Issued Quarterlyby the

Western Bird-Banding Association

President of W.B.B.A •.•• J. L. p~rtin2151 Balsam Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca~f.

~ddress all contributions to the News toMrs. M. C. Sargent, Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

In the death of Dr. S. Prentiss Baldwin on December 31, 1938, at hishome in Cleveland, Ohio, bird banding and that type of ornithological researchbased on an intimate acquaintance .with the individual bird has lost its fore-most advocate. It was he who originated the plan of systematically trappingbirds for banding purposes and who led the way to the careful study of thebirds so marked.

He has been Honorary President of the Western Bird-BandingAssociation since the organization of that Association in 1925, an office whichhe also held in the other three regional bird-banding associations from earlierdates.

Although comparatively tew of the members of the Western Bird-BandingAssociation ever had the pleasure ot visiting Dr. BaldWin and his researchlaboratory at Gates Mills, Ohio, those who had that opportunity will always re-member the kindly reception, and the extensive and painstaking exposition ofthe work being carried on there which filled the visitor with enthusiasm to ex-tend his own banding and the study ot his banded birds.

The Annual Meeting of the Western Bird-Banding Association will beheld at 2:30 p.m., April 16, 1939, at the home of Mrs. Fred M. Wilcox, SierraMadre Villa, California. This meeting will require only a few minutes afterwhich the Los Angeles Chapter will take charge with its regular monthly meeting.

The principal items of business to come before the Annual Meeting arethe election of officers for the ensuing year and the consideration of an amend-ment t~ Article II, Sections 5 and 6, of the Constitution which the ExecutiveCouncil has proposed. Annual reports of officers and committees will be given.

"Sec. 5. Sustaining members may be either active or associate andshall pay $5.00 per year, or $7.50 per year if to include membership in theCooper Ornithological Club.

"Sec. 6. Lite members may be either active or associate and shallpay $50.00 at one time. Life membership in both the Western Bird-Banding

Association and the Dooper Ornithological Club may be obt~ined by the payment of$125.00 at one time. Life members shall be relieved of all further dues."

The only changes made by this proposed amendment are the addition ofthe underlined words and, in Section 5, the reduction of $2.50 in the dues ofsustaining members. This reduction was put into effect several years ago with-out an amendment to the constitution. The added words merely make it clearthat sustaining members and life members may be either active or associate asdefined in Sec. 3 and Sec. 4.

Directions for reaching the meeting place: In Pasadena, fr~ the in-tersection of N."Foothill Blvd. and E. Foothill Blvd. (the north and southstreet is N. Foothill Blvd. north of this intersection, and Santa Anita Ave.south of it) go east on E. Foothill Blvd. about 1 mile to Sierra Madre VillaAve. (with its row of large eucalyptus trees and with service station on thecorner), thence north on Sierra Madre Villa Ave. about 1.4 miles to a roadwayrunning to the left there from where there is a signboard bearing the name"Wilcox." There also will be a W.B.B.A. sign at this intersection. Follow theW.B.B.A. signs along this roadway for a short distance to the home of Mrs.Wilcox.

Those coming from the east along i.Foothill Blvd. will find SierraMadre Villa Ave. at the westerly edge of a fenced but otherwise open field justas they enter Pasadena.

We regret to announce the sudden death of Mr. E. I. Dyer, 40 SelborneDrive, Piemrtont, California, on February 4, 1939.

Miss Frances Carter in a letter dated Feb. 6 to Mr. E. L.Sumnerwri tes 'lThere was no previous illness. He had finished dinner and was seatedat the typewriter, working on a page of his Road-runner's latest antics. Appar-ently it was a sudden heart attack, and when his Filipino boy summoned the doc-tor from a few doors away it was already too late •.. He had been at theGrinnel11s only the day before, going over his hummingbird manuscript withDr~ Grinnell. Nothing can be said of the irreparable loss to the Cooper Club,and to the field of ornithology ••."

Reliable sight observations and Biological Survey recoveries on thegulls through January, 1939, indicate that the color banded Western Gulls arewell scattered along the Coast. Perhaps the most significant records to dateare those of Laidlaw Williams of Carmel, Calif. who observed at Monterey, Calif.on Jan. 9 both RSR-Coronado birds and B-RS Haystack, Oregon birds. Thus therange of the twO-;ubspecies of Westerns overlaps at at least this point. Simul-taneously, Coronado birds were reported at San Diego, Calif.; and Haystack birds

at Seattle, Wash. The sight records on the Haystack birds bear out the un-published data on the movements of OregonWesterna,collected by Mr. Reed Ferrisfrom large scale Survey banding over several years.

Three B. S. recoveries have been received on the BS-B Mono LakeCalifornia Gulls for August, 1938 on the coast of Northern California.Glaucous-wings banded in British Columbia have so far not been reported southof B.O.

The January-February, 1939 issue of The Condor carried under "FromField and Study" a list of the 1938 banding of the Project. The Feb. 1939 issueof the Western Tanager carried a colored reproduction of the 2nd half of thegull sheet (first half reproduced in Oct. 1938 issue). ~ird Banding will short-ly carry an article covering organization of the Project, 1938 banding, and earlyJanuary records on the Western Gulls.

At the suggestion of Mr. Looff, Mr. F. C. Hingsburg, Sup. of Light-houses at Portland, Oregon, has agreed to distribute gull sheets to the light-house keepers and tenders along the Pacific Coast. -Mr. A. A. Traub of theBiological Survey has similarly distributed sheets to the Fish and Game patrolboats along the Coast.

A young RSR- Coronado Western captured in a drop trap by the editorand Mr. E. L. Sumner, at the city dump in San Diego on Jan. 23, already wasshowing plumage described by Hoffman as 2nd year.

Mr. Milton Seibert, an Oakland bander, has sent us a copy of theDecember 1938 Vol. 1, No. I issue of Field Ornithology, "A Mo~thly Magazine forAmateur Students. It Editor and Publisher is William C. Legg, Mount Lookout, WestVirginia. Art and Scientific Editor is Don Eckelberry of Sebring,Ohio, and Con-tributing Editor, Ralph O'Reilly, Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Seibert, 4649Redding st., Oakland, Calif., is Field and Western Editor.

The purpose of the magazine is to encourage "intelligent, practicalfield ornithology" as an effective means of conservation. This first issue con-tains short articles on "Birds of the Chaparral" by Arthur L. Berry, Los Angeles,Calif.; methods of counting bird flocks, by Ralph O'Reilly, Jr.; "The Brown-headed Nuthatch" by Moffitt Howell, Jacksonville, Fla.; a.nda day at the BandingStation of Howard Braun of Canton, Ohio.

An outstanding feature is the handsome bird engravings by DonEckelberry, especially the cover plate of a Puffin.

The magazine is printed on sheets 5," x 8t". The first issue con-tains 17 pages. Subscription price is 50 cents per year. Mr. Seibert offersto send sample copies to "any bird enthusiast who would like them."

We were not able to make a single trip out of town last summer, sodid not band any colonial birds, such as Common Terns and Franklin Gulls, whichwas a great disappointment to us. But we had a splendid time in our own backyard, for this part of the country, and considering that we are really in thecity itself. Our yard is only some 25 feet square, but we had as many as 14traps out during the summer, and captured 708 birds there, of 36 species. Thiswe consider excellent, but our enthusiasm was somewhat damped by having Mr.Luketell us of catching 90 birds in one day; a day when we caught only 6! So partof the reason that we moved is to get a better location for the banding worknext spring, if at all possible.

I made a 4-ce11 round trap with a w~ter drip in the middle, part ofthe pan (8" in diameter) being in each compartment, the doors of similar con-struction to the PotteI' trap. Later in the season I made a 6-ce11 Brenck1etrap, with a similar water-drip, all the doors being in the top of the'trap.But still later I converted two of the cells into ground-opening cells, as somany birds walked all round it, wanted to get in to the water in the worst way,but could not think of flying to the top of the trap! The same thing also hap-pened with the 4-ce1l round trap with 4 openings on the ground level. Frequent-ly we saw birds try their best to get at the water through the top of the trap(both these traps were made of t" mesh hardware cloth), but flew away withoutcoming to the ground. So in future I am going to build only traps that haveBOTH top entrances and entrances on the ground level, so as to accommodate bothkinds of birds, and I also think 6-ce1l traps or even 8-ce11 are much to be pre-ferred to the 4-ce1l. The latter was filled more than once, and catching 3birds at a time was a commonplace.

We do not expect to buy any more tit mesh hardware cloth. Too manybirds damage their bills on it. Several of my newer traps are of wire and"punch-bar" like commercial bird cages. I have yet to see a bird injure himselfin one of these traps; the great drawback of this system is when you start tomake round traps! I may use !" square mesh hardware cloth for, say, a Govern-ment Sparrow trap, with which I think I will experiment again some day, butotherwise the wire and punch-bar method is far more satisfactory, not to men-tion Far cheaper, than the hardware cloth.

We caught, banded, and photographed 10 new species (to us) this lastsummer. This makes 97 species we have banded. (We have photographs of some133 species; and our "Bird Album" i,sone that we are proud of.) One or theother of us, or both in partnership (as is more usual) gave several lectures on"Adventures among Alberta Birds" this year, always illustrated by slides of ourown photos.

Dr. and Mrs. J. E. Horning10747 93rd StreetEdmonton, A1b~rta

Quail Life HistoriesCan the sex of an im. Towhee be told trom the tail spots?Fluctuations in weights, etc./I

Elizabeth L. Curtis5148 Beach DriveSeattle, Wash.

Charles Danforth1680 College Ave.Palo Alto, Calif.

liTheestablishment of a bird sanctuary at our school has been suggested. Allthe pupils are very much interested in bird life and conservation. We wouldappreciate any suggestions or advice you might g~ve us."

WIn. GorsuchRt. 2, Box 106AChico, Calif.

III am most interested in banding birds of prey, crows, and magpies .../I (Etl.note - Mr. Imler published in the Oct. 1937 issue of Bird Banding articles on"Methods of Taking Birds of Prey for Banding" and "Weights of Some Birds ofPrey ot Western Kansas")

Ralph H. Imler562 CustomhouseDenver, Colo.

"My special study or interest in banding is largely associated with nestingbirds. I wish to know if the same birds return to the same location or per-haps same colony as the year or season before. I also wish to know where themigratory species migrate and how wide-spread the birds of the banded colonyare •../I

Leroy L. Jensen3818 Agua Vista st.Oakland, Calif.

Ralph DixonStar RouteEscondido, Calif.

"For a number of years I have been feeding Band-tailed Pigeons at my home here,and expect to trap and band a large number during this spring and summer whenthe birds are nesting here ..."

W. E. MackP. O. Box 1750Carmel, Calif.

We have been specializing on Western Robins. Last spring an unusualnumber of nests were available in young evergreens and other easily accessiblelocations on our campus. When a nest contained birds which were still too weakto leave the nest but were well feathered so that they were not being hoveredtoo closely by the mother, we would remove the young and band them, then returnthem to the nest. This method was quite successful as we fOllowed severalindividuals after they had left the nest and observed that they were not desertedby the parents and finally became fUlly able to care for themselves.

The young left the nest before they were able to fly any distance.They remained quietly nestled in the grass where they were difficult to detectunless disturbed or seen to move. A favorite place was at the base of largetrees where the lawn grass was longer than elsewhere. By the end of a day ortwo after leaVing the nest and reverting to the thrush-like habit of ground-dwelling, they would proceed -- largely by hopping and very limited flights --to make their way to the shrubbery along the border of the campus where theymight be found at night perched on low branches of small firs and other bushygrowth. Very few seemed to be taken by cats although they might be expected tobe easy prey at that time.

Later in the season the adult robins se~led to nest chiefly in thetops of oak trees rather than close to the ground as they had earlier in theseason. We wondered if this might be because of the temperature, the leafingof the oak trees or to escape parasites. There were roughly three nesting per-iods although probably only two broods were raised by anyone bird. The inter-mediate period was probably due to birds which had been unsuccessful in theirearlier incubation or were later in their breeding cycle. The latest broodswere heavily infested with mites. One nestling was also found to be parasitizedby a warble larva. It had two which were located on the head. One was abovethe ear and another was pulled out of a nostril. In this case the bird was invery poor condition and although well feathered out was too weak to fly enoughto escape being caught by hand. After being relieved of its warbles and re-turned to the ground, it was last seen to be greedily taking worms from theparent, so we hope that it survived. We are anxious to discover whether anyprevious reports have been made on the presence of wa!:blas in robins and we \-'hope to be able to investigate this matter more fUlly. Three other robinnestlings showed evidence of possible previous infestation. In the summer of1936 we obtained a warble from a juvenile robin which we attempted to rear un-successfUlly. At that time, it was thought to be an accidental occurrence.With two known cases noted -- and three others indicated -- it begins to lookas though it were a regular parasite of nestling robins. We would appreciatehearing from anyone who has made similar observations.

Another interesting observation was the complete disappearance of allbanded juvenile robins after they had become completely independent of theirparents. It would be interesting to discover where they went. Our belief 1sthat they probably went to the forested areas of the coast mountains. In anyevent they were never seen again. In the fall other juvenile robins were seenin numbers on the campus, but, although they were observed carefully, no bandedbirds were seen among them. If any successful method of trapping could be in-vented, it should be possible to band robins by the hundreds in the fall of theyear. So far we have had no success at this.

