Bird Banding Laboratory – a database of North American bird information maintained by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey

Flyways – distinct migration routes used by waterfowl to move between breeding and wintering areas; four flyways in North America are Atlantic, Central, Mississippi and Pacific

Habitat – an arrangement of food, water, shelter or cover, and space suitable to animals’ needs

Management plan – a scientific method for keeping wildlife and fish populations at optimal levels based on habitat and population surveys

Migration corridor – route followed by wildlife when moving between locations (waterfowl use migration corridors called flyways)

Migratory bird – species of bird that moves between distinct areas (usually for breeding and wintering) during the year

Migratory Bird Treaty Act – 1918 agreement between the United States and Canada (later amended to include Mexico, Japan and Russia) that makes it unlawful to capture or kill any migratory bird; also unlawful to possess any part of a migratory bird, including the feathers, eggs, nests or dead birds

Mississippi flyway – bird migration route that follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada; main endpoints include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; used by about 40 percent of all migrating waterfowl and shorebirds

Mist net – light-weight, finely threaded mesh net ornithologists use to capture wild birds for banding or other research; can also be used by mammalogists to study bats

Neotropical migrant – any of 361 bird species (such as the Summer Tanager and Blackburnian Warbler) that migrate between wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America and South America to breeding grounds in North America

Ornithologist – scientist who studies birds

Wildlife biologist – scientist who studies and manages wild animals and their habitats