i8 Bird - Lore 



also the first year since 1902 when there had been no Redpolls. The next 

 year was one of scarcity. The curves show that all the birds fell off, while the 

 Chickadees reached their lowest mark for eight years. Then the flocks of Red- 

 polls came in numbers that barely missed the highest mark of the Chickadee 

 in 1903. Why the Redpolls came in 1909, instead of in 1908, is one of the many 

 mysteries of the bird migrations. For the last two years, the Redpolls although 

 less abundant than in 1909, have remained far above their usual numbers. 



The average abundance of the selected species for the last ten years is 

 shown in Figure III. The figures are obtained in the same manner as the 

 ordinates of the curves. The total number of individuals seen is divided by the 

 total number of reports for the ten years. The diagram shows the remarkable 

 fact that Redpolls and Pine Siskins are, on the average, more abundant than 

 such common regular residents as the White-breasted Nuthatch and Downy 

 Woodpecker. This is due to the great waves of Redpolls and Siskins mentioned 

 above. This is not the true state of affairs in an average winter. 

 Everyone knows that, while at times Redpolls and Siskins may be more 

 abundant than Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers, the latter are to be 

 ranked among our few everyday birds. 



Figure IV indicates more nearly the relative abimdance for an average 

 winter. The diagram shows the percentage of the total number of reports that 

 contain the species under consideration. Here the regular winter residents 

 stand ahead of the irregular visitants, like the Siskins, Redpolls, and Crossbills. 



