Migration of Birds (1950)Lincoln, Frederick Charles
Science
Migration of Birds (1950)
Lincoln, Frederick Charles
Birds; Birds -- Migration
The study of living birds by the banding method, whereby great
numbers of individuals are marked with numbered aluminum leg rings,
has come to be recognized as a most accurate means of ornithological
research. Since 1920, banding work in North America has been under
the direction of the Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation
with the Dominion Wildlife Service of Canada. Every year voluntary
cooperators, working under permit, place bands on thousands of birds,
game and nongame, large and small, migratory and nonmigratory,
each band carrying a serial number and the legend, NOTIFY FISH AND
WILDLIFE SERVICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., or on the smaller sizes an
abbreviation thereof. When a banded bird is reported from a second
locality, a definite fact relative to its movements becomes known,
and a study of many cases of this nature develops more and more
complete knowledge of the details of migration.
The records of banded birds are also yielding other pertinent
information relative to their migrations, such as the exact dates
of arrival and departure of individuals, the length of time that
different birds pause on their migratory journeys to feed and rest,
the relation between weather conditions and the starting times for
migration, the rates of travel of individual birds, the degree of
regularity with which birds return to the exact summer or winter
quarters used in former years, and many other details that could
be learned in no other manner. Banding stations that are operated
systematically throughout the year, therefore, are supplying much
information concerning the movements of migratory birds that
heretofore could only be surmised. (See Appendix II, p. 92 for
instructions on reporting the recovery of banded birds.)
=Movements of residents=
Typical migration consists of definite movements that are repeated
regularly year after year, and it is to these that the term is
generally restricted. It is desirable, however, if only for purposes
of comparison, that some account be taken of the movements of some
other birds, which, while not typical, do possess some of the
characteristics of true migration. Data on this subject are being
collected through bird banding.
There are several species that are customarily grouped under the
heading "permanent residents," the term implying that these birds
do not travel but remain throughout the year in one locality.
Among these are the cardinal, the tufted titmouse, the wrentit,
the Carolina wren, the house finch, the bobwhite, the California
quail, and the ruffed grouse. Each species may be present constantly
throughout the year, although in the northern part of the range there
is probably a slight withdrawal of the breeding birds in winter. The
individuals to be seen at that season, therefore, may not always be
the same as those observed during the summer. It is certain, however,
that these species do not regularly perform extensive journeys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account