﻿BULLETIN 1145, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



of (he number, the species of bird, and the date of release. In addi- 

 tion to wild ducks, numbers of }'Oung of other marsh birds were 

 marked in a similar manner before they were able to fly. The re- 

 lease of these banded birds was given publicity, and reports on bands 

 recovered have been received from widely scattered sections in the 

 United States and even from Canada and Mexico. An account of 

 these records is presented in detail in this bulletin. 



Bands were placed on 1,241 individuals of 23 species of birds 

 of large or medium size belonging to various families, the majority 

 on wild ducks of 9 species. The bands used were of two kinds, 



both made of alumi- 

 num and manufactured 

 originally for use in 

 marking poultry. In 

 each style a serial num- 

 ber was stamped on one 

 side. The reverse of 

 one was marked, " No- 

 tify U. S. Dept. Agt, 

 Wash. D. C.," and of 

 the other, " Notify Bio- 

 logical Survey, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. ? ' 



In the case of birds 

 that had been at liberty 

 for more than a year 

 the bands returned 

 were badly worn, and 

 those received after 

 two years' wear had be- 

 come thin and friable. 

 One band more than 

 four 3 r ears old was re- 

 covered, but it is prob- 

 able that on most birds 

 that survived beyond a 

 period of three years 

 the bands had become 

 worn until they were 

 broken and lost. To be 

 used successfully, there- 

 fore, bands for water 

 birds should be twice 

 as thick as those ordi- 

 narily used for poultry. 

 The thicker bands are now being employed b}^ the Biological Survey 

 in its extensive bird-banding operations. 



All birds banded as a basis for the present study were released 

 near the Duckville Gun Club, at the mouth of Bear River, Utah, 

 save for a few that in 1916 were given to the State fish and game 

 commission for exhibition at the annual State fair in Salt Lake 

 City; these were subsequently released near Geneva, Utah, on 

 the shore of Utah Lake. Of the 1,241 birds that were banded, 182 

 returns have been received, or somewhat more than 14 per cent. 



Fig. 1. — Map of the western United States showing 

 migrations of ducks and other wiJd birds banded in 

 the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, in three years, 1914— 

 191G, return records to 1923. The place of banding 

 and release is marked by a cross (position indicated 

 by an arrow). Localities where banded birds were 

 later recovered are indicated by round dots, a single 

 dot in some cases representing several returns. 