We also banded a number of juvenile California Purple Finches fromnests near the ground, and a few picked up on the campus before they were quiteready to fly. Chipping Sparrow nests were located by the peculiar notesuttered by the parents and young just before and atter leaving the nest. Whena nest was located, close observation in the early morning usually disclosedone or more youngsters secreted in the grass waiting to be fed -- or banded asthe case might be. White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia 1. leucophrys) hidetheir nests and young so well that only two of these were obtained.

Three young Brewer Blackbirds were banded from one nest situated atarmIs length from a sidewalk where students passed all day. The parentshovered dangerously near the heads of passersby and scolded vociferously. Asatisfactory method of trapping the blackbirds would also yield speciments bythe hundreds in the fall when they march across our lawns in regiments. Wehave trapped a few in the spring by spreading cheese-cloth attached t~ two bam-boo poles over small evergreens at night after they have taken refuge in theshrubbery. Other birds, such as juncos and Song Sparrows have occasionallybeen caught this way.

James A. MacnabLinfield CollegeMcMinnville, Oregon

F. Fraser Darling, PhD., F.R.S.E.: Bird Flocks and the BreedingCycle.tribution to the Study of Avian Sociality. Cambridge University Press121 pp. 1 illus. Appendix, Bibliography, and Index.

A Con-1938

Chapter I Sexual Periodicity is a review of the most recent researchon the reproductive cycle, interpolated with Darling's own ideas. HeacknOWledges his indebtedness for theories to H. Eliot Howard (1907-1935) andF. G. A. Marshall (1936 et al).

Chapters II and III. entitled Breeding Flocks of Gulls, are largelycomposed of Darling's extensive observations on Priest Island (off Wester Rosson the North West Highlands) during 1936 and 1937. Short visits were also madeto the island in 1933 and 1934.

Four of the six species of gulls of Great Britain bred on the islandHerring (Larus argentatus), Great Black-Backed (Larus marinus), Lesser Black-Backed (Larus fuscus afinis), and the Common Gull (Larus canus).

The Herring Gulls arrived at the gulleries in March, already in pairs.The most striking aspect of their early behavior was that they did nothing -stood about on the nesting area, dozing, or on a neutral cliff edge. In early.April began sporadic display, by one or both members of a pair. "The tendencythroughout all the displays described is for the birds to retreat from the pub-lic to the private; from the neutral edge of the cliff which has little connec-tion with nesting to the definite, intimate, personal position of the nest; andthat the time limit of exhibition tends to increase from the earlier to thelater displays." p. 44

Typical early display was a lowering of the head, which was then sud-denly flung high with a loud wailing cry. This had an infectious quality -others of the flock would immediately join in with excitement throughout theflock. Later display included mock nest building (in addition to building ofthe true or final nest), mock feeding, mock incubation, stroking of beaks, andfinally mounting, which sometimes culminated in coition. All this before actualovulation began. Darling describes a typical scene at this period of the breed-ing season. "Two birds are in the standing-place of a territory, doing nothing;I imagine they are a pair but later think myself mistaken. A third bird fliesdown and comes to rest on the stance and makes some shoW of going towards one ofthe gulls. Before a meeting can take place that resting gull has flown up fromthe stance and joined two or three others flying overhead, or has flown to thecliff edge or to another stance. ! and ~ are parted and the pair on the stand-ing-place are A and Q. There has been no noise, no quarrel. Events such asthis are constantly happening and sometimes an epidemic of it occurs to make thegullery a place of fluttering white wings." and further "The observer sees, per-haps, two or three scuffles in the course of a day's watching ... At anothertime three or four birds may be seen on one standing-place, showing no hostilityor nervousness." p. 46

Once ovulation has started the gullery becomes a quiet place. Fortyto 60 pairs nested on an acre or two, each occupying a square foot of territorywhich contained both a standing-place and a shallow nesting site.

The Lesser Black-Backed Gulls (migrants) appeared on the island laterthan the herrings (residents). They nested on the island heather ground in-stead of the cliffs. In 1937, 72 birds occupied an area of 25 acres - each pairhad a separate knoll for standing-place and nesting site. On arrival thelessers roosted on the neutral cliff edge with the herrings. The two speciesoften visited each other amicably and occasionally nested together. Beside theknolls, these birds had a central hollow which they used as a headquarters anda communal courting ground, and they objected more strongly to an intruder herethan on the knolls.

Display was similar to the herrings, with the addition of a high soar-ing flight of the whole colony, with much intricate whirling, and excited cries."There is visiting to the knolls of other pairs similar to that seen at theherring gullery. Sometimes one is frightened away, but it is equally likelythat three to six birds will rest on one nesting knoll in amity." p. 55

The pairs of lessers that nested among the herring gulls laid theireggs earlier than those in the lesser colonies. Darling suggests that "theBocial ~pact of the herring gulls on the lesser black-backs has a stimulativevalue towards reproductive condition •.." p. 58

The Great Black-Backed Gulls nested in colonies on a nearby island,but at Priest Island nested in pairs only, near the closely related lesser andherring gulls. Three pairs of Common Gulls nested in 1937 at the edge of thelesser gullery, and roosted occasionally without molestation on the neutralcliff edge of the herring gullery.

A pair of Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix) which lived on the island weretolerated in the close packed herring colony, where they pecked at the casts ofthe gulls and did no harm, but were mobbed in the wider spread lesser gullcolony where they sucked eggs.

Figures on ovulation indicated that "in almost all cases the.largercolonies not only start laying earlier, but the time taken by the whole coloniesto lay their crops of eggs is shorter ••." p. 67 The explanation may be that"the visual auditory stimulation" for each pair is greater in large flocks.Success of ovulation was largely affected by weather - the spring of 1936 wasunfavorable; of 1937, unusually good.

The first 2 weeks after hatching, the chicks of the herring and lessergulls were preyed upon by the 2 or 3 pairs of greater black-backs which nestedon the island, and by herons (Ardea cinerea) which visited from the mainland.The greater gulls were not mobbed, and took chicks as they wished; the heronswere mobbed on sight and took chicks only by stealth. A steady toll was taken,and more chicks survived in the shorter breeding season of the larger colonies.In 1936 a late storm.drowned many chicks in the herring colony. The lessercolony suffered less than the herring colony from the predators because thechicks were well scattered and had more ground cover in which to hide. Occa-sionally downy chicks were pecked or devoured by neighboring gulls of the samecolony, especially if they left the protection of the nest. Loss here was alsogreater in the close-packed herring colonies.

Chapter IV, Communal Courtship, covers briefly the social display ofeider ducks, geese, cormorants, and other types of flocking water birds.

The Black Guillemot or "tystie" is a social bird which courts incompany but nests privately and quietly in pairs in crannies in the cliffs,with no competition for nesting sites. One phase of the display: "The tystieshave a communal courtship dance on the sea which is not unlike an eightsomereel or a set of lancers as danced by human beings. A group of birds converge;they swim. round each other; the group expands and pairs come together; the pairscurtsey by constant bobbing of the head; the group re-forms and there is moreswimming round and round. The display ends as suddenly as it started, but with-in the flock as a whole there seems to be always one or more groups indulging inthis courtship dance." p.84

In 1936 3 pairs of Razorbills (Alca torda), a highly communal, noisy,ledge nesting species, visited Priest Island; they exhibited display courtshipand occupied the nesting ledge, but did not nest. In 1937 14 birds settled,exhibited the same behavior and did nest. "rf ..•in those close-nesting, ledgebreeding species there is a threshold of numbers below which the breeding cyclewill not be completed, then much light is thrown on the subject of geographicaldistribution of the species." p.88 and " •••we find that the intense competi-tion for nesting sites is not purely because the number of nesting ledges suit-able in every way for these birds is limited as Howard suggested, but is causedby the physiological necessity of the species to nest communally in goodly num-bers." p.89

Fulmar Petrels displayed nesting behavior but did not breed when· ingroups of 12 birds or less; but did lay eggs when in a group of 20 birds. Acurious "visiting" habit during courtship: itA pair ot birds will be resting ontheir ledge; others will be flying to and fro about the cliff tace with thatrapid, skimrning flight which is characteristic of them. One of the birds inflight will sweep up to the pair on the ledge, almost land there a.nd fly out tosea again. This move is repeated time after time and occasionally the restingpair will reach over and croak at the visitor each time it comes near ...Sooneror later the visitor lands and is accepted by the two already there. The threemay sit quietly or all of them indulge in courtship display. I have often seenfour and sometimes six birds on a ledge, resting amicably or courting." p. 95

In Chapter V, Conclusion, Darling probes into the nature of the out-side stimulation necessary in gregarious birds to induce the breeding state."Can it be said that the female requires the presence and activity of the maleto induce ovulation, or would it be more correct to say that a companion must bepresent before many species will reach the stage of laying an egg?" p. 104He quotes Marshall "The T"lerepresence of another individual provides an extero-ceptive stimulus which acts on the pituitary and starts the nest building andovulating stage of the cycle." Darling suggests "Those who are trying toresuscitate a gregarious species from a small population might try the effectof running a number of a closely related species with them." p. 106

He refers to the findings of Lorenz (1935) on "the phenomenon of thecreation of uniformity of moods among flocks of birds" in which "a visual pat-tern can excite a certain type of behaviour in those seeing it; for example,the striking plumage pattern of the extended barred tail of many wading birdsinstigate flight in the flock." and returns to his own thesis "Mood is infec-tious. Is it not apparent that in a breeding colony, the multiplicity of dis-play patterns evident must have the effect of a gathering momentum on the breed-ing behaviour and condition of the flock?" p. 108

He reiterates his assumption "that there exist numerical thresholdsin colonies of birds, below which the breeding cycle is not completed."Admitting the limitations of his own study, he outlines other problems. " •••Three years must pass before the young ones (gulls) return to the flocks at thebreeding grounds. Do these birds which breed for the first time return to thegulleries where they were hatched? A good reason is provided for a consistentpolicy of ringing to establish or refute our assumptions. If the strains re-main pure, the ~ffect of their sociality on th~ establishment of races and sub-species must be considerable." p. 110

Darling falls into one possible source of error - the sexes of gullsare indistinguishable in appearance, and as he states, with the exception ofmounting and coition, display the same courtship behavior; nevertheless heassumes several times that he knows the sex of birds and says "there is no doubtthat it is the male bird which initiates the building of the final or true nest"p. 41 or "The hlale bird if obViously more territory conscious than the female."p. 47. Again, his authority on the permanent pairing of herring gulls is alighthouse keeper observing umnarked birds.

It seems not impossible that the herring gulls which arrive at theisland before the breeding season "in pairs" may not be in pairs at all, butmerely in twots. And that the "visiting" which Darling observed in herring andlesser gulls and in fulmar petrels (quoted above) was not merely "an aerial

territorial dance," as he interprets it for the herrings, but an actual inter-change of early partners. in a transition from the neutral comradeship of winterto the male-female relationship of the breeding season. At any rate thispossibility cannot be disproved until marked birds are intensively studied. Andthis theory would bear out Darling's own thesis, stated in his conclusion, thata companion is all that is necessary to stimulate the onset of the breeding sea-son.

Darling's occasionally grandiloquent style (last sentence - "Theproblem of sociality is indeed a whole of many parts which I symbolize as aring of chain girding the very loins of Life") is readily forgiven him for hisfresh and stimulating contributions to his subject in both fact and theory.

My most interesting banding experience was a Golden Eagle which Ifound in a trap someone had set for coyotes. This was in the San Jose Hillsnear Pomona. Had no bands with me, and when I got the bands all were too smallso had to make one out of two.

R. Fischer215 East Foothill Blvd.La Verne. Calif.

1937 (898 ducks banded)1. We raised and liberated over eleven hundred mallards.2. I fed a couple of tons of feed (milo) last winter when everything was

frozen over.3. Caught forty-one crows by using Fenton Crow trap that we built here.4. Trapped 41 coyotes, and shot and trapped 35 hawks.

1938 (835 ducks banded)I installed another trap 14 x 14 for waterfowl which should give us a

record year for 1939. Nearly twenty pair of green-winged teal and cinnamonteal stayed over with us. Also four pair of Pintail. I fed them all winter.

I trapped and killed nearly 100 crows with the Fenton Crow trap.Also trapped twenty-five coyotes.

We raised and liberated four hundred and fifty mallards.Robert H. ZimmerWaga Land Co.Rosamund. Calif.

I am enclosing a snapshot of some of our Alpine Flowers that coverthe mountains here in spring. I visited La Jolla, Calif. three years ago andwas very much interested in the beauty of your whole country .•. (Ed. note: -a handsome photograph. Wish we could reproduce it in the News.)

J. WendleBarkerville,B.C.

March 3, 1937 I was walking in the woods on a small sanctuary about tmile from my banding station, when I noticed some small dark feathers scatteredabout on the snow near a feeding shelter. On inspection I found the bird hadbeen killed by a weasel, as the animal had left clear tracks, and strangelyenough the only part of the bird left was one of its legs, and on this leg wasone of my bands, 34-261205. The bird was an Oregon Towhee, adult male, bandedonly 3 months before.

Don.:'C.Buckland"Wildwood Farm"R.R. 2New Westminster, B.C.

Returns at my station included a Mountain Chickadee banded in 1930and not again seen till the winter of 1937-38. Pipilo maculatus, banded in 1932,never fails to turn up about 10 March; I hear his quiet, lamb-like bleat in thebush, and answer his call with "Hullo Pip!" and throwing piece of cheese intothe open he immediately makes his first appearance for another year, stayinguntil the end of September or early Oct. Last spring I found his band worn sothin I had no difficulty in removing it and gave him a new one. A TownsendSolitaire makes daily visits to the Rowan-tree now almost denuded of berries.

