Release - Immediate# 
WHERE BIRDS SPEND THEIR WINTERS 
Investigations on the status of "birds in their winter homes have been 
undertaken by the Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of 
Agriculture, in connection with administration of the treaty with Great 
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Britain for the protection of birds migrating between the United States and 
Canada, That many of these birds winter in South America may be surprising 
to some, but it is known to be the case. Valuable material collected by Dr, 
Alexander Wetmore, of the survey, who recently returned after a year 1 s ab¬ 
sence in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, during which he studied the status 
of our migratory birds in those countries, will throw much light on the sub¬ 
ject. 
Among our more familiar birds that Dr. Wetmore observed in South America 
was the well-known barn swallow that ranges with flocks of native swallows 
in open country. Many of the species encountered were shore birds found 
through the marshy pampas or on the coastal mud flats; some were found to 
winter well north in the Tropics and others to travel as far south as the 
Straits of Magellan. Among our game birds seen in Argentina and elsewhere 
were the golden plover and pectoral sandpiper. 
That Federal protection of migratory birds is proving a success is recog 
nized by the majority of sportsmen and nature lovers. Ducks, geese, and 
other migratory game birds have not only increased in number, but have re¬ 
appeared in sections where they had not been seen for many years. Recently 
there have been a number of inquiries as to the possibility of arranging 
treaties with countries in Latin America for protecting migratory birds, sim¬ 
ilar to that with Great Britain. One of the objects of Dr. Wetmore 1 s trip 
was to secure information as to the feasibility of such action. 
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