Typical migration consists of definite movements that are repeated
regularly year after year, and it is to these that the term is
generally restricted. It is desirable, however, if only for purposes
of comparison, that some account be taken of the movements of some
other birds, which, while not typical, do possess some of the
characteristics of true migration. Data on this subject are being
collected through bird banding.
There are several species that are customarily grouped under the
heading "permanent residents", the term implying that these birds
do not travel but remain throughout the year in one locality. Among
these are the cardinal, the tufted titmouse (_Baeolophus bicolor_),
the wren tit (_Chamaea jasciata_), the Carolina wren, the house
finch (_Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis_), the bobwhite (_Colinus
virginianus_), the California quail (_Lophortyx californica_), and
the ruffed grouse (_Bonasa umbellus_). Each species may be present
constantly throughout the year, although in the northern part of the
range there is probably a slight withdrawal of the breeding birds
in winter. The individuals to be seen at that season, therefore,
may not always be the same as those observed during the summer. It
is certain, however, that these species do not regularly perform
extensive journeys.
While the blue jay is disposed to be secretive, it is such a showy
and noisy bird that is not likely to escape notice. In the vicinity
of Washington, D. C., as in many other places, it is present the
year round, but at the end of September or early in October when
the weather is becoming cooler, troops of jays are sometimes seen
working southward through the trees. A corresponding northward
movement occurs again in May. This is unquestionably a migration to
and from some winter range, but its extent or significance is not now
known. Some light is being shed on the matter, however, through the
records of banded birds, and these eventually will fill in a more
perfect picture of the movements of this species. One jay, banded on
September 14, 1923, at Waukegan, Ill., was killed at Peruque, Mo.,
on November 15 of the same year; another, banded at Winnetka, Ill.,
on June 16, 1925, was retaken at Sulphur Kock, Ark., the following
December 10; a third, banded on May 6, 1925, at Whitten, Iowa, was
recaptured at Decatur, Ark., on January 22, 1926. These three birds
unquestionably had made a flight that had every appearance of being a
true migration to winter quarters in Missouri and Arkansas.
The black-capped chickadee is apparently resident in many places, but
occasionally in winter it invades the range of the southern Carolina
chickadee (_Penthestes carolinensis_) and in northern Canada it is
regularly a migrant.
In the coastal plain between Washington, D. C., and the Atlantic
Ocean, the white-breasted nuthatch is usually absent during the
summer, nesting at that season in the higher, or piedmont, country.
Late in fall, however, it appears in fair abundance in the wooded
bottoms, remaining at the lower levels until the following March or
April.
Some birds, including the screech owl (_Otus asio_), bobwhite,
Carolina wren, and mockingbird (_Mimus polyglottos_), seem to
be actually sedentary, but even these are sometimes given to
post-breeding wanderings. Ordinarily bob whites that are marked with
numbered bands are seldom retaken far from the area where banded, but
sometimes they will travel 10 miles or more. A screech owl banded
at Glenwood, Minn., in March, was recovered the following December
at Emmetsburg, Iowa, 180 miles south. Such flights, however, are
probably more in the nature of a search for new feeding areas, or to
escape from a winged enemy, than a true migratory journey.