I feed fat bacon, cheese, and rolled oats, cheese being in great

Traps: I have the excellent W.B.B.A. 2 compartment, also the Gov.Sparrow trap. Homemade, I have a big drop trap 4' x 4' X 9", and semi-funnels3'5" x 2'6", all made of stout mosquito netting. My first year in bandingtaught me hardware cloth should never be used for hopping small birds.

S. A. LiddellGarnet ValleySummerland, B.C.

The only unusual visitor I had during 1937 was a Cooper's Hawk whichfound its way into the pigeon coop and was subsequently banded and released.

J. R. Gardiner1928 51st Ave., EastVancouver, B.C •

•••I certainly do wish the method of reporting the yearly returnscould be made to correspond with the annual renort to the Biological Survey,which occurs at the end of the fiscal year, June 30. In this manner the sameset of figures could be used for both reports, thereby eliminating an extracalculation and saving some valuable and precious time for many haggard andharried banders. I do hope the association will adopt this method.

Charles H. Feltes216 Ruberto st.Modesto, Calif.

For TRAPS addressMr. Walter I. Allen, 2057 Pepper Drive. Altadena, California

In U. S. West of East of MississippiMississippi River River· and in Canada

$4.50 Postpaid $5.00 Postpaid4.50 " 5.00 "1.00 " 1.15 "1.25 " 1.40 "3.00 " 3.25 "1.50 " 1.75 II

List of Tra.psModesto Funnel Trap~ 24"x24I1xsi"WBBA Government Sparrow Trap~ 14"x28"xlOIl

3WBBA One-cell Trap, Small. 5Ilx7i"x8"WBBA One-cell Trap~ 7"xlli"xs", LargeWBBA Warbler Trap!? 8!llx15~llx9i"Rogers Two-V-cell Trap~ 8I1x8"x8"

All traps strong, welded throughout. and painted with good green enamel.1. The Modesto Funnel Trap. made of hardware cloth, may be used either with

food or water as bait, either on the ground or on an elevated platform. In oneday Mr. Irl Rogers, who designed the trap. took 489 Cedar Waxwings using two ofthese tI'aps.

2. This well-known trap, made of hardware cloth, is always set, and whenbirds come in flocks will catch them to the limit of its capacity. In this par-ticular modification of the Government Sparrow Trap design, the comparatively smalldimensions and especially the low height make it difficult for the birds to hurtthemselves by flying against the top and sides.

3. This small one-cell trap is made of vertical wires. It consists of onecompartment with a drop door, automatic treadle, and a wire bottom.

4. The same as the small one-cell trap except 2" wider and 4" longer.5. This trap is made of vertical wires. The whole top is open when set and

is closed by two doors hinged along the sides of the top and closing at the sametime. This is an excellent trap for birds that go to a water bath.

6. Similar to WBBA 2-cell trap but with improved doors, treadle and shapeof cells. See draWing and description, Vol. XI, Dec. 1936, pp.49-50.

For EMERGENCY SUPPLY OF BANDS andinformation in regard to banded birds found, address

Dr. Sherwin F. Wood. L. A. City College. 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. Calif.

For ME~mERSHIP AND DUES addressMrs. N. Edward Ayer. Business Manager. 1300 Hillcrest Drive, Pomona, California

W.B.B.A. and CooperOrnithological Club

. $ 3.503.507.50

125.00

MembershipAssociateActive . •Sustaining •Life (Total.

W.B.B.A.$1.00

1.005.00

50.00Members outside of the United States add twenty-five cents to the first

three items of the last column for additional postage on The Condor.If C.O.C. dues of $3.00 have been naid direct, remit difference to W.B.B.A.

Issued Quarterlyby the

Western Bird-Banding Association

. . • Dale S. Kingand Natt Vi. Dodge

President of W.B.B~A•••• J. L. Partin2151 Balsam Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif.

Address all contributions to the NewstoMrs. M. C. Sargent, Scripps lnst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

At Casa Grande National Monument,two miles north of Coolidge, Arizona,is located the headquarters which administers 26 national monumentsin Arizona,NewMexico, Colorado and Utah. This group, knownas the Southwestern Monuments,is a unit of the National Park Service of the United States Department of theInterior.

Supervision of the research and educational work in the SouthwesternMonumentsgroup is vested in the Naturalist Staff with headquarters at Casa GrandeNational Monument. The staff finds that field conditions on this monumentaregufficiently comparable to those at other monumentsto make this a useful experi-mental area for testing various research and educational projects and programs.Bird banding procedure and record keeping has been carried on by headquartersnaturalists since March 1935.

During 1938, the banding program passed from the experimental stage withthe following objectives definitely established:

(1) Supervision of a banding program amongthe various units of the South-western MOnumentswith standardized methods and procedure. This hasbeen approved by the Biological Survey, all annual records from theseveral units to be lumped and credited to the Southwestern Monuments.This, of course, depends,upon the individual operating each gubstationwhomay operate independently if he desires.

(2) A program of selective study to solve definite problems rather tPan ahaphazard effort to accumulate a large number of bands placed. Effortshave been concentrated on GambelSparrows, House Finches, and PallidHorned Owls.

(3) A line of traps, each placed with considerable care as to the selectionof a site: the whole to take as little time in operation as possiblewith the possibility of capturing as manybirds as possible of thedesired species. Each trap site differs from the others as to presenceof cover, proximity to seed-bearing plants, etc.

Because of the extremely hot weather d:u.ringthe summermonths in thislatitude, the temperature reaching lCYfJto 1100 F. daily and sometimes 1150, band-ing was suspended on May12, 1938 and not re~ed until October 12, 1938.

Through banding and observational activities, a check list of birds ofCasa Grande National Monumentwas developed and mu.ltigraphed (74 species listed,of which 41 are available as specimens in a study collection). Numerousvisitorsto the monumentare interested in the bird life and are glad to receive a copy ofthe check list. There are undoubtedly manyother species which pass over andthrough the area during the migrating seasoIls, and it is hoped that the list willbe gradually lengthened as time passes.

Sufficient materia,l has been accumu.lated d:u.ring the past ~ years tomake several papers. Unfortunately, the time of the naturalist staff is so fullyoccupied with official matters of higher priority that it has been impossible toprepare these papers. It is hoped that a memberof the staff or someinterestedperson outside of the government service maybe able to publish during 1939.

Dale S. King, 9Perator, and Natt W. Dodge,Casa Grw1deNatlonal Monument,Coolidge, Arizona.

Twelve western states and provinces totalled 47,609 new birds banded in1938, slightly bettering the record of 46.828 new birds in 1937. Mexico was alsorepresented by the 168 Western Gulls ban~ed by the editor on the Coronado Islands,just south of San Diego, California. California topped the list with 26,936 birds;next came Oregon with 8,072 and third, Arizona with 4,318.

The two most banded species were Pintails, 7,342, which were reportedfrom a number of western refuges; and Tricolored Red-wings - 7,244 reported byMr. Johnson Neff in a Biological Survey special study of this species.

One hundred and four reports from at least 115 banders make up thetotals. Forty other banders reported no activity in 1938, most of them expectingto resume banding in 1939.

Credit is due to Mrs. N. Edward Ayer and Mr. Walter I. Allen .for the com-pilation of the report.

Note: * Marks introduced species which have been included as banded.The letters spa follow a. name to indicate that several eub-species with

different names are included under one heading. Example: White-crownedSparrow (sp~ (includes White-crowned, Gambel, Nuttall, and Puget SO"WldSparrows) •

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legged Hawk 27 27Golden Eagle 4 1 5Mars,h Hawk 6 1 3 10Prairie Falcon 9 9Sparrow Hawk 12 6 1 1 . 20Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse 1 1Eastern Bob-white 1 1Calif. Q,lail(sp.) 178 15 8 201Gambel Quail 199 199Mountain Quail 31 31Chinese Spotted Dove 546 546Ring-necked Pheasant 1 1Florida Gallinule 1 1American Coot 209 92 1 7 25 334W. Snowy Plover 2 2Killdeer 9 8 1 ISWilson Snipe 5 5Spotted Sandpiper 5 5 10Lesser Yellow-legs 4 4Least Sandpiper 67 67Stilt Sandpiper 1 1Marbled Godwit 9 9Avocet 1 1Black-necked Stilt 2 1 3Wilson Phalarope 5 5Northern Phalarope 1 1Glaucous-winged Gull 409 5 414

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(ustulata group)Grey-cheeked Thrush 2 2Veery 1 1Western Bluebird (sp.) 31 6 4 254 295Mountain Bluebird 12 13 2 27Townsend Solitaire 10 10Western Gnatcatcher 1 1Ruby-crowned Kinglet (sp.) 20 1 21AmericanPip;i.t 11 2 13Cedar Waxwing 1 37 38Bohemian Waxwing 2 2Phainopepla 2 2Loggerhead Shrike (sp.) 21 12 12 45

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Least Vireo 2 2Western Warbling Vireo 5 5Tennessee Warbler 21 21Orange-crowned Warbler (sp.) 47 3 8 1 59Nashville Warbler 7 7Calaveras Warbler 3 3Yellow Warbler (sp.) 22 2 1 42 1 1 69Myrtle Warbler 16 92 lOBAudubon Warbler 197 5 45 247Black-throated Grey Warbler 3 8 1 12Townsend Warbler :3 3 6Grace Warbler 2 2Black-poll Warbler 4 4Grinnell Water-Thrush 1 1 2Macgillivray Warbler 5 1 7 2 15Long-tailed Chat 2 2 4Wilson Warbler (pusilla group) 26 3 4 7 3 43American Redstart 4 4Eng lish Sparrow 11 11Bobolink 2 2Meadowlark (genus) 26 2 4 1 33Yellow-headed Blackbird 9 1 10Red-wing (genas) 23 8 1 16 48Tricolored Red-wing 7244 7244Arizona Hooded Oriole 124 124Baltimore Oriole 2 2Bullock Oriole 36 2 38Rusty Blackbird 7 7Brewer Blackbird 539 30 3 1 3 576Bronzed Grackle 3 lQ 18Dwarf Cowbird 12 2 16 30Red-eyed Cowbird 3 3Western Tanager 35 2 3 1 8 49Ari zona Cardinal 19 19Ro se-breasted Gro sbeak 1 1Black-headed Gro sbeak (sp 0 ) 250 3 25 278Western Blue Grosbeak 1 1Lazuli :Bunting 20 1 21Evening Gro sbeak (sp.) 5 22 3 8 38Purple Finch 30 15 10 2 11 58Cassin Purple Finch 5 5Common House Finch 4003 262 1 4266Pine Grosbeak 6 6Redpoll 175 175Pine Siskin 335 11 3 2 2 353Willow Goldfinch 1'20 1 121Green-backed Goldfinch 87 2 89Lawrence Goldfinch 17 17Red Crossbill (curvirostra group) 11 74 85

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White-winged Crossbill 1 1Green-tailed Towhee 3 17 20Spotted Towhee (~.) 264 4 3 4 8 283Brown Towhee (sp. 523 4 527Abert Towhee 140 140Savannah Sparrow 60 5 65Western Grasshopper Sparrow 1 1Baird Sparrow 2 2Leconte Sparrow 5 5Vesper Sparrow 2 2Western Lark Sparrow 1 1Desert Sparrow 1 1Junco (genus) 452 205 241 244 446 146 176 3 1913Chipping Sparrow 6 48 9 8 284 1 356Tree Sparrow 3 24 27Clay-colored Sparrow 41 4iBrewer Sparrow 40 4Harris Sparrow 1 1Whi te-crowned Sparrow (sp.) 2733 191 24 21 1156 12 4137Golden-crowned Sparrow 701 8 54 763White-throated s)arrow 8 9 17Fox Sparrow (sp. 51 2 5 159 217Lincoln Sparrow 139 26 46 3 214Song Sparrow (sp.) 415 18 34 22 30 9 1 529

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389 1,834 4,354 2,427 26,936 9 117 168 1,727 201 8,072 1,238 137 47,609

Also 587 Calif. & Ring-billed Gulls,SALE OF ORNITHOLOGICAL MAGAZINES

The extensive collections of periodicals of the late Dr. William H.Bertgold of Denver, Colorado, are being offered for sale by his daughter, HarrietBertgold Woolfenden. Included are complete, or almost complete, files covering manyyears of The .Auk, The Condor, The Wilson Bulletin, Zoologica, and Bird-Lore.

For further information, address Mrs. J, T. Woolfenden, 23635 Rockford Rd.,Dearborn, Michigan.

The most noticeable feature here, in connection with banding, has beenthe extraordinary scarcity 0 f small birds (one might even say It all birdsl1).

With our generally open winters, it is only in cold snowyweather thatthe birds comearound the houses in numbers. This year we had an 'Wlusually openfall with plenty of feed, followed by a short cold spell with heavy snow atChristmas, and a second heavy snowfall at the end of January. :But the numbers ofbirds are far below other years under similar conditions. This applies, particU-larly, to certain species. There are no Fox Sparrows, Seattle and Winter Wrens,or Pw:'ple Finches. I see only an occasional Towheeand Song Sparrow. and appar-ently one brood of Chickadees. 'ie have a number of J'WlCOSfeeding around ourhouse, but I cannot call to mind having seen a single other flock this winter.

