niometrical and Barometrical observations, which occur under this head, are given on the authority of ray ever- 

 venerated maternal uncle, the lute David Itittenhouse, Esq. These observations were made in Philadelphia. 



§-v. 



It must not be imagined, that I commuuicato these sketches to the public as exhibiting even the names of all the 

 raigratoiy birds of Pennsylvania. I am persuaded, that winny of these birds have escaped my notice. This is, per- 

 liap.s, especially the case with the birds of the genera Anas, Tringa, and of the extensive order of Passeres, &c. 

 which I suspect are constant in their migrations from the north to the south, and from the south to the north. A 

 good many of the birds which are mentioned by Mr. Pennant as natives of New-York have not hitherto, to my 

 Iniowledge, been observed in Pennsylvania : but it can hardly be supposed that those species which are common in 

 New- York (if wc except such as delight in the vicinity of the sea-coast) are uncommon, or never seen, in Pennsyl- 

 vania. Here, however, I must observe, that I cannot but suspect, that Mr. Pennant, Mr. Latham, and other able 

 ornithologists, have sometimes described as distinct species, birds which merely differ in sex, or in age, and in their 

 ooloiuing, for which these animals, at diflerent seasons of the year, are so remarkable. 



§. VI. 



Hesides the constant migratory birds, there are others, which may be denominated occasional migratory, or visit- 

 ant, birds of Pennsylvania. Such, not to mention several others, are the Columba passerina, or Ground-Pigeon, 

 the Fringilla bicolor, or Bahama-Finch, and a species of Psittacus, or Parrot. 



§.VII. 



The two first of these birds were seen in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, between thirty and forty years ago. 

 The Psittacus, most probably the Psittacus pertinax, Illinois Parrot, or the Psittacus carolinensis, Carolina Parrot, 

 has been occasionally observed in Shareman's Valley, on Shareman's Creek, a branch of the river Susquehanna, 

 within twenty miles of the town of Carlisle.* This last fact seems to contradict the observation of Mr. 

 William Bartram, who says, " The parakeet (Psittacus carolinensis) never reach so far north as Pennsylvania, which 

 to me is unaccountable, considering they are a bird of such singular rapid flight, they could easily perform the jour- 

 ney in ten or twelve hours from North-Carolina, where they are very numerous, and we abound with all the fruits 

 wliich they delight in." t It is well known, that the late M. de BuiFon had limited the range of the whole of the 

 I'arrot-kind to exactly twenty-five degrees on each side of the equator. J Mr. Pennant has shown that the eloquent 

 French naturalist was, in this instance, mistaken. § My observation is an additional objection to the hypothesis. I 

 may add, that a very large flight of parakeets, which came from the westward, was seen, a few years ago, about 

 twenty-five miles to the north-west of Albany, in the state of New-York. The arrival of these birds in the depth 

 of winter || wa^, indeed, a very remarkable circumstance. The more ignorant Dutch settlers were exceedingly 

 alarmed. They imagined, in dreadful consternation, that it portended nothing less calamitous than the destruction 

 .)f the world. U 



§. VIII. 



I suspect it will be found, that, in general, our southern birds migrate farther north in the tract of country west 

 than in that east of the great ranges of our mountains. With respect to the birds, I hazard this merely as a con- 



* A friend of mine has informed me, that the Parakeet seen in this valley is the same species which is frequently met »-ith in the neighbourhood of 

 the river Ohio. This last is supposed to be Psittacus pertinax. 



t Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, &c. P. 301. Philadelphia: 1791. 



; Histoire Natiu-elle des Oiseaui. Tom. XI. P. llj and 114. Duodecimo-edition. Paris: 1780. 5 Arctic Zoology. Vol. I. P. 285. 



, In January, 1780. % This fact was communicated to me by Egbert Benson, Esq. of the State of New-Tork. 



