668 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



The commoner permanent residents of the middle Eastern 

 States are the following : 



Bob-white, Hairy Woodpecker, 



Ruffed Grouse, Flicker, 



Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue Jay, 



Red-tailed Hawk, Crow, 



Sharp- shinned Hawk, Meadowlark, 



Barred Owl, American Goldfinch, 



Long-eared Owl, Purple Finch, 



Screech Owl, Song Sparrow, 



Great Horned Owl, White-breasted Nuthatch, 



Downy Woodpecker, Chickadee, 



and occasionally the Waxwing, Myrtle Warbler, Bluebird, and 

 Robin. To these should be added the following more or less 

 common winter visitant land-birds : 



Saw- whet Owl, Tree Sparrow, 



Horned Lark, Junco, 



Snowflake, Northern Shrike, 



Lapland Longspur, Winter Wren, 



Redpoll, Golden crowned Kinglet, 



American Crossbill, Brown Creeper, 



White-throated Sparrow, 



Let us now begin with the opening of the spring migration 

 and briefly review the ornithological year. In the vicinity of 

 New York city the first birds arrive from the south late in Feb- 

 ruary or early in March. There is much variation in the coming 

 of these early birds. Later, when the weather is more settled, 

 migrants arrive within a few days of a given date. In April 

 most of our winter visitants leave for the north. The current of 

 migration grows steadily stronger until about May 12th, when 

 high- water mark is reached. Then it rapidly subsides, and the 

 spring migration is practically over by June 1st. The winter 

 visitants have gone, the great army of transients has passed us, 

 and our bird population is now composed of permanent residents 

 with the addition of about ninety summer residents. 



Nesting time has arrived, and birds which for nearly a year 

 have been free to go and come as inclination directed, now 

 have homes where, day after day, they may be found in tire- 

 less attendance upon the nest and its treasures. Courtship, the 

 construction of a dwelling, the task of incubation, and care of 

 the young, all tend to stimulate the characteristic traits of the 

 bird, and at no other time can its habits be studied to better 

 advantage. 



But resident birds begin building long before the migration is 

 concluded. The Great Horned Owl lays in February, other birds 