It is the same when one goes into the country, as I do once at leastevery week - none of the wandering parties of Chickadees, Kinglets and the accom-panying Red-breasted Nu.thatch. Even the English Sparrow has not turned up.although I saw a large flock in the early fall (large for here, over a hundred).

To suggest a reason is difficu.lt. It is not predatoresas th~ a:reevenrarer; it has become an event to chronicle. to Bee a hawk these days. No spray-ing to speak of in the district. Last spring was late and cold which might havereduced successful broods, but the numbers should at least be up to the elld ofthe previous winter.

Small birds appear to get fewer and fewer; instead of several Chickadeesas regular visitors, a pair come. There has not been a Varied Thrush in the garden.Towhees are about representeq. by one banded bird. This winter sofar (Feb .1939) hasbeen very mild, which may have something to do with it.

The same scarcity showed at migration; whereas a few years ago the gardenwould at times seem full of migrants, the past summerand fall there has only beenan odd bird or two. It may be that the birds are taking a different line - thetimber to the north has been cut so that birds striking Vancouver Island up herewould tend to proceed inland to the range of mO'Wltainsdown the center of theI sland and then work south along these mountains until the line crosses them.There is no apparent reason for this shortage of birds resident or migrant.

Theed PearseCourtenay, V.I. t B.C.

My banding activities are largely connected with official assignmentsor studies being officially pUrsued, with the banding of an; other- birds thathappen to COl!1emyway..

Banding of tricolored redwings is an official job, trying to work outtheir migrations and movementshere in the central valleys where they are concernedin heavy agricultural damages. This banding is done by a group of hired assistantsunder my direct supervision.

Banding of nestling western mourning doves is a semi-official project; inthis I am assisted by a group of selected county agricultural inspectors who aremuch interested in doves and whose work keeps them out in the vineyards andorchards where they encounter numbers of dove nests in the course of their officialwork.

36-406 264 - banded near Arvin 6/1/36, killed near Freeport 9/1/3736-:-406277 - banded near Arvin 6/1/36, killed near Yat1an. Michoacan. Mexico

on 10/26/3836~406 659 -banded near La Grand 6/8/38, killed near El Centro 10/15/38

Forty-two White-winged Doves, two Inca Doves, and one Mexican Ground Dovewere banded in the Sacaton. Arizona district during July 1938, during the course ofofficial studies on the former species.

Tricolored Red-wing 38-241, 204 was banded as a nestling near Los Banoson 6/14/38, and was shot by Carroll Hedlind near Colusa during the week of October14, 1938 - the first definite record as yet of direct travel between the centralSan Joaquin and the central Sacramento valleys.

Johnson A. NeffAssistant BiologistU .S. Biological Survey277 Federal Bldg ••Sacramento, California.

Three returns of Golden-crowned Sparrows: One, 35-112176, bandedOct. 7, 1935. a return April 9, 1936. again a return Feb. 21, 1938, a period oftwo years. 4 months. Another Golden-crowned Sparrow banded April la, 1936, areturn Feb. 11, 1938, a period under two years. A third Golden-crowned Sparrowbanded Oct. 31, 1936, a return April 27, 1937. again a return Feb. 2, 1938.

Two returns of Juncos: One banded Jan. 1, 1934. a return Feb. 2, 1938,a period of four years. Another banded Nov. 11, 1935. a return 1mrch 14, 1936,again a return Feb. 15. 1938, again Dec. 12, 1938, a period of three years.

Our most interesting return belongs to 1937: Junco F5~898 bandedOct. 17, 1931, was a return in 1933, 1934, and again Feb. I, 1937 - a period offive years and four months.

Two long Spotted Towhee records: ~283l9l banded July 31, 1933, re-turned March 1, 1934 and Feb. 2, 1937. Another. A-283205 banded Nov. 13, 1933,returned May 5, 1934, Aug. 6, 1935, July 5, 1936, and rlarch 1, 1937.

Another interesting return - a Violet Green Swallow banded May 5, 1932in a drop trap, was trapped again at her nest box June 28. 1936, a period offour years. We banded her five nestlings also, but alas, no returns for them.

Mrs. Frank M. Erickson220 Salem Heights Ave.Salem. Oregon.

At mybanding station near Carmel. California. I banded a number'ofjuvenile Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) during the summerof 1938. On August 3.after placing a band on the right tarsus of such a bird of the year I happened toglance at the other leg. It was broken about 1/4 inch above the toes; the skin wastorn and the toes were dangling by a mere shred of tissue. There was a good dealof bleeding. The question was what to do with the creature. Wedid not desire.nor think it practical. to try to keep it in captivity until healed. and yet itseemed as though the bird would surely lose its leg. if not its life also. ifturned loose in such a state. So we tried an experimont.

From a pioce of match-stick we whittled a flat splint about 3/4 of aninch long. After setting the two broken ends of the tarsus together as accuratelyas possible we bound the splint to both sections of the leg With a spiralled band-age 0 f 1/8 inch adhesiva tape. thus covering the entire length 0 f the spUn t • Wethen carried the bird to a point near where trapped. a place convenient to bothwater and cover. Whenreleased it fluttered weakly along the ground. This wasthe last we expected to see of it.

However. on September 4. one month and a day later, I trapped a SOngSparrow repeater which seemed to be a juvenile passing into its first winter plum-age. There was muchof the heavy dark adult stripes, manyflecks of brokenfeather sheathes on its plumage, and its tail consisted of only one or two wornfeathers. I glanced at myrecords. To my astonishment I found it was our broken-legged bird of August 31 And there was the left tarous healed, and without bandageor splint. Where the break had been was a somewhatthickened area, but the skinover it seemed in perfect condition, The toes were turned a little to the left butI could see that the bird could flex and relax thEID. r watched closely when it wasreleased to ascertain to what extent it could use the repaired member.but the birdflew unusually far off and ducked into dense shrubbery where it couldn f t be foundagain.

Just howmuchgood our surgery did, I don't knoW. Evidently. aftersufficient healing had taken place for the leg to remain intact. the splint andtape had w6rn off or had been pickod off by the bird. At any rate this experienceproved to us that it is worth while, even at times in seemingly hopeless cases, toattempt to render first aid, and that healing may take place without holding thebird in captivity.

Laidlaw WilliamsBox 453. Carmel. Calif.

Five Shufeldt's Juncos, banded in 1936 were re-trapped in 1937. also oneCalifornia ~ail.

During the cold weather of January and February,! discontinued tho useof the small midget and oimplex traps. as I found that the Juncos became cold veryquickly when confined in such traps. A large funnel trap was used during thattime, and was very successful. The small traps were indispensable, however. dur-ing the spring migration of Gambells Sparrows.

Since I began banding at this location in 1934, most of my trapping hasbeen done near two large brush piles cotlposed of prunings from our fruit trees.Last spring, however. we thought that these piles were acting as harbors for posts

such as codling moths and mice. So we burned them and I built two more similarpiles on a pi.ece of waste land at somedistance from the orchard. The new locationis on a south slope covered with bunch grass, and has several pine trees and saska-toon bushes.

For bait I use wheat, finely ground in a coffee grinder. I bought thegrinder at a sale for only twenty-five cents, and it has proved to be a very valu-able piece of equipment. However, I amgoing to see what results will be obtainedby mixing the wheat with the seeds of the Spring Sunflower (Balsamariza saggitata)that I gathered last spring, as I have observed these to be very popular with gold-finches under natural conditions.

Herbert M. Simpson,R.R. 1, HappyValley,Summerland, B.C.

A rather busy year at the University of California prevented me fromdoing mu.chbanding, however, I was fortwlate in adding three new species to mylist of banded birds:

1. An Anthony Green Heron was banded on July 17, 1937. This bird wasfound with an injured wing, apparently shot by an air rifle, and wasbanded and released when it recovered.

2. A nest of five and a nest of four baby :Bu.llockOrioles were bandedon May31, 1937 at Livermore, California.

3. A nest containing a young Least Vireo was found on the back roadfrom Livermore, California to Tracy, California. This youngsterwas banded on May 31, 1937. So far as I can ascertain, this isonly the second nesting record of the Least Vireo in the Bay Region.One or two migratory records for the San Francisco Bay region havealso been reported.

Robert Taylor,4033 Coolidge Avenue,Oakland, California

My most interesting experience during the year was the capture of aCalifornia Shrike in myW.B.B.A. two-compartment trap at the same time as aNuttall t s Sparrow in the adjoining compartment. The .shrike had killed the sparrow,tearing open its breast through the bars of the cage and in attempting to reachits victim became imprisoned in the other compartment. I banded and released theshrike.

A Golden-crowned Sparrow,which I had banded here on December21, 1932,:E recaptured on February 10, 1937. .

Emerson A. Stoner,Benicia, California.

We have planted a lot of Wild Crab Apples (pyrus bacata) and Rowan Trees.These trees are loaded with fro.itall winter and have hwldreds of Cedar WaxWingsfeeding all winter. Some of them will stay and nest in the spring. While thereis a lot of fruit on the trees these birds are very hard to trap and if anyonehas a good trap for these birds we would be pleased to know.

D. H. BendickLeduc, Alberta

(Ed .Note: For the Waxwings, we recommend the Modesto Funnel Trap. See last pageof News.)

37-602770 banded 12/2/37;37-703757 banded 1/16/38;

shot 10/18/38 at Colton, Wash., by Laurence Rauber,Colton, Washingtonshot 10/15/38 at Amber, Washington by Francis Burns,Amber, Washington

37-703562 banded 1/4/38; killed 10/16/38 at St. Maries, Idaho, by C.H. Scribner,St. Maries, Idaho

37-703711 banded 1/14/38; shot 10/16/38 at St. Joe River, Benewah County, Idahoby C. M. Sargent, Portland, Oregon

37-703754 banded 1/16/38; shot 10/20/38 at Ponoka, Alberta,.by J.A. Courtney,Ponoka, Alberta

37-703693 banded 1/13/38; shot 10/25/38 at Omak, Washington, by Bob Russell,Omak, Washington

37-703753 banded 1/16/38; shot 10/1/38 at 25 miles east of Calgary, Alberta,by Arthur Courtney, Calgary, Alberta

Gene H. CrawfordState Game GarmLapwai, Idaho

The Annual Meeting of the Western Bird-Banding Association was held onApril 9, 1939 at the home of Mrs. Fred Wilcox in Sierra Madre Villa. There weretwenty-five members and guests present.

The proposed amendment to the constitution, as published in the Februarynumber of the ~, was adopted.

Reports for the past year of the Business Manager, the Treasurer, theEditor of the News, the Custodian of the Traps, the Custodian of the Emergency BandSupply, and the Chairman of the Pacific Gull Color-Banding Project were acceptedand filed, the President expressing his appreciation, and that of the Association,of the good work done by each of those reporting. The Business Manager presenteda tentative budget for the year 1939.

Mr. Chambers stated that the Cooper Ornithological Club is planning thepublication soon of two new Avifauna and that financial assistance in these pro-jects would be greatly appreciated. It was decided that the W.B.B.A. is not atpresent in a position to make such a contri~tion.

A discussion of the possibility of the W.B.B.A. promoting a group ofpapers based on bird banding to be offered for presentation at the A.O.U. AnnualMeeting to be held in Berkeley in June led to tho decision that it is not practi-cable for the Association to attempt such an arrangement. It was urged that mem-bers who can prepare such papers should communicate immediately with Dr. AldenMiller, in charge of the A.O.U. arrangements.

Secretary. • . .Business ManagerCouncilors

. .. J. L. Partin( Walter I. Allen( Har 1an H. Edwards

Vice-Presidents .•••••• (Josephine R. Michener (Mrs.Harold)( Agnes E. Partin (Mrs. J .L~( Grace T. Sargent (Mrs. M.C.)( Sherwin F. Wood

Myrtle S. Edwards (Mrs. Harlan)• • • Ethel Capen Ayer (Mrs. N. Edward)

• • • • • • • • ( C. V. Duff(Blanche Vigna s

( Harold Michener(John McB. RobEJiotson( E. L. Sumner, Sr.

Non-elective Councilors(Past Presidents)

The reports of officers referred to above follow, some of themunabridged. H.M.

When the Bureau of Biological Survey issues a permit to a Western bander,the name and address of this bander is sent to us. In 1938, to all these names,and to other prospective members, eighty-six in all, a circular letter was sent,accompanied in many cases by a personal note of invitation. As a result, wereceived eighteen new members, one a sustaining one; and from other sources sixnew members brought the total up to twenty-four. Four of this number became CooperClub members. There were two deaths, eight resignations, and two were dropped.On January 1, 1939 there was a paid membership of one hundred forty-five. Seven-teen additional members who have not paid their 1938 dues, but who will soon, arebeing kept on the list.

During the past year, many letters of inquiry have been received;inquiries ranging from, "Where do they sell bands for birds?" to a query as to thebest method of trapping pileated woodpeckers. Wherever possible, the writers havebeen referred to unimpeachable sources of information, thereby assuring t~m satis-factory answers to their quest for knowledge, and incidentally removing the onus ofresponsibility from the business manager's shouldersl

FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE WESTERN BIRD-13ANDING ASSOCIATIONJanuary 1, 1938 to December 31, 1938

~CEIPTS:Balance reeeived from formerReceived from dues •Sale of traps . • •Sale of books ••• • • •

. $171.76303.25

• • • 183.008.10

DISBURSEMENTS:Postage and stationery for mailing annual report blanks. $Advertisement of traps and books in Bird-Banding • • • .Postage, stationery, miscellaneous expenses • ~ • • • .Traps, manufacturing of • • • • • • . • • • •• $123.05Delivery and sales tax •••••••.•••• 5.65News from Bird Banders, printing and materialsSubscription of Bird-Banding for Editor of thE;l~Photograph of Editor in Western WomenCooper Club share of dues received in 1938 • • • • • • •

Balance on hand, December 31, 1938 ••••••••

9.3712.5039.82

128,7071.88

2.505.00

171.00225,34 $666.11

Figures for a tentative budget for 1939 as based on receipts and expensesfor 1938. Sale of books being discontinued in 1939, this item cannot be consideredas 1939 income source.

