PROBLEMS THAT CAN BE SOLVED BY BIRD 
BANDING OPERATIONS. 
1. How fast do the individuals of any species travel on 
their periodic migrations; that is, how many miles per day 
will any one bird average during these journeys and what is 
the total time consumed in a trip? 
2. Does any one flock continue in the van, or is the ad- 
vance made by successive flocks passing one over the other 
in alternate periods of rest and flight? 
3. Do individuals of any species always follow the same 
route, and is the route the same for both spring and fall 
flights? 
4. Do migrating birds make the same stop-overs every 
year to feed? 
9d. How long do birds remain in one locality during the 
migration, the breeding, or the winter season? 
6. What is the relation between the breeding and the win- 
tering grounds of individuals; that is, do those birds that 
breed farthest north winter farthest south, thus jumping 
over those that occupy the intermediate zone, or do they 
merely replace the latter individuals as winter residents? 
7. Do birds adopt the same nesting area, nest site, and 
winter quarters in successive seasons? 
8. For how many broods will one pair remain mated, and 
which bird, if not. both, is attracted next year to the old 
nesting site? 
9. To what extent do males of a species assist in incuba- 
tion and brooding? 
10. How far from their nests do birds forage for food, 
and after the young have left the nest, will the parent birds 
bring them to the feeding and trapping station? 
11. To what region do the birds go, particularly the 
young, that do not return to the vicinity of their original 
nests? 
12. How long do birds live? 
For solving these and related problems, it is important 
that the traps always be set on the original site, for certain 
birds already have returned to the same traps through five 
or six consecutive seasons. Many “returns” will, in the 
course of time, furnish answers to the important problems 
stated above. 
27 
