194 THE WILSON BULLETIN— December, 1921 



FIELD NOTES 



THE ROADSIDE CENSUS IN MASSACHUSETTS 

 In western Massachusetts we found roadside censuses were not 

 as easy to take as in Oklahoma; first, because of the good roads, 

 automobiling is apt to be too rapid for bird identification; second, 

 the birds are less in evidence since they are not largely dependent 

 on fence and telephone wires for perches; and. lastly, there are 

 various kinds of sparrows and swallows that cannot readily be 

 distinguished. Nevertheless, the results of ten censuses — 154 

 miles — taken in Hampshire. Hampden and Franklin counties be- 

 tween June 7 and July 13. 1921, are interesting for comparison with 

 our findings in Oklahoma.* 



As to the kinds of birds, Kingbirds, Bluebirds and Cliff Swal- 

 lows were almost the only native birds seen in both States; the 

 former averaged nearly the same number of individuals seen per 

 census in both localities — 3.8 in Oklahoma and 3.3 in Massachu- 

 setts, — but Bluebirds were much less common in the East, aver- 

 aging only 1.6 per census in contrast to the 6.5 in the West. (As 

 the 1920 censuses average 20 miles apiece and those in 1921 15 the 

 advantage of Oklahoma is even greater than first appears). It 

 was a relief to find English Sparrows comprising only 11 per cent 

 of the total number of birds seen, instead of 28. Robins were by 

 far the most abundant bird recorded. 28 per cent of the 587 native 

 birds belonging to this species. 



In regard to the number of birds seen per mile, the average 

 for all censuses was lower in Massachusetts than in Oklahoma — 

 3.8 in contrast to 4.8; and when we consider that all the eastern 

 censuses were taken in pleasant weather, and compare this 3.8 

 with the 5.2 in Oklahoma, we have fewer birds than ever. How- 

 ever these censuses are not directly comparable, for in Massachu- 

 setts two-thirds of them were taken in the heat of the day and in 

 Oklahoma only three-sevenths occurred at this period. The cen- 

 suses in the cool of the day are astonishingly alike in both States: 

 6.1 birds per mile in Massachusetts and 6.2 in Oklahoma. But 

 the five counts taken during the heat i>f the day — 101 miles — 

 show somewhat fewer birds in the East: 2.6 in comparison to 3.9 

 in the West. (The maximum temperature ranged from 79° on 

 three days to 88° on one day and 93° on another, which was less, 

 of course, than the average maxima on the Oklahoma censuses of 

 90° to 95°, not to mention the exceptional one of 99°). It may 

 be that New England birds dislike excessive heat more than the 

 prairie birds do. or it may simply be that fewer were setni because 

 of the greater accessibility of cover in this region. 



* Nice. M. M. & Nice, L. B. This Journal. XXXIII, 3. 1921. 

 p. 113-123. 



