Josselyn Van Tyne, a Pioneer Bird Bander

That Josselyn Van Tyne was an ornithologist of international repute is xvell known.That he also was an avid bird bander is not well known.His banding activities began in 1920, when he was 18 years old.Van Tyne's first banding permit (Collaborator's Permit No. 79) is dated 12 October 1920, and was valid until 31 December of that year.His permit for 1921 is dated 13 December 1920 (Collaborator's Permit No. 184).A note typed on a 3 x 5 card by Van Tyne states simply: "Begun--Dec.18, 1920."This possibly was the date on which he banded the first bird on his own permit.I have no way of being certain that all of Van Tyne's banding records were in fact turned over to me in early March of 1957, but certain apparent gaps in the records suggest that I did not receive the complete files.Nevertheless, the available records seem to me to justify a short biographical note on Josselyn Van Tyne's bird banding activities for the period 1920 through 1956.All of his banding data in my possession has been returned to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology in Ann Arbor for permanent filing.We now know a great deal more about the longevity and the post-breeding movements of birds than was known 30 years ago, of course.As is invariably true in biographical studies, therefore, one must consider the point in time of a man's activities in order to appreciate fully the nature and value of his work.