C. H. Merriaui — Ulnla of Connecticnt. 5 



the Swallow-tailed Kite {Ncmclerus fo7-Ji<'atns) , the Raven (Corous 

 corcw) now common only in northern New England, the Mockino-- 

 l)ird {Mimus polyglottus), and many others. That these birds were 

 eommon here two or three hundred years ago is clear from the 

 numerous references to them in the writings of the time. And durino- 

 this period many otliers have greatly decreased in numbers — such as 

 the Pigeon {Ectopistes migrator la), Pileated Woodpecker {Ilijloto- 

 mas pileatus), black-birds, water fowl, and waders of all descriptions.* 

 The disappearance of some of these birds is readily accounted for by 

 the advance of civilization with its concomitant evils — destruction 

 of forests, increased use of fire arms, etc. — but in other cases the 

 cause is less easily ex])lained. 



Few people, living away from the coast, have any idea that hun- 

 dreds of thousands of birds are killed each veJ^r, durino- mi^i-rations 

 by flying against lighthouse towers. Capt. O. N. Bi-ooks, of P\aulk- 

 ner's Island Light, tells me that between two and three hundred dead 

 birds were picked up at the foot of the tower on the morning of May 

 16th, 1877, and that at the same time thousands of living ones 

 stopped at the Island, devouiing all the tender plants and newly 

 sown seeds in his garden. Dui-ing the same night about three hun- 

 dred birds killed themselves against the light at the entrance of New 

 Haven Bay, and the daily papers stated that over seven hundred 

 were picked up on the decks of one of the New York steamers. 

 When w^e take into consideration the number of light-houses and 

 steamships along our whole coast it becomes clear that the number 

 of birds that perish annually by this means is simply innnense. 

 Nearly all our common, and many rare, migrants are found among 

 the dead, but the Maryland Yellow-throats {Geothh/pis trlchas) 

 greatly predominate, constituting full one third of the total number 

 examined. It is lamentable that this wholesale slaughter of our 

 song-birds seems to be unavoidable. 



The nomenclature and arrangement of S])ccies adopted in the pres- 

 ent paper is that given in Cbues' " Key to North American Birds " 

 with such corrections as have since appeared in his " Birds of the 

 Northwest" and elsewhere. 



* See also an interesting article by J. A. Allen in Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, vol. i 

 No. 3. Sept. 1876. 



