Editorials. 71 



our country. It is really distressing to note the general lack of posi- 

 tive information regarding the nesting of several of our warblers. 

 A great deal of valuable work may be done along these lines. 



Valuable work may also be done in determining the latest nest- 

 ing of many of our more common summer birds. We are usually 

 alert to note and record the first nesting, but the summer finds us 

 too inert to record if we notice, the last nesting. It is prob- 

 ably true that the southward movement of any individual among 

 our smaller land birds is dependent in large measure upon the nest- 

 ing. If the last brood is reared late in July the parents could not 

 begin the southward movement until after the young were able to 

 travel, or at least care for themselves, while other individuals 

 which had completed their nesting much earlier would have already 

 gone south. This is, a much neglected influence upon the southward 

 movements of the birds which any one may take up for study. 



We are pleased to note that the wholesale milliners and the Au- 

 dubon Societies have agreed upon a truce which ensures the protec- 

 tion of our native birds from the millinery trade. We hope it will 

 result in proving that feathers are not a necessary part of woman's 

 costume. If it should result in a complete revolution in the fash- 

 ion of feminine headwear there would not be many bitter tears of 

 disappointment shed ! 



In the middle west the migration season which has just closed 

 has been unusual in several respects. Up to the first of April there 

 was an unusually early movement of several species, induced by the 

 unusually warm March weather. With the wet and cold of April 

 nearly all movement was checked, and when the warm air finally 

 called for migration in early May the nights were cool and clear, 

 enabling the night migrants to pass over without stopping. Instead 

 of swarms of warblers among the nearly bare trees one must search 

 for any at all. At Oberlin the individuals were fewer than during 

 any of the ten years of my experience here. But while the weather 

 was unfavorable for large numbers of individuals it seemed to be 

 favorable for some unusual occurrences, as a note on another 

 page indicates. Ideal weather for crowded migrations would prob- 

 ably be a period of some two weeks of wet weather in the South, 

 and cold nights with clouds or fogs in the North. The birds would 

 then begin their northward movement in the South, fly up to the 

 cloud or fog bank and be stopped. On the following day they would 

 be delightfully numerous all along the border of the cloud bank 

 and beneath it for some distance. On such a day the largest list 

 should be made. 



