Bird Bands Tell Stories
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Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle Feb 27, 2007 |
Bird banding has been used for many years to help gather information about the ranges of different species of birds, where they are in different seasons, what their life spans are, and other information that would otherwise remain a mystery to us. Sometimes, recovery of a banded bird yields big surprises.
Green-tailed Towhee
In June of 2006, a Green-tailed Towhee was caught and banded in Thunder Cape, Canada. The bird was far out of its normal range—it should have been in the southwestern United States! This was only the sixth official sighting of a Green-tailed Towhee in Canada.
Then in January of 2007, a Green-tailed Towhee was observed in southwest Minnesota. The band on the bird’s leg confirmed that it was the same bird that had been banded in Canada. Though it’s not known whether the towhee has continued south, eventually to return to its normal range, the Minnesota sighting at least confirmed that it was moving in the right direction.
Source:
Bird Studies Canada. Lost Green-tailed Towhee Searching for Home?
European Starling
In December of 2006, a resident of Britain found that a European Starling had come down the chimney. A band on the bird’s leg revealed that this particular starling had flown from Ventes Ragas, Lithuania, a distance of 1686 km. It had doubtless come from the continent seeking warmer weather in the British Isles. Recoveries like this reveal that even among bird species that are present in a locality all year round, there may be individuals that have migrated great distances.
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology. What Came Down Your Chimney this Christmas?
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