We evaluated drug resistance and R plasmids of 554 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from feces of migratory waterfowl, including whistling swans (Cygnus columbianus), pintails (Anas acuta) and black-tailed gulls (Larus crassirostris) collected from the San-in District, Japan, between each November and March, 1983 to 1984, 1984 to 1985, and 1985 to 1986. Seven antimicrobial agents were tested: dihydrostreptomycin (DSM), kanamycin, spectinomycin, ampicillin (ABPC), oxytetracycline (OTC), chloramphenicol, and sulfadimethoxine (SDMX). Many strains were resistant to several drugs; in particular, all strains were resistant to SDMX. Both multiple drug resistant strains and drug resistance patterns occurred most frequently in strains isolated from whistling swans, followed by black-tailed gulls, and pintails, respectively. Of 233 strains, 128 (55%) carried transmissible R plasmids. The drugs with the largest number of resistance patterns observed were, in descending order, OTC, DSM, ABPC, and SDXM.