161 



THE "BRITISH BIRDS" MARKING SCHEME.* 



PROGRESS FOR 1914 AXD SOME RESULTS. 



BY 



H. F. WITHERBY. 



The progress made during the sixth year of the British 

 Birds Marking Scheme is in every way satisfactory. 

 Tlie number of birds ringed is not quite so large as that 

 in 1913, but this is easily accounted for by the fact 

 that we stopped ringing Black-headed Gulls, which 

 accounted for nearly four thousand in our last year's 

 totals. That we have made up half this number by the 

 ringing of other species this year is very satisfactory, 

 because there is perhaps no other British species which 

 can be rmged in such large numbers as the Black-headed 

 Gull. There was also a falling off m the number of 

 Starlings ringed, cliiefly because Dr. Joy was unable to 

 find time to work his winter cage-trap. On the other 

 hand, we have large increases in Song-Thrushes, Black- 

 birds, Swallows, Martins, Shags, Lapwings, Lesser 

 Black-backed Gulls and Puffins. The following are the 

 grand totals : — 



Number of Birds Ringed. 



In 1909 2,171 



„ 1910 7,910 



„ 1911 10,416 



„ 1912 11,483 



„ 1913 14,843 



„ 1914 13,024 



Total ... 59,847 



Dr. H. J. Moon, who was an excellent second last year, 

 has tliis year beaten all our previous records by ringing 

 two thousand five hundred and tA\enty-one birds — a 

 truly remarkable total, as Dr. Moon has not done any 



* For previous Reports see Vol. III., pp. 179-182, for 1909 ; 

 Vol. IV., pp. 204-207, for 1910; Vol. V., pp. 158-162, for 1911; 

 Vol. VI., pp. 177-183, for 1912: Vol. VII., pp. 190-195, for 1913. 



