Teiete ah Ue U. BrOINS Bou LG. EAT CN 9 
advantage and my catch covered such birds as: Redbird, 
Mourning Dove, Brown Thrasher, Song Sparrow, Mocking 
Birds, Towhee, Quail, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker and 
others. 
Many people asked what the advantage of Bird Banding 
is. The close study which the observer can make of individ- 
ual birds, allows him to get an absolute knowledge of the 
colors of live birds. Eventually, when Bird Banding stations 
are maintained over the entire country, we shall be able to 
tell absolutely the course of their yearly migration. Many 
diseases of birds will be identified, the length of life can be 
determined; whether birds mate for life or change partners 
each year has in a great many cases already been discovered ; 
and the speed with which they fly can be easily estimated. 
This last year a hunter in Georgia killed a Mourning Dove. 
The bird was kept by the United States Game Warden, who 
arrested the hunter for shooting migratory birds. The lawyer 
for the defendant nearly cleared the culprit by saying that 
Mourning Doves do not migrate, that they are born, raised, 
and remain twelve months of the year in Georgia. Luckily 
the Game Warden had in his possession the band, taken from 
a Mourn'ng Dove, killed in Georgia which had been originally 
banded in Canada. The little strip of metal secured a con- 
viction. 
The work is very new and many people ask me, “Do you 
ever catch the same bird twice? Do the birds get badly 
seared?” In answer to this I might say that the Towhee 
which is one of the most retiring of our bush birds, enters the 
traps freely and eats the food greedily. I caught one such 
bird eight times in one day. This bird sang while I held it in 
my hand and I believe I could have captured it dozens of 
times had I run my trap that often. I placed a Chipping 
Sparrow in the hands of one of the guests, who had come to 
witness the banding experiment, and much to her surprise the 
bird lay there for nearly three minutes before flying, and then 
she had to toss it out into the air to make it fly. 
When we continue to capture birds in trap D less than one 
block away, imagine everybody’s surprise, except mine, at 
finding the same bird waiting for us in the next trap. As this 
is a regular occurrence it shows very conclusively that what 
fear the birds have is quickly forgotten when handled proper- 
ly and scientifically by the observer. 
It is hoped that this great study and sport will be taken up 
by a large number of Illinois State Bird enthusiasts. In prose- 
cuting this work, you will not only increase your own knowl- 
edge of birds, but your efforts will be of great value to science 
and consequently we should all do our best to be of service. 
T. E. Musselman, Quincy, Illinois. 
