132 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 113 



Professor and Mrs. Plojjper, in the same locality." The 

 route by which the cardinal reached Elma was probably 

 by way of the Wapsipinican River. The fact that he 

 reached there at the same time as he reached Charles 

 City, as a winter resident, is rather interesting. Of 

 course birds had been reported before in both these 

 places, in the summer. But the first report of their 

 being found as winter residents was during the same 

 winter. I imagine that the cardinal will eventually be- 

 come a resident with us in much the same manner in which 

 it has become so in the north-eastern part of our state, or 

 in the north-western. How long it will take for them to 

 become other than a rarity in our bird reports, we can 

 hardly estimate. Perhaps a couple of years will do that. 

 I am tempted to think that some of the Osage reports are 

 not as reliatile as they should be. The Osage plant woman, 

 Mrs. Tuttle, knows her business, but some of the other re- 

 ports may possibly have held errors. Otherwise, I can not 

 understand why the cardinal should have appeared there 

 in greater numbers, earlier than he appeared at Charles 

 City. Of course it is conceivable that they, for some 

 reason, have sliipped the territory about Charles City. 

 However, the weed seed possibilities are the same at Charles 

 City as at Osage, and there is quite as much in the way of 

 protective forests, brush-lots, etc. One thing we do not 

 have at Charles City which is notable at Osage, and that 

 is the high limestone cliffs which line the one side of the 

 Cedar near Osage vicinity. Of course such cliffs furnish 

 a great windbreak against the cold winter gales. It may 

 1)6 that the shelter of such has led the cardinal to continue 

 with greater numbers in that region, whereas he has passed 

 by our territory, or remained in very scattered detach- 

 ments. 



The future of the cardinal in the middle-northern por- 

 tion of our state is most interesting. I am on the Red 

 Bird's trail and shall welcome with great fervor the estab- 

 lishment of our locality as a home within the limit of the 

 cardinal's northern range. 