Recei'ptsDues $132.25Sale of traps 1e3.00

$315.25

ExpensesPrinting, etc. $141.07Cost of traps 128.70

$269.77

TRAP AND BOOK REPORTJanuary 1, 1938 to December 31, 1938

During the year a total of 82 traps were sold, at prices listed on theback cover of each issue of the News, for a total of $158.90. This does not in-clude a small number of traps sold by Mr. Sumner after January 1st. The numbersof the various types of traps sold weres Modesto 5.·Sparrow 4, Warbler 11,W.B.B.A. 2-ce11 21, Rogers 2-V-cell 16, Large I-cell 6, and Small I-cell 19.

Two copies of Hoffmann's Birds of the Pacific States were sold, leavingnone on hand.

Walter I. Allen,Custodian of Traps.

BAND DISBURSEMENTSJanuary 1, 1938 to December 31, 1938

Received from Trea~rerPostage (bands and correspondence)

$2.001.73

S. F. Wood.Custodian of Emergency Band Supply

The five isgues of News from the Bird-Banders since the last Annual Meet-ing December 20, 1937. have contained the following items:

1. Articles by 17 banders - including "The Herring Gull Survey: AnExperiment in Cooperation" by J. Jw Hickey and R. P. Allen, and"Unseen Roads of Bird Migration" by Kenneth Alexander.

2. The Annual Report for 1938, and a List of the'Banders representedin the report.

3. Progress of the Pacific ~ll Project - including a colored fullpage sheet of 1938 banding, and early records.

4. Notices of books; current meetings; condensed minutes of theLos Angeles Chapter; death of banders; visitors; and lates,t in-formation about traps and bands.

The system of sending an extra sheet With each annual report blank,asking for ,news from each banding station, has been very successful in gettingmaterial for the News. In fact, aome material from 1938 still remains unused,in addition to a large supply of interesting items sent in 1939. Perhaps weshall have to enlarge an issue or two to catch up.

The Editor would like at this time to thank the Micheners, to whomgoes the credit for the high quality of the mimeographing and the prompt mailingof the issues.

Mrs. M. C. SargentEditor of the News

Below is given a summary of the records received on the color bandedgulls as of April 14, 1939. It should be noted that these are approximate figures,as records are constantly coming in to Sprot, Ferris and myself from a number ofdifferent sources. The Biological Survey records are now at least four monthsbehind (last ones"received for December 1938). Mr. Lincoln writes that he isflooded with reports for both the Herring Gull Project and our project, and issending them out as fast as he can.

5 Survey recoveries through December 193810 Sight records

Northernmost record - Monterey, Calif. in January 1939Southernmost - SallDiego, Calif., a number of records from

.August through March.

5 Survey recoveries through September 19383 Sight records

Northe~st recordSouthernmo st

- Klamath, Calif. in August 1938- Carmen Island, Gulf of California -

(Dr. Lo1'f)Miller found Mexicanchildren here playing with 2 bluebands taken from the feet of aGull in Febrnary 1939)

17 Survey recoveries through October 193810 Sight records

Northernmost record - Seattle, Washington, in January 1939Southernmost - Monterey, California, in January 1939

4 Sight recoveriesNorthernmost - British ColumbiaSouthernmost - Seattle, Wash. in March 1939.

Mr. Theed Pearse will take charge of the project for B.C. this year, asMr. Sprot is moving to England. The order for 1939 bands went in to Mr. LincolnMarch 29th. Beside the 7 colonies of last year, 3 new colonies may be added thisyear: Mr. Looff, Glaucous-wing gulls on Kodiak Island, Alaska; Mr. Carl Richardson,a colony of Californio. gulls at Klamath Falls, Oregon; and Dr. A.M. WoO'dbury ofthe University of Utah, California gulls on the Great Salt Lake, Utah. Dr. Woodburyalso plans to color band herons and ibises on the Great Salt Lake.

It is of interest that almost all of'the sight reco7ds have been completeand accurate - also that most of the people who reported Survey bands to the B.S.said that their attention was drawn to the dead birds by the colored bands. Ac-knowledgments are being sent to all who report the gulls. I am working on PacificCoast maps which we can use to chart the recoveries.

Mrs. M. C. SargentChairman, Pacific Gull Project

For TRAPS addressMr. Walter I. Allen, 2057 Pepper Drive, Altadena, California

List of TrapsModesto Funnel Trap~ 24"x24"xS!"WEBA Government Sparrow Trap~ l4"x2S"xlO"

3WEBA One-cell Trap, Small. 5"x7!"x811

WEBA One-cell Trap~ 7"xll!"x8I1, LargeWEBA Warbler Trap9 8!"xl5'~lx9i"Rogers Two-V-cell Trap~ 8"x8"x811

All traps strong, welded throughout, and painted with good green enamel.1. The Modest.o Funnel Trap, made of hardware cloth, may be used either with

food or water as bait, either on the ground or on an elevated platform. In oneday Mr. Irl Rogers, who designed the trap, took 489 Cedar Waxwings using two ofthese traps.

2. This well-known trap. made of hardware cloth, is always set, and whenbirds come in flocks will catch them to the limit of its capacity. In this par-ticular modification of the Government Sparrow Trap design, the comparatively smalldimensions and espeoially the low height make it difficult for the birds to hurtthemselves by flying against the top and sides.

3. This smaIl one-cell trap is made of vertical wires. It consists of onecompartment with a drop door, automatic treadle, and a wire bottom.

4. The same as the small one-cell trap except 2" wider and 4" longer.5. This trap is made of vertical wires. The whole top is open when set and

is closed by two doors hinged along the sides of the top and closing at the sametime. This is an excellent trap for birds that go to a water bath.

6. Similar to WEBA 2-cell trap but with improved doors, treadle and shapeof cells. See drawing and description, Vol. XI, Dec. 1936, pp.49-50.

In U. S. West of East of MississippiMississippi River River-and in Canada

$4.50 Postpaid $5.00 Postpaid4.50 It 5.00 "1.00 II 1.15 II

1.25 II 1.40 "3.00 " 3.25 II

1.50 II 1.75 II

For EMERGENCY SUPPLY OF BANDS andinformation in regard to banded birds found, address

Dr. Sherwin F. Wood, L. A. City College, 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

For MEMBERSHIP AND DUES addressMrs. N. Edward Ayer, Business Manager, 1300 Hillcrest Drive, Pomona, California

W.B.B,A. and CooperOrnithological Club

. $ 3.503.507.50

• . • • • • • • • 125.00

MembershipAssociate •.• .Active • • .Sustaining • • . • • . •Life (Total, not yearly) .

W.B.B.A.$1.001.005.00

50.00Members outside of the United States add twenty-five cents to the first

three items of the last column for additional postage on The Condor.If C.O.C. dues of $3.00 have been paid direct, remit difference to W.B.B.A.

Isgued Quarterlyby the

Western Bird-Banding Assooiation

President of W.B.B.A •.. J. L~ Partin2151 Balsam Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

Address all contributions to the News toMrs. M. C. Sargent, Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

In 1931 I first entered the door of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoologyat the University of California. I wanted to stu~ birds for a masters underDr. Grinnell.

The door of his office was open. He sat waiting at his desk - aslight greying man wi th a high forehead. When he turned to greet me, his man-ner was quiet and precise, yet friendly. His eyes wore extraordinary - largeand keenly alert.

I went to him often that year for advice. His students were alwayswelcome. He held seminars for us in the technique of scientific writing. Mean-ingless words such as Y.m. and interesting annoyed him. He scorned languagethat was not exact, scientifically accurate and colorless. He had, therefore,Ii ttle use for the emotional enthusiasms of popular nature writers. Neverthe-less his own neat cool humor often appeared both in writing and conversation.

He had a wide curiosity for the direction of our work. His questionswere stimulating. A pioneer taxonomist himself, he looked askance at the earlyresearch into bird behavior by means of banding; only gradually did he becomeconvinced of its value. He was adamantine in his criticism of any policy he be-lieved to interfere with conservation. He was direct and honest with suchcriticism; when earned, his praise was as freely and warmly given.

Never did his reserve break, yet a sense of friendliness persisted.And now a sense of personal loss.

On June 30 and July 1, 1939, Walter F. Nichols, aided by Arthur Chute,banded 500 young gull s •

ll3.aright leg loft leg

~right leg left leg

I :Blue I :Blue

Mr. Nichols writes "I was told by Wallis McPherson, whois the resi-dent at Monoand who takes us out to the island, that the last yearling gullsst~ed around until at least about Dec. 1st. So from the August record atKlamath (38-674001 found dead at Klama,th, Calif. Aug. 25 '38 by L. E. Godby)the migration would seem to be more of a drifting aw~ than anything else,wouldnI tit? ••

No blue banded 1938 birds were seen at the nesting colony during the1939 banding.

On June 20, 1939, a party of 20 visited this barren, rocky island.Three hundred seventy-five young birds were color banded; when the colors ranout, III more were Survey banded. Banders were Grace Sargent, Bill Webb,TomMiller, Harold Hill, and Fred Gallup, with 15 friends and relatives assisting.

1938right leg left leg

1939right leg left leg

I Survey I

Also Survey banded were 17 young BrownPelicans, and 3 young FarallonCormorants (by Bill Webb). Dr. Marston Sargent bBlldeda Xantus Murrelet caughtin a cave by Kark Kenyon. The gulls were not observed to molest the well grownyoung cormorants. The young pelicans were as big as turkeys, but still coveredwith white down. The parent pelicans, unlike the parent gulls, madeno attemptto protect their offspring from the banders. Several times a gull was seen todive at a lone yo\U1gpelican, but each time the youngster easily defended him-self with a snap of his huge bill.

a. Ha.vstackRock On July 9th and lOth, 1939, Reed Ferris color banded553 young birds. Forty-seven young too small for colors, were also Surveybanded.

~right leg left leg

~righ t leg left leg

IBliie

As he left the beach at Cape Kiwandafor H~stack Rock, Mr. Ferris saw8 year-old Western Gulls, 4 of which wore the lS38 ~stack colors. A few murrenests on this island were not molested by the gulls.

b. Three Arch Islands Mr. Ferris visited this refuge on July 14, 1939but found only 29 young birds to band.

~right leg left leg

~

1939right leg left leg

I Survey I

However, Mr. Ferris found the island teeming with young nrurres andSurvey banded almost a thousand of them. Also 100 young Brandt Cormorants.The gulls were destructive on this island to the young murres, but were notobserved to molest the young cormorants.

Great numbers of valuable bird-banding records must be lost everyyear because, in spi te of the publici ty given to bird-banding by orni thologicalpublications and by the Bureau of Biological Survey, the average person whocomes across a banded bird does not have the slightest idea of the meaning ofthe band, or knowwhat he should do with it. The No.4 bands have, for instance,something like this on them: "A 444875," and above these figures ift very smallletters "Notify ]io1, Surx.1I What does all this mean to the average person?Absolutely nothing. Themajori ty of persons have never heard of the BiologicalSurvey, and if they have they probably do not knowwhere to wri te • The bandsof smaller size, such as No. 0 and No.1 carry no directions at all.

I suggest that banders, particularly those living in small countl'ytowns, try to arrange to have stuffed birds with bands attached exhibited instore windows, and best of all in banks. A printed card should be shownbelowthe birds telling briefly the purpose of banding, and asking anyone finding abanded bird to send the band to the U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey,Washington, D.C., if the bird is dead; if the bird is alive to have the bandnumber verified by at least two persons "in the interest of scientific accuracy,"or some such phrase. This latter is important, as manypeople appear to beunable to read a band number correctly, and even when they do read. it correctlythey often omit the series letter or number.

The printed card should also ask that the species of bird be givenwhen known; also the date and circumstances of recovery.

If such di spla;ys were made in COUll try towns, small boys (and theirelders) might be glad to bring the bands to the store or bank and have the num-ber or the band forwarded to Washington.

And the windowdispla;y would attract attention and be of somevalueas an advertisement.

E. L. Sumner, Sr.Menlo Park, Calif.

Ahern, H. G.Alexander, KennethAllen, Walter I.Arvey, DaleAshby, Dennis~er, Mrs.N •EdwardBandelier Nat'l

MonumentBarnes, C. A.Batterson, S. M.:Beatty, M.E.BeaubiGn, PaulBendick, D.H.Blanchard, BarbaraBond, R.M.Burpee, H.W.Butler, A.J.Clabaugh, Ernest D.ConwB\Y' Raymond F.Crawford, Gene H.Danforth,Charles G.Dixon, Ralph E.Duff, C.V.Edwards, Mr.& Mrs.

