36 Bulletin No. 26. 



BIRD NOTES— SOUTH. 



To a man reared in the north, the behavior of the familiar birds, while 

 they are spending their winters south, must be a matter of interest. Of 

 course, with many, such as Blue-jays, Cardinals, etc., this is not different 

 from the behavior of such of these as remain with us ; but that of Robins 

 and others is noticeably different. It is well known, of course, that the 

 Robins go about in large flocks, simply screaming in apparent fright, and 

 gorging themselves upon the persisting berries which are so abundant. 

 This winter these birds were unusually abundant on the edges of the 

 Gulf, and were shot for market by the thousands. 



I had often wondered if on the pretty, sunny, spring-like days in the 

 south,, the northern birds broke into song, but I could not get any infor- 

 mation about it. My slight study, while very busy at other work, was 

 along this line. There was no unanimity of habit in these matters. I 

 found the Bluebird, on the Bay of Mobile, with his autumn call only ; 

 but at the same place I found the Chewink singing in January, not only 

 a snatch of his old song up north, but one that was entirely new to me 

 and quite charming. I did not shoot any, but^I do not think that at this 

 point the species could have been the White-eyed. 



But one bird at least, which certainly does not remain south or have 

 any representative here, I found occasionally singing his northern 

 summer song. That was the Peabody bird. These were very abundant 

 about Mobile, and sang occasionally. Brown Thrashers sang all winter 

 on pretty days, and Mockers broke out at intervals ; but the unusually 

 severe weather there this winter shut much of this out. I saw the Cat- 

 bird frequently, but he had little to say and no music. 



I found some uninformed persons asking me doubtfully if the Robin 

 actually sang in the north ; and they seemed surprised at my affirmative 

 answer. 



I found Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadees, etc. singing as usual, but 

 Woodpeckers were noisy only after the vernal turn had evidently set in. 

 A beautiful and persistent singer every sunny morning was the Carolina 

 Wren. 



This winter, perhaps, gave an unusual aspect to the habits of manv 

 birds while south. I saw the Myrtle Warbler much about houses, which 

 people assured me was unusual. Once 1 saw one try to fly in at a 

 window — fluttering against the glass ; and I observed them feeding upon 

 the snow, while it lasted, much as a Snowbird or Tree Sparrow. 



This reminds me that I saw our Junco — two specimens — while walking 



