September, 1919. 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

 DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 59. 



Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, 

 E. W. NELSON, Chief. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR FIELD STUDIES OF 

 MAMMALIAN LIFE-HISTORIES. 



By Waltek P. Taylob, Assistant Biologist. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 



Relation of field and laboratory 



methods 



Equipment 



Data that are important 



Means of detecting presence of 



particular species 



Habitat relations 



Irrelationships of species 



Times of activity 



Migration 



Hibernation and estivation 



Movement , 



Voice and other means of inter- 

 communication 



Page. 



Data that are important — Contd. 

 Habits associated with feeding 



and drinking 



individual characteristics 



Relation of characteristics and 

 habits to existence and sur- 

 vival 



Breeding habits 



Nests, shelters, and other places 



of resort 



Miscellaneous 



Present and former status 



Wild life and the community 



Conclusion 



Literature examined 



Page. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 



For many years leading museums have been acquiring exhibit and 

 study material representative of different groups of birds and' 

 mammals, until at present the American collections are in many re- 

 spects unsurpassed by those of any other country of the world. This 

 relative completeness of research collections permits increased at- 

 tention to the study of life histories. 



1 This paper is the outgrowth of an unpublished memorandum to field workers, written 

 June 12, 1917, by E. W. Nelson, Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, regarding the 

 desirability of increased attention to the gathering of life-history material. Helpful sug- 

 gestions were found also in an unpublished memorandum for field biologists written 

 several years ago by Dr. Joseph Grinnell, director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 

 University of California. The writer's grateful acknowledgment for help in connection 

 with the paper is also due the members of the Biological Survey staff. 



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