HarlanEinarson, A.S.Ehmann, E.W .Erickson, Mr. &

Mrs. FrankFeltes, Charles H.Ferri s, ReedFischer, RudolphGallup, Fred N.Gardiner, J .R.Gorsuch, W.K.Gr aham, HatchGrant, James, Jr.Hargrave ,Lyndon L.Hazeltine, B.M.Heaton, LeonardHenry, Wilbur V.Hill, Harold M.Horning, Dr. and

Mrs. J.E.Hubbard, DouglassHurd,Paul David Jr.

Campbell River, B.O.East Bay, Gambier Island, B.C.2057 Pepper Drive, Altadena, Calif.Univ. Idaho, Dept. Zool., Moscow, IdahoDuncan, B.C.1300 Hillcrest Drfve, Pomona, Calif.

c/o Southwestern Mon., Box 669, Santa Fe, N.M.3742 Coldwater Canyon, N. Hollywood, Calif.Nehalem, OregonYosemite Nat'l Park, Calif.Walnut Canyon Nat'l Mon., Flagstaff, Ariz.Leduc, AlbertaMus. of Vert. Zool., Berkeley, Calif.328 E. Is1atV St., Santa Barbara, Calif.Rosyth, AlbertaMcGillivray Creek Game Reserve, Chilliwack,B.C.44 Lenox Rd., Berkeley, Calif.129 Mill St., Grass Valley, Calif.State Game Farm, Lapwai, Idaho478 Whalle,y Ave., New Haven,Oonn. (b. in Oalif.)Star Route, Escondido, Calif.1922 Tamarind Ave., Hollywood, Calif.

225 E. 11th St., Claremont, Calif.Wildlife Research Unit, Oregon State College37 Bellevue Ave., Piedmont, Oalif.

216 Ruberto St., Modesto, Calif.Beaver, Oregon215 E. Foothill Blvd., La Verne, Calif.142 W. 6th Ave., Escondido, Calif.1928,6lst Ave. E. Vancouver, B.C.F. F. Star Rt. Oroville, Calif.10300 Viretta Lane, L. A., Calif.Trini ty Valley, Lumby P.O., B. C •Mus. of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Ariz.Lake Bowdoin Mig. Waterfowl Ref., Mal ta, Mont.Pipe Spring Nat'l Monument, Moccasin, Ariz.Route I, Box 381, Los Altos, Calif.329 Summit Ave., Redlands, Calif.10747-93 St., Edmonton, Alberta2010 Channing, Berkeley, Calif.334-2 Riverside Ave., Rialto, Calif.

BirdsCredited

1875

2811

1491,029

19228

83423

2161845

391,057

27152

10641

765

65478

1,386

5411 ,3~O

1

1,235115

935

22630773928

334

7694

156

Jacobson, Mr. andMrs. "Carl

Jensen, Leroy L.Kiessling, Victor R.Kilpatrick, (Mrs.)

Helen K.King, Dale S.Kinsey, Eric C.Kreager, Paul T.Liddell,Sydney A.Lofberg, (Mrs.)

Lila M.Looft, Henry B.Lyon~ AllanMack, W.E.Macnab, Jmncs A.Mailliard, JosephMcCabe, E.B.McKee, Edwin D.Michener,Harold &

Josephine assistedby Tom Miller

Moos, Louis M.Mowbrq, VincentNeff, Johnson A.

& cooperatorsNichols, WalterPartin, John L.Payne, Mrs. L.B.Pearse, TheedPease, Chas. A.Pegg, Harry C.Phillips,Allan R.Price, John B.Randall, Thomas E.Rasmussen, D.I.Richardson, WalterRogers, IrlSalt, W. ~Santee, RichardSargent, Mrs. M.C.Saunders, Mrs.

KennethScharff, J.C.

Box 101, Denver, Colorado3818 Agua Vista St., Oakland, Calif.

1889 Orchard, Eugene, OregonCasa Grande Nat'l Mon.; Coolidge, Arb.155 Bothin Road, Manor, CaliforniaMedicine Lake Mig. Waterfowl Ref., Montana

Road's End,CaliforniaOak Harbor, WashingtonPort Hardy, B.C.Route 3, Box 133, Healdsburg, Calif.1337 S. Davis St., McMinnville, Ore.1815 Vallojo St., San Francisco, Calif.Indianpoint Lake, Barkerville, il.C.In charge, Grand C~on Bird Banding Station,

Grand Canyon, Ari z•

418 N. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Calif.Great Falls, Montana, Box 17285052 Fairfax Ave., Oakland, Calif.U.S. BioI. Survey, 277 Federal Bldg.,

Sacramento, Calif. (45 in Arizona.)120 S. San Rafael Ave., Pasadena, Calif.2151 Balsam Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.130 Hanover St., Santa Cruz, Calif.CourteDa¥' V.I., B.C.308 Vassar Ave., Berkeley, Calif.Glenevis, Alberta113 Olive Road, Tucson, Ariz.U. of Ore. Mad. School, Portland, Ore.(b.in Cal~Elk Island Park, Lamont, AlbertaU. S. A. C. Logan, U tabStar Rt. 2 Box 321, Porterville, Calif.402 Alturas Ave., Mode sto, Calif.Rosebud, Alberta432 Midway Ave., San Mateo, Calif.Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif.

(168 gulls on Coronado Is., Mexico)605 Woodmont, Berkeley, Calif.Sup. Malheur Refuge, Box 157, Burns, Oregon

(also 587 Calif. and Ring-billed Gulls)

BirdsCredited

9205

4602

"5401,298

40529

1

1536220

496

4,309122104

7,742510

197163278104281

1625

676125127986

485,445

Schmidt; WalterSeibert, Milton L.Sibley,Chas. G.Simpson, Herbert M.Smi th, Anna Margaret

(Mrs. Otis H.)Smith, Laurence H.Stannard, CarlosStoner, Emerson A.Sumner, E .L.

Tai t, Eric M.Taylor, Robert E.

Van Huizen, Peter J.Vignc.>s,Blanche

Ward, Alice C. andWilliam V.

Webb, WilliamWendle, JosephWetherill, MiltonWilder, Carleton S.Williams, Edna EldenWilliams, Laidlaw O.Wilson, Vanez T.Wolfson, AlbertWood,' Sherwin F.

Standard Gun Club, Los Banos, Calif.4649 Redding St., Oakland, Calif.6524 Dana St., OaklandR. R. 1, Happy Valley, Summerland, B.C.

Birds,Credited

64126

4191

89 Elm Ave., San Anselmo, Calif.Boi se Nat'l Forest, Boise, IdahoRt. 1, Box 1178, Phoenix, Ariz.Benicia ~ Calif.Box 188, Menlo Park, Calif.

2310

1,17540

408

Summerland, B.C.4033 Coolidge Ave., Oakland, Calif.

Sacramento Refuge, Willows, Calif.915 S. Carondelet St., Los Angeles, Calif.

2,294116

R.F.D. II, Box 531, Palo Alto, Calif.2563 Hill Drive, Eagle Rock, Calif.Barkerville, B.C.64 Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Ari zonaP.O. Box 2708, Tucson, Ariz.Bakersfield, Calif. Po sey Star R t.Box 453, Carmel, Calif. 'Sup. ,Bear River Mig.Bird Ref., Brigham, Utahlhls. of Vert. Zool., Berkeley, Calif.Los Angeles Cit,y College, Calif.

75268

172013

415149

1,1365632

In the past two years I have banded 1,911 Pintail ducks. Two yearsago I received permission from Mrs. Belle Benchle,y, manager of the San DiegoZoo, to trap and band ducks on their duck pond. So each fall I place my trapin the duck yard along in October and leave it there until February. Then Iremove it until another season. Go down once a week and band. The trap isset against the inner fence that separates the upper and lower pond.

I leave bo th ends open during the \veck so that the ducks can passthrough. Usually arrive Saturday morning about eleven o'clock, and close oneend of the trap, then wait until the truck arrives \'1iththe foed, Vlhich isabout noon. Tho driver leaves a sack of maize and rolled barley during theheight of the duck season, otherwise but one sack of grain is left. I then

proceed to bait the trap, and scatter some grain in front of the trap, then waitoutside of gate to duck pond, until as many have gone into trap as will. Thenrush the trap and close the front.

At the height of the season, thousands of Pintails will be at thepond, wi th a few Canvas-backs, Redheads, Green-winged Teal, and Ruddy Ducks,but only a few will go in the trap. When we rush the trap, hundreds of ducksimmediately leave the pond, head out for the bays and the ocean. It will beseveral hours before thoy come back.

Now the fun begins, banding them, seeing how many repeat, watching tosee if there are a:n:ythat have been banded elsewhere. So far have only re-trapped four from other stations. One female Pintail, No. 3-647694, recoveredfrom duck sickness, banded Sept. 28, 1936 at fifteen miles west of Ogden, Utahby E. R. Kalmbach, was retrapped at San Diego Zoo on Jan. 18, 1937. The birdwas in good condition. Another male Pintail, No. 36-685672, banded by Mr.Stanley G. Jewett, of the Malheur Refuge, Burns, Oregon (have never receiveddato of banding) recapturod at San Diogo Zoo Jan. 1, 1938. Pintail No.36-628000,banded by Mr. Earl R. Greene, of the Lake Mattamuskeet Refuge, New Holland, N.C.(have never received banding date) was recaptured at the Zoo Jan. 1, 1938.

Two Pintail that were bandod in San Diego have been retrapped else-where. One female Pin tail, No. 37-604355, banded Jan ~ 4, 1937. Recovered frombotulism and released Sept. 12, 1937, by Herbert Dill, Tulo Lake, California.

Have had 14 returns - several have returned for two years. Have hada total of 189 repeats, some as often as three times.

While banding a female, and having t\VOothers between nw legs; afemale and male came down along the front of the trap and watched me. When Ihad banded the other two, they were still thero, watching me, so I reached outand caught the drake which just squatted down, but the female tried to flopaway, but caught her. Noticed that the male had a band on, so took it first.While reading the band number he cocked his head to one side and looked up atmo, as much as to say "Well I brought rrw mate for her band.n On turning himlooso he just walked up and down along the fonco, outsido the trap, until Ihad banded the female. When turned loose, they both walked over to the gateof the upper pen, he was very pompous, allowed the little lady to go under thegate first then he followed. People outside watching along the fence laughedat the "little old couple," that is what one woman called them.

Have received 50 returns from ducks that have been shot. The farthestnorth was Eagle, Alaska. Another was from Mountain Village, Alaska. Two werefrom .Alberta, Canada, and two from Saskatchewan, Canada. One from Minnesota.The farthest south was Sonora, Mexico; the rost from California.

Fred Gallup142 W. 6th Ave.Escondido, Calif.

1. 36-402589 juvenile, banded at Phoenix 8/5/37, shot 11/5/38 at RioBlanco, near Guadalajara, Mexico.

2. 38-410572 adult, banded at Phoenix 5/4/38, killed 12/5/38 atSayula, Jalisco, Mexico.

Carlos StannardRt. 1, Box 1171Phoenix, Arizona.

HowmanyWestern banders are keeping up with this excellent magazine,published quarterly by our neighbors the Northeastern, Eastern, and InlandBird-Banding Associations?

Recent articles of special interest to us are the following byW.B.B.A. membors: W. Ra¥ Salt of Rosebud, Alberta, ItRoturns of FerruginousRough-logged Hawks" in tho April 1939 issuo and liThe Tale of a HawkBander"in the July 1939 issue . Also IIReturns of Goldon.-crownodand Fox Sparrows toBreoding Grounds on Kodiak Island, Alaska" in tho April 1939 issuo, by HenryB. Looff of OakHarbor, Washington.

Good reviews of recent literature by Margaret M. Nice and ThomasT.McCabeare a regular feature in each issue.

Subscription price is $2.50 per year. Send to Charles B. Floyd,210 South Street, Boston, Mass.

The most thrilling experience of our years of conducting a wildcreatura hospital occurred last summer. An.Anna.hummingbird fell from itsnest at tho home of a friend. The adults failed to find it and with littlef ai th in our abili ty to save the mito - no larger than a bumblo boo - wetook over the job.

The following six weeks Parrbaby not only kept us busy, but fascinatedas well. He grew so rapidly, his feathers ever changing toward the brightcolors of the adult male. Of all the wild creatures we have cared for, untilable to go their way alone, he was the lIlost affectionate. Other birds haveshown interest in those of their kind that have comeoutside the screened porchto chatter with them. Parrbaby ignored the free Annas even when they followedhim inside the porch after the door was left open that he might go wherever hewished.

He enjoyed jaunting outdoors but returned ever,r few minutes to theporch. If we were there he sta;ved inside with us, perching often on a fingeror the book or mB€;azinewe were reading. Even after he knew all about sippingnectar from the flowers and the vial hanging on his porch he preferred to haveus hold the latter in a hand while he perched on a finger to sip.

Whenwe failed to go to his porch frequently he"sqa.eaked" loudly tolet us knowhe was lonesome. Whenpermitted he zoomedfrom room to room allover the house, never once banging into walls or objects.

Three times during the time we were raising him we thought he surelywas going to die on our hands. One night I sat up with him until 3.A.M. Some-thing was wrong with his neck. He kept trying to get at the "hurt" with hislong bill, would lose his balance and topple from his high perch. Fearing hewould be injured in those seven foot drops, I sat holding him perched on afinger over Il\V lap. Eventually the hurt seemed to stop.

Ants had been attracted to the porch by his diluted honey vial, andfruit placed there to draw fruit flies for him to catch for himself. (Whentooyoung to do this I had spent a part of each evening, with light and glass jar,catching gnats for his daily protein ration.) Possibly one of these ants hadbi tten Parrbaby and was the cause of the hurt he tried so hard to rid himselfof.

