1907] Early Arrival of the First Migrants 35 



REMARKABLY EARLY ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST 

 MIGRANTS OF THIS SEASON. 

 By Rev. G. Eifrig. 

 The first Spring migrants among birds have come here 

 earHer than usual. That is rather remarkable, when we consider 

 that climatic conditions in February were severer than in most 

 years, and that there was nothing especially tempting for birds 

 here in March. The first robins and bluebirds looked and 

 sounded strangely out of tune with the snow-covered fields and 

 city-lots, and the prevailing ice and frost of the second half of 

 March and the first half of April. What is the reason for this 

 unusually early arrival, when there was so little here to tempt 

 them? In my opinion it is the following: During the first half 

 of March a wave of phenomenally warm or even hot weather 

 struck that part of the United States which is in the latitude of 

 Washington, D.C., New York, and westward to Chicago. The 

 thermometer is reported at Washington to have climbed up as 

 far as 92, showing the highest temperature ever registered there 

 for that part of the year, with perhaps one exception. Previous 

 to this hot spell there would already be a great number of birds 

 in those regions, their numerous permanent residents and the 

 thousands of winter residents from Canada, e.g., the juncos, tree 

 sparrows, song sparrows, etc. Now this warm wave would have 

 the effect of attracting further untold numbers of migrants from 

 further south, which in the normal course of events would have 

 begun their northward move somewhat later. This must have 

 caused a great congestion in the bird life of that section, which 

 in plant and insect life was also not yet sufficiently advanced to 

 support this teeming bird life. This would, in my opinion, have 

 the effect of inducing the hardiest of the northward migrants, 

 those who would have gone northward first at any rate, to leave 

 somewhat earlier than usual. And no doubt, the song sparrows, 

 bluebirds and robins which came here first this year, were again 

 in their class, in their respective species, the pioneers, the leaders, 

 the most hardy and intrepid ones, which would at the same time 

 be able to withstand adverse conditions most successfully. And 

 that some of them have to suffer inore or less for their bravery 

 and pluck, there can be no doubt. Some probably, when they 

 found weather conditions so uncongenial here, promptly returned 

 to points further south. Thus I saw a flock of about 50 tree 

 swallows merrily flying over the Rideau River, then full of ice, 

 at Cumming's Bridge at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, on March 

 30th. Two hours later not a one was there, and I have seen no 

 more since. And now there has been a lull in the migration for 

 about two weeks; few, if any, new species having come in addi- 



