﻿BIRD 
  BANDING— 
  LINCOLN 
  353 
  

  

  John 
  T. 
  Nichols, 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Museum- 
  of 
  Natural 
  Histoi-y 
  

   (1927), 
  gives 
  good 
  expression 
  to 
  a 
  theory 
  governing 
  the 
  normal 
  

   span 
  of 
  life 
  of 
  birds, 
  which 
  he 
  states 
  as 
  " 
  a 
  high 
  death 
  rate 
  prior 
  

   to 
  gaining 
  full 
  adult 
  strength 
  and 
  vigor, 
  then 
  comparative 
  safety 
  

   until 
  the 
  decline 
  with 
  age 
  begins, 
  then 
  almost 
  immediate 
  elimina- 
  

   tion." 
  As 
  Mr. 
  Nichols 
  states, 
  this 
  implies 
  " 
  a 
  fairly 
  definite 
  normal 
  

   age 
  limit 
  at 
  or 
  slightly 
  beyond 
  the 
  point 
  where 
  physical 
  decline 
  

   sets 
  in," 
  and 
  " 
  accumulating 
  data 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  on 
  longevity 
  from 
  

   banded 
  birds 
  would 
  approach 
  the 
  limit, 
  but 
  rarely 
  exceed 
  it." 
  

   Since, 
  however, 
  prompt 
  elimination 
  almost 
  certainly 
  takes 
  place 
  

   when 
  the 
  physical 
  decline 
  is 
  begun, 
  it 
  would 
  appear 
  that 
  a 
  sufficient 
  

   quantity 
  of 
  long-time 
  records 
  for 
  banded 
  birds 
  of 
  any 
  species 
  should 
  

   furnish 
  a 
  reasonable 
  average 
  for 
  the 
  normal 
  life 
  of 
  that 
  species. 
  

   Obviously, 
  the 
  time 
  element 
  in 
  this 
  problem 
  is 
  such 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  a 
  

   continuing 
  project 
  subject 
  to 
  frequent 
  revision 
  upon 
  the 
  acquisition 
  

   of 
  additional 
  data. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  the 
  oldest 
  American 
  banded 
  bird 
  that 
  has 
  

   been 
  reported 
  was 
  a 
  pintail 
  {Da^la 
  a. 
  tzitzihoa) 
  banded 
  by 
  Dr. 
  

   Alexander 
  Wetmore 
  on 
  September 
  16, 
  1914, 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Bear 
  

   Eiver, 
  Utah, 
  and 
  which 
  was 
  killed 
  near 
  Brawley, 
  Calif., 
  either 
  on 
  

   October 
  16 
  or 
  17, 
  1926. 
  This 
  bird 
  was 
  adult 
  when 
  banded 
  and 
  so 
  was 
  

   at 
  least 
  1 
  and 
  probably 
  2 
  or 
  3 
  years 
  old, 
  thus 
  making 
  its 
  age 
  at 
  

   death 
  at 
  least 
  13 
  years. 
  Among 
  smaller 
  .species 
  there 
  are 
  available 
  

   several 
  records 
  for 
  individuals 
  4, 
  5, 
  and 
  6 
  years 
  old, 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  that 
  

   were 
  at 
  least 
  7, 
  8, 
  and 
  9, 
  when 
  last 
  reported. 
  

  

  Such 
  investigations 
  can 
  be 
  nudtipliecl 
  almost 
  endlessly, 
  so 
  that 
  

   the 
  application 
  of 
  the 
  banding 
  method 
  permits 
  both 
  professional 
  and 
  

   amateur 
  students 
  of 
  birds 
  to 
  render 
  important 
  contributions 
  to 
  

   science 
  through 
  studies 
  conducted 
  with 
  living 
  birds. 
  

  

  LITERATURE 
  CITED 
  

   Allen, 
  Glover 
  M. 
  

  

  1925. 
  Birds 
  and 
  Their 
  Attributes, 
  Boston, 
  Mass., 
  pp. 
  338. 
  

   Audubon, 
  John 
  James. 
  

  

  1834. 
  Ornithological 
  Biography, 
  vol. 
  2, 
  p. 
  126. 
  

   Baldwin, 
  S. 
  Prentiss. 
  

  

  1919. 
  Bird 
  Banding 
  by 
  Means 
  of 
  Systematic 
  Trapping 
  : 
  Abstr. 
  Proc. 
  

   Liunaean 
  Soc. 
  New 
  York, 
  no. 
  31, 
  pp. 
  23-56. 
  

  

  1921. 
  The 
  Marriage 
  Relations 
  of 
  the 
  House 
  Wren. 
  The 
  Auk, 
  vol. 
  38, 
  

  

  pp. 
  237-244, 
  April. 
  

  

  1922. 
  Adventures 
  in 
  Bird 
  Banding 
  in 
  1921. 
  The 
  Auk, 
  vol. 
  39, 
  pp. 
  210- 
  

  

  224, 
  April. 
  

  

  and 
  S. 
  Charles 
  Kendeigh. 
  

  

  1927. 
  Attentiveness 
  and 
  Inattentiveness 
  in 
  the 
  Nesting 
  Behavior 
  of 
  the 
  

   House 
  Wren. 
  The 
  Auk, 
  vol. 
  44, 
  pp. 
  206-216, 
  April. 
  

   Babtsch, 
  Paul. 
  

  

  1904. 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  Herons 
  of 
  the 
  District 
  of 
  Columbia. 
  Smithsonian 
  Misc. 
  

   Coll., 
  vol. 
  45, 
  Quart. 
  Issue, 
  vol. 
  1, 
  pp. 
  104r-lll. 
  

  

  