He selected a particular dish, from others of varying depth andcapaci ty, and used it several times each clay for three weeks for bathing anddrinking. Each night after his last sipping from the vial he always hoveredover the water dipping his bill and drinldng, never getting his feathers wet.

On the evening of .August26 when I went to bring his perch into aroom - the porch was swept by a chill wind during the ni~~ts - I was distressedto find that he had droVlIledin his bath tub. That fatal evening it was cloudyand it may be that the light was such that he accidentally hovered so close tothe water surface that his wings got wet and made it impossible for him to fly.This is the only thing that we can imB€;inethat caused him to fall into histub.

The loss of this adorable, animated jewel was about the hardest joltwe have yet had to take. Howeverin his short life he gave us - and scores ofother folk whosaw him - a great amount of pleasure and taught us many thingsthat we never could have observed from hummingbirds not so consistent~ "beforeour eyes."

Lila M. LofbergRoad's End, Calif.

I thought you might be interested in the method I use for trappingNorthern Shrikes. It 1s simple and quite crude. The only equipment needed1s a drop trap and a dead mouse.

The mouse is fastened on the end of a long string - I use a spool ofwhite cotton thread. The drop trap is set up with the trip string running outunder the back in such a w~ that the trip sUck falls into the trap when it ispulled. This allows the opera tor to work the trap and the mouse at the sametime. The mouse is placed 3 or 4 feet in front of the trap with the stringrunning into the trap and following the trip string back to the operator. Whenthe shrike appears the mouse is dragged slowly toward the trap, the shrikeflies downto investigate and in trying to catch the mouse, chases it into thetrap.

The only time thi s wont t work is in the spring when the shrike 1ssinging. Then he wonIt be tempted with the most 11fe-like mouse.

Harry C. PeggGlenevis, Alberta

I amusing a McIlhenny pen type trap for waterfowl, but have coveredthe receiving chambers as well as the outer chamber. W'ilenthe water is lowI find Black necked Stilts, Black-crowned Night Herons, as well as pheasantsin the trap. Grebes also seem to get in this trap readily when the water isnormal, both Eared and Pied-billed.

For Burrowing Owls I devised a small wire cage with an invertedfunnel, placed over the entrance and staked downwith 60 pe:n.nynails. This isused only when the nesting season is over and all birds mature. I t works verywell where all the birds are in the burrow.

A Fulvous Tree Duckwas trapped and banded this summer. This isapparently the second record of this bird this far north.

Peter J. Van RuizenSacramento RefugeWillows, Calif.

For TRAPS addressMr. Walter I. Allen, 2057 Pepper Drive, Altadena, California

List of TrapsModesto Funnel Trap~ 2411x241lx8~"W:BBA Government Sparrow Trap~ 14"x28"xI0"WBBA One-cell Trap~ Small, 511x7i"x8"WBBA One-cell Trap1 7"xll~llx81l,LargeWBBA Warbler Trap!? 8~lIxl~lIx9i"Rogers Two-V-cell Trap~ 8"x8Ix8"

In U.S. West ofMississipp1R1~

$4.50 Postpaid

East of MississippiRi ver 'and in Canada

$5.00 Postpaid5.001.15

1.40

3.251.75

All traps strong, welded throughout, and painted with good green enamel.1. The Modest.o Funnel Trap, made of hardware cloth, may be used either with

food or wat er as bait, either on the ground or on an elevated platform. In oneday Mr. Irl Rogers, who designed the trap, took 489 Cedar Waxwings using two ofthese traps.

2. This well-known trap, made of hardware cloth, is always set, and whenbirds come in flocks will catch them to the limit of its capacity. In this par-ticular modification of the Government Sparrow Trap design, the comparatively smalldimensions and especially the low height make it difficult for the birds to hurtthemselves by flying against the top and sides.

3. This small one-cell trap is made of vertical wires. It consists of onecompartment with a drop door, automatic treadle, and a wire bottom.

4. The same as the small one-cell trap except 2" wider and 4" longer.'5. This trap is made of vertical wires. The whole top is open when set and

is closed by two doors hinged along the sides of the top and closing at the sametime. This is an excellent trap for birds that go to a water bath.

6. Similar to WBBA 2-cell trap but with improved doors, treadle and shapeof cells. See drawing and description, Vol. XI, Dec. 1936, pp.49-50.

For EMERGENCY SUPPLY OF BANDS andinformation in regard to banded birds found, address

Dr. Sherwin F. Wood, L. A. City College, 855 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

For MEMBERSHIP AND DUES addressMrs. N. Edward Ayer, Business Manager, 1300 Hillcrest Drive, Pomona, California

W.B.B.A. and CooperOrnithological Club

• $ 3.503.507.50

• • • • • • • • • 125.00

MembershipAssociateActive . .Sustaining •Life (Total,

. .not yearly) .

W.B.B.A.$1.001.005.00

50.00Members outside of the United States add twenty-five cents to the first

three items of the last column for additional postage on The Condor.If C.O.C. dues of $3.00 have been paid direct, remit difference to W.B.B.A.

Issued Quarterlyby the

Western Bird-Banding Association

President of W.B~B.A ••. J.t.Partin2151 Balsam Ave., Los Ange1es,Ca1if.

Address all contributions to the News toMrs. M. C. Sargent, Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, La Jolla, California

Since the Grand Canyon Bird Banding 9tation was organized in 1932,work has been continued and expanded until now it has a record of 44 speciesand 4,993 individuals banded, as well as some hundreds of returns. Althoughbec~use of the isolated location of this station few foreign retakes (two only)have been made, much information on local movements has been obtained throughthe system of 11 substations located at strategic places in and around theGrand Canyon. Some of these are operated more or less regularly, others inter-mittently, depending on circumstances.

Important also are the records on life history, including age,associations, feeding habits, and degree of regularity in movements which arenow available as a result of this work. The following tabulation indicatesthe number of records to date between substations.

Village, South Rim Yavapai Point, South Rim (2 mi.) 40 recordsVillage, South Rim Desert View, South Rim (25 mi.) 23 recordsVillage, South Rim Wayside Museum " (21 mi.) 1 recordVillage, South Rim Indian Gardens (part way down

Canyon on South Rim side) 6 recordsVillage, South Rim Phantom Ranch (at bottom of

Canyon) 3 recordsVillage, South Rim Hdq., North Rim 10 recordsYavapai Point, South Rim Wayside Huseum, South Rim 1 recordYavapai Point, South Rim --- Hdq., North Rim 1 recordYavapai Point, South Rim --- Phantom Ranch 1 record.Indian Gardens --- Phantom Ranch 1 record

(Ed. note - We are curious to know what species of birds make these movements,a. 25 miles along the south rim of the canyon, and b. directly across the verti-cal mile gorge of the canyon. We hope Mr. McKee will write further on this sub-ject for the News.)

Edwin D. McKee, In ChargeGrand Canyon, Arizona

A dollar a year gives you a lot of service - and the Associationneeds your support! Address our Business Manager,

Mrs. N. Edward Ayer1300 Hillcrest Drive Pomona. California

I regretto have to report that bird banding work in Elk Island Parkwas brought to an end on orders from the park superintendent. However, my workhere has attracted so much attention and aroused so much in~erest, that theLamont Town Council are making strong representations to the authorities atottawa, asking that I be given every opportunity of, not only resuming the band-ing and other bird-work, but that facilities be afforded for the expansion ofthe work. So I hope to be able to report more favorably in the near future.

Up-to-date, I have received returns for 18 banded birds. All thebirds, with the exception noted, were banded at Elk Island Park in 1938 and re-turns are for the same year. Datails are as follows:

Mallard - recovered li miles from banding placeMallard - " Aitken, MinnesotaMallard - "Lamont, AlbertaMallard - " Ft. Saskatchewan, AlbertaLesser Scaup, banded sept. 20, 1937 - shot at Hastings Lake,

Alberta Oct. 10, 1938Lesser Scaup - recovered at Ashby, MinnesotaLesser Scaup - " Shoeshone River, WyomingLesser Scaup - " Delta, ManitobaLesser Scaup - " euyamaca Lake, californiaLesser Scaup - II near Edmonton, AlbertaLesser Scaup - "at Cherry Hill, VirginiaLesser Scaup - II Cooking Lake, AlbertaBaldpate - II Ft. Morgan, ColoradoRed-tailed Hawk - II Manitou, ManitobaRed-tailed Hawk -" Slayton, MinnesotaRobin - killed by cat at a farm near north boundary of park, about

three miles from banding placeThomas E. Randall

Elk Island ParkLamont, Alberta

On January 13, 1939 in the Hollywood Hills I banded a Brown Thrasher(Toxostoma rutum) with band no. 37-241722. I had this bird identified byseveral people who are very familiar with birds and this bird in particular.Mr. George Willett of the Los Angeles Museum advised me that a Brown Thrasherhad only been seen once before in California and that was in Pasadena from aboutDecember 1, 1932 to about March 1933.

At this writing (January 22, 1939), the bird I banded has been seendaily and apparently it is here alone. If it should be trapped in the East itwould make an interesting return.

C. V.Dutf1922 Tamarind Ave.Hollywood, Calif.

PACIFIC GULL PROJECT - 1939 BANDING PART II(SEE COLOR CHART)

Dr. A. M. Woodbury, of the University of utah, added a nesting colonyto the Project this year. On June 3, 1939, he banded 321 young California gullswith the combination RS-Y, on Egg Island, Great Salt Lake.

The same color combination, RS-Y, (in smaller bands - no. 5) was alsoused on 3 Brewster Egrets, 13 White-faced Glossy Ibis, and 64 Black-crownedNight Herons. These birds were banded on May 28, 1939, at the swamps of theJordan Fur and Reclamat ion Co., Davis County, utah.

Mr. Dennis Ashby of Dancan, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, who haskindly cooperated with the W.B.B.A. since last year, in the place of his friendMr. G. D. Sprat, banded 250 young Glaucous-winged Gulls with the combination BY-S,on August 3, 1939. .

Mr. Ashby reports fewer adults and more nestling young at the YellowIsland colony than in 1938, with practically no addled eggs and a few dead youngand adults. No Survey banded birds of previous years were seen, nor were anycolor banded birds of 1938 present.

Mr. Theed Pearse, of Courtenay. V.I., B.C., banded young G~aucous-winged Gulls at Mittlenatch I. on August 7, 1939.

Due to a misunderstanding, however, the new Color Chart wrongly statesthat the 1938 combination of YS-Y was used both years. Instead, Mr. Pearsebanded 100 of the 1939 birds with combination YY-S. (Two yellow on right leg,Survey on left). On 117 more birds he placed a single yellow band on the rightleg, and on another 100 birds, Survey bands only.

In spite of ill health, Mr. Kenneth Alexander banded 47 young Glaucous-winged Gulls at this colony on August 7. 1939, using the combination YSB-. (Note-this colony was mistakenly located on the 1938 Gull Chart at East Bay, GambierIsland, B.C. - Mr. Alexander's own address.)

Mr. Alexander reports that he found many dead young gulls at thecolony - a type of intestinal worm apparently being responsible. However, thetotal number of young gulls at the Howe Sound colony was large - a better thanaverage season. No 1938 color banded birds were seen.

At Klamath Falls, Oregon, Mr. carl Richardson was unable to carry outproposed banding of a colony of California gulls because of sickness in hisfamily.

At Kodiak Island, Alaska, Mr. Henry B. Looff of Oak Harbor, Washington,found that the Gla4Co~s-winged gulls had abandoned the colony which was molestedby natives in 1936. He dldcapture 6 adult Glaucous-wings at Lazy Bay. Alaska(on Kodiak Island). These were banded in the early spring with combinationYSY-Bk. (Yellow over survey over yellow on right leg, black on loft). They wereseen about Lazy Bay for about two weeks. However, because of the small number,these birds are not counted in the Project.

color banded gulls at 8 colonies in 1939(counting 100 at Mittlenatch Island. B.C.;not counting 6 at Kodiak Island, Alaska)

In addition, 258 young gulls at the 8 colonies were marked in 1939with Survey bands only.

The Biological St~vey has been highly cooperative, both in the furnish-ing of bands and the forwarding of returns.

Many interesting reports on the gulls are being received. For instance,a young California Gull, banded at Great Salt Lake in June, 1939 was reportedfound dead at Portland, Oregon in August, 1939 (Survey no. 39-651356). Threeother of these young California Gulls from Great Salt Lake were seen on Oct. 25and 28, 1939 at the San Francisco World's Fair by Mr. Laidlaw Willian~ of Carmel.

All the reports are being checked as carefully as possible and will beorganized and charted on special maps mimeographed by the W.B.B.A.

But while we are beginning to outline the more spectacular movementsof the young birds, we still have very little information on such points asactual plumage changes and the winter population of breeding colonies. More-over, the movements and distribution of the adults are still to be learned. • •Every bander can help by making a regular survey of the nearest plowed field.lake or bay. If you arc not in gull country yoursolf, toll your friends whoare.

In 1938, I banded 603 Gambel Sparrows at Pipe Spring National Monument.No special effort was made in trapping • common grain was used, and screeningfrom the thrasher, that contained some weed seeds, but mostly ~heat.

