472 
Dr. A. L. Thomson : Results of a Study of [Ibis, 
Birds may be procured for marking in two ways. Either 
they may be marked as young birds still unable to fly, or 
they may, when older, be trapped by any non-hurtful means 
and then marked and released. Notification of their sub¬ 
sequent death or re-capture depends on the address which is 
stamped on the ring. Some markers have been content with 
mere initials, but this is very wasteful as it is obvious that 
it must greatly reduce the number of recorded reappear¬ 
ances and practically exclude the possibility of records from 
any great distance. Many rings with various insufficient 
addresses have, indeed, been found on birds but never traced 
to their origin although widely advertised in ornithological 
periodicals : and there is, in any event, no great difficulty in 
stamping a short address even on the smallest ring. In 
addition to the address each ring should bear its own identi¬ 
fication number, which is indeed the key to the whole method. 
Some markers have used year marks (the year in figures, or 
some arbitrary sign), but this is only possible where the 
marking is confined to a single locality and to a single 
species, and if the birds are all marked when young. Thus, if 
the rings bearing a certain address are being used solely for 
young Woodcock on a single estate, a year mark is sufficient; 
but where the histories of the birds marked differ from each 
other, separate identification is necessary. Species is not a 
reliable factor for this purpose, in that marked birds are 
often reported by persons quite ignorant on the subject, 
and it is thus essential that the number on the ring 
should be all that the marker requires in order to deter¬ 
mine the species and history of any marked bird of his 
that is reported. 
The rings soon lose their brightness, especially in the case 
of water-birds, and are not usually visible on the birds except 
with strong field-glasses and under favourable conditions. 
Marking is thus in no way an encouragement to the slaughter 
of our wild birds : the proportion of ringed individuals to 
the whole bird population will always remain so small that 
any shooting of birds for the sake of chance ringed specimens 
would be ridiculous. It is also worthy of note that many 
