  birds 
  without 
  

   first 
  transforming 
  them 
  into 
  museum 
  specimens. 
  

  

  Biological 
  Survey 
  bands 
  have 
  been 
  placed 
  on 
  437 
  species 
  of 
  North 
  

   American 
  birds, 
  of 
  which 
  231 
  have 
  yielded 
  at 
  least 
  one 
  return 
  

  

  