This publication is based on the studies, assistance, and courtesies of many people, though it is primarily the work of the author, who has been involved in blackbird-rice investigations in the South for the past 20 years. The report is designed primarily to inform farmers, agriculturists, biologists, and others of the extent of the rice-blackbird problem in the South; of the habits, distribution, and movements of the blackbird populations involved; and of appropriate methods now available for reducing crop losses.

This booklet lists 196 species that have been recorded by refuge personnel and visiting ornithologists since the refuge was established. The bird checklist was designed to be informative and simple to use. The list was arranged in the order established by the American Ornithological Union.

This publication contains procedures used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the species, sex and age composition of the harvest of North American ducks using detached wings contributed by hunters.