164 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 past i 



In Missouri (Widmann, 1907) the males arrive the fourth week 

 of April, tlie females not until the first week of May, and the great 

 bulk of the birds are present during the second week of May. 



In 12 years of records taken in Buchanan County, Iowa, Pierce 

 (1930) states that during 5 years the dickcissels arrived the first 

 week of May while in 7 of the 12 years they arrived the last half 

 of May. Youngworth (1933) gives the earliest date for Sioux City, 

 Iowa, as May 5, 1928. 



For Minnesota Koberts (1932) gives the two earliest records for 

 the State as being one seen May 5, 1898 at Faribault, Rice County, 

 and one seen May 6, 1926, at Red Wing, Goodhue County. The 

 average of 16 annual first dates, varying from May 5 to May 27, 

 is May 18. Monson (1934) gives the earliest date for Cass County, 

 as May 8, 1928, when they were very numerous. The average 

 date for that county is May 29. The average arrival for 5 years 

 at Fargo, N. Dak., is May 30 (Stevens quoted by Roberts (1932)). 



Stray individuals pass on into Canada where they have been 

 reported in most of the southern provinces: Newfoundland (Tuck, 

 1952; Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (Godfrey, 1954); Quebec 

 (Lewis, 1924; Ball, 1943); Ontario (Dale, 1932; Devitt, 1935; Lloyd, 

 1944; Mitchell 1946); Manitoba, Criddle, 1921; Tavern er, 1927; 

 Saskatchewan, Mitchell, 1924; Potter, 1943; Houston, 1949); British 

 Columbia (Brooks, 1923). I have been unable to find any recent 

 published records of the dickcissel nesting in Canada, but several 

 of the observers mentioned above have suspected the birds were 

 breeding. 



In Wisconsin the first dickcissels appear in the south-central counties 

 early in May, but they do not reach the counties to the westward 

 and northward to Green Lake County until the last week of May 

 according to a spring migration map prepared by Taber (1947). 

 According to Taber the average southern Wisconsin nesting chro- 

 nology is as folio ws : May 25 the male arrives and sings, June 2 the 

 female joins the male, June 7 the nest is begun, June 14 the first egg 

 is laid, June 27 the eggs hatch, and July 6 the young leave the nest. 

 Barger (1941) gives the earliest date for Wood County, Wis., as 

 Apr. 27, 1941, but most of his first arrivals appear after the middle 

 of May. The dickcissel does not breed in northern Wisconsin. 



In Michigan (Wood, 1951) the spring arrivals occur principally in 

 the last 2 or 3 weeks of May. In the Toledo-Erie marsh area the 

 species has appeared by May 9, the first arrivals averaging May 14 and 

 the main flight May 21. The average for 5 years in the vicinity of 

 Battle Creek is May 28. One specimen was obtained at Kalamazoo 

 as early as May 3, 1879. There are according to Wood only two or 



