86 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 6 



17. Common liedpoll. A single bird recorded 

 at North Trviro, on December 13tb. 



18. Mallard. Tolciably common, and 

 occurs on the Cape every fall and winter. One 

 was seen at Wood's Holl on December 9tli 

 and three on January 8d. 



10. Wood Buck. This bird is sometimes 

 found in winter, altliough I am unaware of its 

 presence near any station this year. A full 

 plumage, adult male was taken alive at 

 Taunton on January 11, 1888. 



20. Common Tern. A single bird of this 

 species was shot from off the Commission 

 wharf by Mr. O. Grinnell on February 0th. 



Concli(dl)i(/ Remarks. Before concluding 

 this paper, I would like to offer a few remarks 

 on land birds, as a class, in the Cape distiict. 

 By the term, land birds as a class, I mean all 

 species, which, according to the present class- 

 ilications, are considered to be more highly 

 organized than the Raptores, and which, in the 

 "A. O. U. " checklist, include tlie Kinglishcrs, 

 Woodpeckers, etc., and all of those succeeding 

 them, and ending with the Thrushes and 

 Bluebirds. 



The following table represents the total 

 number of land birds as here defined, which 

 were recorded during each month of fall and 

 winter, at Taunton, Wood's Iloll and 

 Highland Light: 



Tonnfou. W. HoU. N. Truro. T«liiU M,a„ Xo' 



Sept. 15618 1968 1I>T8 \<JH,\ (l.'JKH 



Oct. 46717 1720 2751 SlltSS 16062 



Nov. 2745 3SSI 



Dec. 605 392 1172 2169 723 



Jan. 983 331 4099 5413 1804 



Feb. 91 2202 



Sums, 63923 7247 15703 



Av. Means, 15980 1207 2917 19804 6001 



The South Weymouth record for December 

 31st, was overlooked at time of writing. 



Thus, at Taunton, the maximum and mini- 

 mum numbers seen during any month, are 

 40,717 and GO."), respectively, and if the total 

 number or sum of the several observations at 

 that station are divided by four, we obtain the 

 mean or average number for that particular 

 locality, namely, 15,980. The result of this 

 number and the two extremes, shows that there 

 is a maximum variation during the migration of 

 about .30,000 and a minimum variation in 

 winter of about 1.5,000. The actual minimum, 

 or, in other words, the smallest number of 

 birds recorded in any month, sank in December, 

 to nearly 0,000 below the mean average of the 

 several stations, while in October, it increased 

 to about nine times the mean average, having 

 an excess of 40,316 birds. 



In Wood's Holl, the maximum was 2,74.'), the 

 mean, obtained by dividing by six, 1,207 and 

 the minimum was 1)1, while the variafion in 

 either direction did not exceed 1,.')00 birds. 



The maximum, mean and minimum monihly 

 records at Highland I>ight, were 4,01)9, 2,017 and 

 1,172, respectively, with the two extremes on 

 consecufive months, viz., December and Jan- 

 uary. Otherwise the minimum number of biids 

 would have been recorded in September. The 

 actual variation seems to be included within 

 1,500 in either direction from the mean for 

 the station, but it is always from 2,000 to 5,000 

 below the mean average of the several 

 localities. 



The actual range at Taunton is about ten 

 times grater than at Highland Light, rising 

 much higher in autumn and falling lower 

 during the winter. At Wood's Holl, the act- 

 ual range is only about 1.17 as great as the 

 Taunton variation. 



Another very i)rominent difference between 

 the extreme localities is, that at Mr. Small's 

 station, the greatest number of birds are pres- 

 ent during the winter months, while about 

 Taunton, Mi. Scuddcr finds them much scarcer 

 at that season than during the migrations; but 

 as I have in progress a special work relating to 

 this cpiestion, I will only say at the present 

 time that this is partially due to the greater 

 severity of the weather in the inland districts. 

 The greater scarcity in winter at Wood's Holl, 

 where the meterological conditions are practi- 

 cally the same as at North Truro, may be in a 

 large part accounted for, when we remember 

 that the prevailing winds, which exert more 

 force on the birds near the coast, are either 

 from the northwest, southwest or south, and 

 owing to the peculiar situation of Wood's HolL 

 such winds, and, judging from this winter's 

 experience, they are constant, have a strong 

 tendency to blow the birds away from the 

 shore and into the more sheltered inland 

 localities. These same winds which exert a 

 lessening influence on the winter bird life of 

 Wood's Holl may increase the numbers at 

 Highland Light by stranding biids which have 

 blown from off the windward shore of Cape 

 Cod and Massachusetts Bays. The presence of 

 Snow Buntings and Shore Larks in large num- 

 bers on the Cape, also tends to increase the 

 number of land birds present in winter, as they 

 are somewhat maritime in their habits and 

 occur much less frequently and in smaller 

 numbers at points removed from the sea. 



Harry Gordon White. 

 U. S. Fish Com., Wood's Holl, March 15, 1891. 