The sparrows come to the Monument in droves and seem to work themselvesslOWly either north or south, depending on the season of the year. They takeabout 10 days to pass through the,Monument. I say this from watching my bandedrepeats: the birds which reach the edge of the Monument and get into my trapsmay stay around the first trap for three or four days. Then I catch them fur-ther in the Monument, and so on till in about 10 days or two weeks they are atthe other side.

I have also come to the conclusion that the Gambel Sparrows have cer-tain localities in which they winter, and do not came south unless the snow andcold drive them. I havo 68 returns of birds banded here at the Monument. Ofthis number 4 have returned three times and 2 have been back four times. Allthe returns have been from birds banded in the years when we had no very coldWeather - 1936, and 1937-1938. Of the birds banded in 1936-1937, not one hasreturned as yet. I am kind of anxious to get a cold snowy winter to see if myidea is correct.

Leanard HeatonActing CustodianPipe Spring Nat'l MonumentArizona

Of the 46 Golden-crowns we banded during 1938, 25 were immature whenfirst banded. Of the 25 immature, 6 repeated enough times to rather indefinitelydetermine that the time of change from immature to adult plumage took place dur-ing the last week in February and the first three weeks in March.

One bird, banded 2-22-38, with immature plumage, still had irmnatureplumage when it repeated on 3-13-38; but six days later on 3-19-38, when caughtagain, the distinctive yellow patch had formed on its crest.

Alico C. WardWilliam V. Ward

R.F.D. #1, Box 531Palo Alto, California

On Decembor 24, 1937 we trapped a Pink-sided Junco, and during thebanding operation the bird attempted to flyaway suddonly, causing us to acci-dontally pullout its tail. W0 recapturod the Junco, completed the banding, and

released it. Naturally, we regretted the accident very much, but felt that itwould be best to release it. It could fly fairly well, although its graceful-ness was somewhat hampered. We saw it around the yard for a couple of weeks,after the banding, but it did not re-enter the trap, and finally disappeared.Ever since that time we have wondered what had becomo of our little taillessbird, fearing that it perhaps was killed while disabled.

Lmagine our happy surprise when on January 16, 1939, this Junco wascaptured in our automatic trap, in fine condition in every way. We thought thiswas indeed a very interesting return, particularly since it had survived its mis-hap, and had grown in a perfect new tail.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl JacobsonBox 101Denver, Colorado

The Jacobson's experience recalled to me a record at my banding stationat 241 S. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, California. On October 15, 1936, a smallhawk, presumably a Sharp-shinned, suddenly swooped down on my traps. It washovering at the side of a trap, with wings spread, pecking at a captive SongSparrow, when my husband chased it away. The poor little Song Sparrow was in badcondition - it had a raw wound on the crown, a slight wound on the rump, and itstail was completely gone. Nevertheless I banded it 36-127415 and released it.It flew away without great difficulty.

On January 26, 1937 this Song Sparrow repeated to the trap. To my sur-prise the bird was completely recovered - the crown and rump and tail were allnormal, the tail feathers perfect. I color banded the bird and released it.Later I saw it singing sweetly in the next yard.

February 7, 1937 Dwight Finfrock and I made a trip to Lake El Casco, afourteen acre pond near Redlands, California to observe waterfowl. As we droveup to the pond we noticed that a flock of coots was feeding on newly sproutedgrain in an adjacent field and that we were between them and tho water. When westopped, the coots dashed for the lake but the ground was rough and they wereunable to take off. We were able to capture six before they reached the water.These were put in a gunny sack, takon home, banded, and released on a reservoirnear the house. Later I received notice that one of the birds (34-647129) wasshot September 25 of the same year at the Alexander Indian Reserve, Riviere QuiBarre, Alberta.

Harold M. Hill329 Sumr.litAve.Redlands, California

A disastrous forest fire swept this district in July, 1938 and at onetime there were 45 men using hose, spraying water that was pumped by engineslocated on a raft on Oyster bay, fighting the blaze to save my buildings. Theforeman advised me to move my effects out as he did not believe they could savethe buildings, but after I had done so, the wind shifted and the buildings weresaved. The fire burnod practically everything in the tree and shrub and grassvariety, even consuming live standing fir trees as large as 9 feet in diameter.I believe it will be hard for many of the birds to find the proper food and nest-ing places here the coming summer.

There is a very beautiful large black woodpecker here with a red top-knot. It stays all winter. I see some of them often but have been unable tocatch one. The body is almost the size of a crow but the tail not quite so long.(Ed. Note - Western Pileated Woodpecker?)

H. G. AhernCampbell River, B.C.

I am continuing my efforts toward the determination of bird weights.Last year I made 479 weighings, 282 of which were repeats. This year I hope toadd sufficient data to my records on Gambel Sparrows to be able to draw somedefinite conclusions regarding their weights on arrival as compared to weightsacquired during a period of residence. I also hope to add to my presentknowledge of the change in weight of incubating eggs and the succeeding nestlings.

J. L. Partin2151 BalsaJl1Ave.Los Angeles, California

During the summer of 1938 I banded 2 Treganza Blue Heron, 97 GreatWhite Pelicans, and 26 California Gulls on the islands of Great Salt Lake. Thishas given some interesting results and.has shown a return of Pelicans from theeast coast of southern Mexico and Herons from northern Idaho during 1938.

D. 1. RasmussenU.S.A.C.Logan, utah

My station is situated on the bare foothills of Tulare County, fivemiles southeast of Porterville. For the past few years I have been growingnative California shrubs and trees which are now large enough to attract quitea bird population - the briar rose and sage brush thickets furnish protectionand nesting sites as well. A Golden-crowned Sparrow caught in one compartmentof a Potter trap was frightened to death when a Shrike got into the other. Ihave trapped a few Gambol and Golden-crown Sparrows banded four and five yearsago at this station, also a few Juncos of three years ago.

We had quite a colony of Canyon Wrens here at one time - theyin nearby rocks and once in the house. They all disappeared suddenly.suspicion stray cats, for they were very tame. After an absence of twonote a single pair about again.

nestedIyears I

I have a Texan Screech Owl that has belm on the job two seasons. Hecleans out the House Finches at nesting time that threaten to become a nuisance.I fear he does other damage to my bird population and I have considered deport-ing him.

Walter L. RichardsonR. 2 Box 1170Porterville, Oalifornia

1938 banding does not show a large number of birds but a fair repre-sentation of species. Oonditions were not too good and our main trap was aban-doned because of water. 217 species of birds have been identified frequentingthis Refuge and 117 nesting. As more time becomes ~vailable we hope to extendour banding to a greater number of species.

Here is a good return - a Pintail banded at Malhour 9-21-38, taken10-1-38 at Richland, Minnesota by P. P. Hansen.

J. C. ScharffSupt. Malhour RefugeBox 157Burns, Oregon

To set the record straight, please be advised that in previous years Ihave banded birds in the winter months in Arizona under the licenses of DaleKing and Louis caywood of the National Park service, and operated my own stationin Oak Park, Illinois during the other months. This year I have moved to Arizonaand located on a ranch near Nogales and will from now on take a renewed interestin the W.B.B.A.

I am making some progress in banding this year and can report abouttwenty Desert Sparrows (573a Amphispiza bilineata deserticola). The 1936-37-38Bird Banding Notes show that none of these were banded in those years so that Ifeel quite gratified. I am at an altitude of 3800 feet so may ca.tch some otherbirds not cornmon.

How does one catch Chipping Sparrows? They are thick here yet they donot enter the traps. Can you give me the name of a successful Chipping Sparrowcatcher so we can correspond?

Shrikes and Sparrow Hawks are terrible here. The W.B.B.A. two compart-ment trap presents no obstacle to thom bocause the vertical wires permit the en-trance sf their long talons.(Ed. Note - Mr. Lyndon L. Hargrave, ~useum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff,Arizona reported 165 Chipping Sparrows banded in 1938.)

John E. FastBox 837Nogales, Arizona

Since Dr. Sherwin F. Wood finds that the press of other work makesnecessary his relinquishment of the Emergency Band Supply, Mr. C. V.Duff, 1922Tamarind Ave., Hollywood, California, agrees to take charge of this service. Iwish to thank both Dr. Wood and Mr. Duff for their coo:peration.

J. L. Partin, President

REPORT OF MEEI'INGS OF LOS ANGELES CHAPTERJUNE 1938 TO OCTOBER 1939, INCLUSIVE

Since the last report, June 1938, on these meetings, the Los AngelesChapter of the W.B.B.A. has held its regular meetings on the second Sunday ofeach month, except July, August, and September, as tabulated below:

MeetingNumber

126127128129130131132133134135136137

JuneOct.Nov.Dec.Jan.Feb.Mar.Apr.MayJuneOct.Nov.

Date12. 1938

9, 193813, 193811, 1938

8~ 193912, 193912, 1939

9, 193914, 193911, 1939

8, 193912, 1939

At The Home OfMiss Fox, Fox Ridges, AltadenaMr. and Mrs. N. Edward Ayer, PomonaMr. and Mrs. Louis B. Bishop, PasadenaMr. and Mrs. Harold Michener, PasadenaMr. Walter I. Allen, AltadenaMr. and Mrs. Harold Michener, PasadenaMr. and Mrs. J. L. Partin, Los AngelesMrs. Fred Wilcox, Sierra Madre VillaMr. and tws.W. Lee Chambers, Eagle RockMiss Fox, Fox Ridges, AltadenaDr. and Mrs. Sherwin F. Wood, HollywoodMr. and Mrs. Harold Michener, Pasadena

In addition to these regular meetings, )~r.and !.(rs.Edwards have in-vited the group to an outing at their mountain cabin near Lake Arrowhead inAugust in each of the last several years, many going on Saturday and stayingovernight while others went for Sunday only. Needless to say, good times werehad by all Who went and the Edwards' birds furnished their part of the enjoy-ment.

Of the regular meetings of this period, the two at Fox Ridges and theone at the home of Mrs. Wilcox were all-day, out-door meetings. each individualor family group bringing lunch and the hostesses - well! what can be done aboutit? If I shall serve dessert," or "I shall serve dessert and coffee," or "I shallserve dessert and coffee and a hot dish." The census always reports, "Bird-likeappetites, none," and the hostesses are dUly and fully thanked.

The meetings are called to order at 2:30 p.m. The items of businessare usually disposed of in a few moments and then each person present is askedin turn to tell of what he has done, heard or thought in regard to birds duringrecent weeks. As the reports are given, discussion flows freely and by the timothe circle has been encompassed and the meeting is adjourned, the afternoon iswell gone. But still the discussions continue, now in little groups, while thehostess serves refreshments (except in cases of the all-day meetings), afterwhich there are warm and often lengthy goodbyes as the numbers gradual11 diminishuntil the home family alone is left. It is very apparent that all have enjoyedthe day and that they depart with the feeling that a group of congenial spiritshas been drawn together.

One very gratifying aspect of these meetings is the number of inter-ested young people who attend, boys and girls who, when their turns come, willbe ready and willing to take the work and responsibilities of tho Los AngelesChapter and of the Western Bird-Banding Association as the exigencies of theireducational careers and of their following vocations will permit.

List of TrapsModesto Funnel Trap} 24"x24"xS,"WBBA Government Sparrow Trap1 14"x2S"xlO"WBBA One-cell Trap~ Small.,5"x7,"xS"WBBA One-cell Trap; 7"xll!"xS", LargeWBBA Warbler Trap~ S,."x151"x9t"Rogers Two-V-cell Trap~ 8"x8"x8"

In U. S. West of East of MississippiMississippi River River and in canada$4.50 Postpaid $5.00 Postpaid

4.50 " 5.00 II

1.00 " 1.15 "1.25 " 1.40 II

3.00 " 3.25 "1.50 " 1.75 "

All traps strong, welded throughout, and painted with good green enamel.1. The Modesto Funnel Trap, made of hardware cloth, may be used either with

food or water as bait, either on the ground or on an elevated platform. In oneday Mr. Irl Rogers, who designed the trap, took: 489 Cedar Waxwings us ing two ofthese traps.

2. This well-known trap, made of hardware cloth, is always set, and whenbirds come in flocks will catch them to the limit of its capacity. In this par-ticular modification of the Government Sparrow Trap design, the comparativelysmall dimensions and especially the low height make it difficult for the birdsto hurt themselves by flying against the top and sides.

3. This small one-cell trap is made of vertical wires. It consists of onecompartment with a drop door, automatic treadle, and a wire bottom.

4. The same as the small one-cell trap except 2" wider and 4" longer.5. This trap is made of vertical wires. The whole top is open when set and

is closed by two doors hinged along tho sides of tho top and closing at the sametime. This is an excellent trap for birds that go to a water bath.

6. Similar to WEBA 2-cell trap but with improved doors, treadle and shapeof cells. See drawing and description, Vol. XI, Dec. 1936, pp. 49-50.

For EMERGENCY SUPPLY OF BANDS andinformation in regard to banded birds found, address

Mr. C. V. Duff, 1922 Tanarind Avenue, Hollywood, California

For MEMBERSHIP AND DUES addressMrs. N. Edward Ayer, Business Manager, 1300 Hillcrest Drive, Pomona, California

.....not yearly) •

W.B.B.A. and CooperOrnithological Club. . . . . . $ 3.50

3.507.50

125.00

MembershipAssociateActive • •Sustaining .Life (Total,

W.B.B.A.$1.00

1.005.00

50.00

Members outside of the United states add twenty-five cents to the firstthree items of the last column for additional postage on The Condor.

If C.O.C. dues of $3.00 have been paid direct, remit difference to