The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-04-30
Habits of Our Feathered Friends
Discovered by American
Banding Society.
10000 ALREADY ARE MARKED
Incredible Wing Mileage Is Revealed
in Some Of the Reports-New Facts
About Domestic Relations of
Jenny Wren and Husband.

New YOrk.-The habits of birds, the
age they attain. the dispersal or dis
tributi0n Of their young, their mating
customs, the strength of the homing
instinct. the consistency with which
migrant birds return to given areas
In their winter range, routes followed
by individual birds, and even pOlygamy
these and countless other problems
the American Bird Banding associa-
ton seeks to solve by methods that
leave 10 opportunity for questioning the
accuracy Of the date.
The several hundred members Of the
association have for II years been
conducting their research on large
scale In the western hemisphere, ana
European societies whose aims are
ideHticai with those of the American
workers have been operating since
1898. These bodies of investigators
pursue their experiments by the use
Of rings, bands of tags, each bearing
an inscription or return address and
q serial number. The bands are usu-
ally made Of aluminium and are man.
ufactured In about dozen different
sizes to fit the legs of all birds, from
the smallest warbler to the clumsy
pelican and the mighty eagle.
Fifty-eight thousand of these bands
have so far been made for the Amer
lean Bird Banding association, and
approximately 10000 have been placed
by members ON the legs of native wild
birds. Each ring is stamped with the
words. Notify Am. Museum, N. T."
and following this, or on reverse side
of the band, is serial number. At
the time the band is placed on the
bird the bander records on STAN
dard file card all information relating
to the operation. These data include
the number of the band, the name of
the bird, its age (whether nesting,
fiedgling or adul), locality, date, name
of bander and remarks. The bird,
having been thoroughly 'catalogued."
is sent on its way.
Long Migrations Recorded.
Workers for the association have
carried bands into the remotest re-
~.y5ns As members Of scientific and
exploring parties they have placed the
tags on birds In Alaska, Greenland,
Labrador, and even in the antarctic
thousand miles from Cape Horn. A
young robin, banded in its nest on the
aonei5 shores of Great Slave lake, in
the Northwest territory Of Canada,
has been reported from Louisiana,
more than 1900 miles away; Mas
sachusetts tern. or sea swallow. has
been recovered q similar distance
from its birthplace, In the waters off
the Venezuelan coast, and chimney
swift, bird less than six inches long,
has been recorded at its New Hamp-
shire summer home after three sea-
sOnal journeys to South America, in
volving almost Incredible wing mile
age, the minimum distance covered
having been 5000 miles.
Aside from the birds which are sys-
tematicaiiy trapped. wild birds, either
dead or alive, fall into human hands
N Z variety Of ways.
The longest period record thus far
turned IN his been produced by COM
mon crow, which was banded in the
nest at Berwyn. Pa. May II, 1914, and
shot while stealing chickens on the
sixth anniversary of the date of band
ing, May II, 1920, at Phoenixville, Pa,
only eight miles from the site of its