Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 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.


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
ton seeks to solve by methods that
leave no opportunity for questioning the
accuracy of the date.
The several hundred members of the
association have for II years been
conducting their research on a large
scale in the western hemisphere, and
European societies whose aims are
Identical 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
serial number. The bands are usU-
ally made of aluminium and are man.
ufactured in about a 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. Y"
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 bird, its age (whether nesting,
hedgling or adult, 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-
gions. AS members of scientific and
exploring parties they have placed the
tags on birds in Alaska, Greenland,
Labrador and even in the antarctic a
thousand miles from Cape Horn. A
young robin, banded in its nest on the
lonely shores of Great Slave lake, in
the Northwest territory of Canada,
has been reported from Louisiana
more than 1000 miles away; Mas
SachuSetts tern, or sea swallow, has
been recovered a 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
v0lving almost incredible wing mile
age, the minimum distance covered
having been $4,000 miles.
Aside from the birds which are sys-
tematically trapped, wild birds, either
dead or alive, fall into human hands
in a variety Of ways.
The longest period record thus far
turned in his been produced by a 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
birth. The inscription on the alumni
mum band worn by this bird is as
legible today as it was when received
| from the maker, notwithstanding the
| six years of rough treatment under
all weather conditions. One of the
most astounding details of bird life
brought out by banding has to do with
the domestic relations Of Jenny Wren
and her songful husband.
Wren Is Tickle.
Wrens habtually raise two large
families in rapid sequence each sea
son, and In these circumstances il
would naturally be thought the head
of the establishment would give his
uninterrupted attention to his house
hold. Not so, however, with an Ohio
house wren, who, the moment his first
hatch of offspring was on the wing
ruthlessly abandoned his little brown
wife and, moving off less than a hun
| bred yards, reared his second family
with newly found mate. This abon4
Unable fickleness might never have
been suspected had 1t not been fol
the numbered rings used on all Of the
| characters involved
Another house wren with a history
is the 'little old woman who lived In
a SHOE" She and her husband anC
their 13 children (reared in two in
stallments) were all banded. No wore
has ever been heard from the children
since they left home, but year later
a wren was seen at the old "shoe bun
galow' with bracelet on his leg, but
no mate was near The observer /,
left wondering if perhaps there Is mo-
q wren Reno somewhere in the South
Of the total of 10000 birds banded
approximately 400, or 2 per cent, have
SO far been heard from, and additiona
recoveries are being received from
time to time.