208 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



sides of the question, and it is now essential that this part of the work 

 should be brought into line. 



In passing, let us notice that bird-marking may incidentally serve other 

 ends than those connected with migration. There are various kindred points 

 connected with distribution, for instance. And interesting statistics of 

 mortality rates are sometimes afforded. Furthermore, it might be a valuable 

 aid to the study of plumage sequences to acquire a collection of birds of 

 exactly known ages, 1 which had lived entirely free and natural lives. 



II. Historical. 



The device of marking birds in some way was not infrequently resorted to, 

 in isolated cases and for special purposes, by naturalists of earlier days, and 

 one often comes across stray records of considerable interest. But, so far as I 

 am aware, it was not until 1890 that the first systematic scheme was set on foot. 

 In that and many subsequent summers, numbers of young Woodcock were 

 marked on the Duke of Northumberland's estate at Alnwick (Northumber- 

 land). The rings were inscribed with an " N," and the date (year). 



In 1899, Mr H. Chr. C. Mortensen, of Viborg, Denmark, initiated a more 

 ambitious inquiry. Storks, Teal, Starlings, and various Birds-of-Prey are 

 among those which he has studied by this method. Mr Mortensen, I think, 

 may be fairly regarded as the pioneer of scientific bird-marking, inasmuch as 

 his inquiry was the first to be set on foot which was thoroughly comprehensive 

 in scope and exact in methods : the use of identification numbers instead of 

 mere year figures was an important innovation which opened up many fresh 

 possibilities, although, at the same time, involving much more labour in the 

 way of record keeping. 



In 1903 Dr Thienemann, director of the German Ornithological Society's 

 station at Bossitten, on the Baltic coast, started an important inquiry, which 

 at present holds first place so far as results are concerned. 



In 1908, the method was adopted by the Hungarian (State) Ornithological 

 Central-bureau. Smaller schemes have also been set on foot in various other 

 parts of the Continent. 



Also in 1908, the method was taken up in the United States, where, 

 however, it was not previously altogether unknown, and in the following 

 year an " American Bird Banding Association " was constituted. The rings 

 issued by them bear the inscription — " Notify The Atck, New York," and a 

 number. 



1 I.e., if marked as yovuifj;. 



