On Tue, 27 May 1997, James M. Lady wrote:

>
> In my last two trips to Discovery Park, I've noticed a lot of tagged Songs
> Sparrows - color tags on their feet. Does anyone know why? I'm just
> curious.

Jim,

Those sparrows are part of long term study of song learning headed by
Michael Beecher at the University of Washington. The study is in its
tenth year, and there are about 250 color banded sparrows in the park.

If you (or anyone else) report band combinations to me, I can send you the
"history" of the particular bird you saw. See the most recent WOSNews for
details on how to read and report the band combinations, or contact me
directly.

Cheers,

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu