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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by S. Prentiss Baldwin 

 HOUSE WRENS ARE WELCOME NEIGHBORS 



Cheerj' and friendly, these sprightly little songsters will nest near a human habitation 

 whenever given any encouragement. A wooden box or an old tin can with a hole small enough 

 to exclude English Sparrows will serve as a home for Mr. and Mrs. Wren. 



during the first four days of July, 14 

 times. After an absence it returned July 

 8 and in the following ten days it was 

 caught 47 times. On July 17 it was car- 

 ried half a mile away and in 20 minutes 

 was back in the trap from which it had 

 been taken. The following day it repeated 

 this performance six times and twice on 

 the 19th, after being carried off and re- 

 leased at a distance of two miles. 



At Thomasville a pair of Myrtle War- 

 blers developed the trap habit aiid were 

 retaken 30 times during each of two sea- 

 sons, lioth birds usually being in the trap 

 together. 



Sparrows and most other seed eaters 

 are ground feeders. Traps placed in 

 spots they frequent are usually successful, 

 but even SiJarrows may discriminate and 

 not enter a trap placed in a seemingly 

 propter spot, although they will enter it 

 readily when it has been moved to a loca- 

 tion only a short distance away. At other 

 times one of a pair will freely enter the 

 trap, while its mate persistently avoids it. 



The capture of various Woodpeckers 

 and other tree-climbing birds presents a 

 different problem, and traps for them 



must be attached to the tree trunk and 

 baited with a different kind of food. 

 Varying food preferences of birds call for 

 all the knowledge of the operator on the 

 subject. In one instance much effort was 

 spent in unsuccessful attempts to capture 

 Cedar Birds until pieces of apple were 

 tried for bait and the problem was solved. 



RESULTS SURPRISE BIRD BANDERS 



The variety of species that mav be 

 trapped explains much of the interest in 

 bird banding. An operator at Sault Ste. 

 Marie in 1925 trapped and banded more 

 than 2,000 birds, representing t,2 species, 

 13 of which were Warblers. All were 

 captured within 50 feet of his dining- 

 room window. 



At a station in Pasadena, California, 

 1,984 birds of 38 different kinds were 

 trapped. Surprising numbers of species 

 of Warblers, with most diverse habits, 

 have been captured and banded, includ- 

 ing the lovely Prothonotary, the Black- 

 throated Blue, the Nashville, and the ex- 

 quisite Blackburnian. Several species of 

 Vireos have also yielded to the call of the 



