which is one of the leading ornithological organisations in the United States, with a membership drawn from all over the country. We feel that this authori­ tative summary of recent developments in wildfowl conservation in America will be of considerable interest to everyone concerned about similar problems on this side of the Atlantic. Since this report was written for an American audience, it makes use of some terms likely to be unfamiliar to British readers. Where their meaning may not be

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... dent from the context, we have attempted to clarify these terms in footnotes. When first published, the report was entitled 'Waterfowl Conservation in the Decade following World War II.' We have changed the title, but the substance of the report is reprinted without alteration.-E d .) D uring the decade following World War II, the pressures growing out of an increasing human population have added progressively to the difficulty of and need for waterfowl conservation. Moreover, the events taking place during these ten years have contributed little to suggest that the waterfowl conserva­ tionist's road will be any less difficult in the future. Waterfowl conservation during this period may be reviewed from three points of view: (1) administration, (2) management, and (3) research. As herein considered, administration embraces the political philosophy and financing of waterfowl management; management includes manipulation of waterfowl populations and habitat; and research concerns the gathering of facts upon which to base the management programme. Administration 1 The formation of state conservation agencies into councils for each of the four North American flyways 2 has been a significant development in waterfowl 1 Administration. There are in N o rth America two national governm ental conservation agencies, the U.S. F ish and Wildlife Service and the C anadian W ildlife Service. In addition nearly all the individual states and provinces have their own conservation organisation, and there is a sim ilar tw o-tier system o f law-enforcement officers. The functions o f Federal and State organisations inevitably overlap, but the difficulties to which this sometimes lead are far outweighed by the advantages o f a well-coordinated program m e o n a continental scale. 2 Flyways. As a result o f ringing studies it became apparent th a t waterfowl (and other migratory species too) in N o rth America confine their m igratory movements to rather well-defined geographical regions. These have come to be called 'flyways.' As stated above, there are four: A tlantic, Mississippi, C entral and Pacific, each o f vast extent. Definite lines cannot be draw n to m ark the boundaries o f any particular flyway, and parts o f some populations are continually shifting between the different zones, b u t w hat was originally a biological discovery has proved to be an administrative convenience.