RETURNS FROM BANDED BIRDS, 1920 TO 1923 5 
For instance, what might prove an excellent method of treatment 
for returns from the mallard duck (Fig. 1) would not be applicable 
in the case of the song sparrow. 
With a sufficient accumulation of information from different 
parts of the country, it will be possible eventually to prepare reports 
which will constitute distinct contributions to our knowledge of the 
species involved. The number of recruits to this new method of 
ornithological research is constantly increasing, and it is gratifying 
to note that many cooperators are directing their activities toward 
the solution of definite problems concerning certain species. 
EXPLANATION OF TABLES 
The various species are presented in the order of the “A. O. U. 
Check-List.”’7 The records under individual species are arranged 
numerically under the names of the operators, grouped alphabetically 
by States, which also are in alphabetical order. ‘Thus under ‘“‘ Tree 
sparrow,’ the table begins with returns from birds banded in Connect- 
icut by cooperators lsted alphabetically. This is followed by 
Uhnois and Massachusetts, with the returns from the cooperators 
in the respective States, similarly arranged. This method of treat- 
ment has been adopted because any studies based on this material 
should place initial emphasis upon the locality (State or Province) 
where the birds were originally banded. 
Numbers preceded by an asterisk (*) are those of the American 
Bird Banding Association, all others being those of the Biological 
Survey. These records have been obtained mostly from birds 
marked since January, 1920, as the remnant of the association 
bands have been issued by the Biological Survey. In a few cases, 
however, it has appeared advisable to give the complete history 
of a bird that has yielded a series of returns of special interest, and 
in these instances return records received by the association prior 
to 1920 also are included. 
Numbers preceded by a.dagger (+) indicate recently banded 
birds found dead at or near the place of banding. Unusually late 
dates in these “short-time returns” are often due to the fact that the 
carrier was not found until some time after its death. Following 
is a list of known causes of such deaths: 
Due to— Due to— 
Cats. Blue jays. 
Shrikes. Hunters. 
Red squirrels. Capture in— 
Ground squirrels. Herring net. 
Weasels. Fish trap. 
Rats. Muskrat trap. 
Owls (species ?). Saturation of plumage with fuel oil. 
Sparrow hawks. Crowding of fledglings out of nest by 
Cooper hawks. _ cowbirds. 
‘‘Grass”’ snakes. Inclement weather. 
Gopher snakes. Desertion of fledglings by parents. 
Black snakes. Accidents due to traps or operators. 
“Hawk or gull.”’ 
§ One preliminary report of the migrations of certain ducks, as deduced from banding returns, has been 
prepared by the writer (Trapping ducks for banding purposes: The Auk, vol. 39, pp. 322-334, pls. 11-14, 
map, 1922), and he has in progress more elaborate communications dealing with these birds, together with 
the herring gull and Caspian tern. : : 
est of North American Birds of the American Ornithologists’ Union, third edition (revised), 
7 ® Martin No. 104232 (p. 45) was found dead when the colony house was cleaned out—long after the parents 
ad left. 
