﻿BIRD 
  BANDING 
  LINCOLN 
  349 
  

  

  central 
  Saskatchewan 
  and 
  found 
  a 
  few 
  months 
  later 
  at 
  Forest 
  

   City, 
  Iowa. 
  Even 
  the 
  song 
  sparrow 
  {Melospiza 
  melodia)^ 
  which 
  as 
  

   a 
  species 
  is 
  frequently 
  noted 
  throughout 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  one 
  locality, 
  

   can 
  and 
  does 
  make 
  extensive 
  flights. 
  The 
  longest 
  flight 
  reported 
  for 
  

   one 
  of 
  these 
  birds, 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  one 
  marked 
  at 
  South 
  Waterford, 
  

   Me., 
  and 
  taken 
  four 
  months 
  later 
  at 
  Jacksonville, 
  Ga. 
  There 
  are 
  

   several 
  other 
  records 
  for 
  this 
  species 
  from 
  birds 
  banded 
  in 
  New 
  

   England 
  and 
  recovered 
  on 
  the 
  South 
  Atlantic 
  coast, 
  while 
  one 
  

   banded 
  at 
  Danvers, 
  Mass., 
  was 
  recaptured 
  between 
  two 
  and 
  three 
  

   months 
  later 
  at 
  Weymouth, 
  No^^a 
  Scotia. 
  

  

  Rohin. 
  — 
  It 
  seems 
  desirable 
  to 
  end 
  the 
  migration 
  portion 
  of 
  this 
  

   survey 
  with 
  a 
  brief 
  resume 
  of 
  the 
  flights 
  of 
  the 
  well-known 
  robin 
  

   {Plojiiesticus 
  mlgratotius)^ 
  of 
  which 
  more 
  than 
  11,000 
  have 
  been 
  

   marked 
  with 
  aluminum 
  bands, 
  yielding 
  a 
  net 
  result 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  

   500 
  returns. 
  The 
  records 
  of 
  special 
  interest 
  come 
  from 
  birds 
  banded 
  

   in 
  the 
  Central 
  States 
  — 
  Michigan, 
  Minnesota, 
  Wisconsin, 
  Ohio, 
  

   Indiana, 
  and 
  Illinois 
  — 
  which 
  in 
  moving 
  south 
  have 
  spread 
  out 
  fan- 
  

   wise 
  to 
  Georgia, 
  Kentucky, 
  Tennessee, 
  Mississippi, 
  Alabama, 
  Ar- 
  

   kansas, 
  Louisiana, 
  and 
  Texas. 
  It 
  is 
  curious 
  that 
  so 
  many 
  returns 
  

   for 
  robins 
  banded 
  in 
  Michigan, 
  Ohio, 
  and 
  Indiana 
  should 
  come 
  

   from 
  Georgia, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  interesting 
  to 
  speculate 
  upon 
  the 
  course 
  that 
  

   they 
  followed. 
  Eventually 
  the 
  chain 
  of 
  evidence 
  will 
  be 
  complete 
  

   and 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  state 
  with 
  precision 
  the 
  flyways 
  utilized 
  

   by 
  this 
  and 
  other 
  species. 
  The 
  longest 
  flight 
  thus 
  far 
  reported 
  for 
  a 
  

   small 
  nongame, 
  perching 
  bird 
  is 
  for 
  a 
  robin 
  banded 
  in 
  midsummer 
  

   at 
  Crystal 
  Bay, 
  Minn., 
  and 
  taken 
  a 
  year 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  later 
  at 
  Pachuca, 
  

   Hidalgo, 
  Mexico. 
  

  

  LIFE 
  HISTORY 
  

  

  While 
  migration 
  is 
  admittedly 
  a 
  most 
  important 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  life 
  

   histories 
  of 
  birds, 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  necessary 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  

   analyzing 
  data 
  to 
  treat 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  separate 
  subject, 
  and 
  the 
  term 
  " 
  life 
  

   history 
  " 
  is 
  therefore 
  restricted 
  to 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  

   through 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  individuals, 
  in 
  which 
  bird 
  banding 
  has 
  its 
  chief 
  

   interest 
  for 
  the 
  station 
  operator. 
  Such 
  investigations, 
  from 
  the 
  

   viewpoint 
  of 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  knowledge, 
  are 
  of 
  great 
  importance, 
  

   as 
  they 
  will 
  bring 
  to 
  light 
  many 
  facts 
  that 
  heretofore 
  have 
  been 
  

   unknown 
  or, 
  at 
  best, 
  merely 
  suspected. 
  In 
  the 
  final 
  analysis, 
  bird 
  

   banding 
  depends 
  for 
  its 
  results 
  upon 
  quantity 
  production, 
  so 
  it 
  fol- 
  

   lows 
  naturally 
  that 
  those 
  species 
  that 
  yield 
  most 
  easily 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  

   technique 
  of 
  the 
  method 
  are 
  those 
  concerning 
  which 
  the 
  first 
  con- 
  

   tributions 
  will 
  be 
  made. 
  By 
  the 
  daily 
  operation 
  of 
  their 
  traps 
  (pi. 
  9, 
  

   fig. 
  2) 
  station 
  operators 
  are 
  acquiring 
  a 
  great 
  fund 
  of 
  new 
  informa- 
  

   tion 
  pertaining 
  to 
  individual 
  birds. 
  

  

  