Iflubom loteB on llatural |bton) 



Vol. 1. 



PROVIDENCE, DECEMBER, 1884. 



Entered at the Providence Post-Office as Second-Class Matter. 



No. XII. 



l^aiibom Ifoios on l^alunil f islorij.. 



A Monthly Devoted to the Distribution of Use- 

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 paiitments op zoology, mlneualogy, and 

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 Address all communications to 



SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, 

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SPECIAL NOTICE. 



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Remarks on the Migration of Birds in 

 North America.* 



By C. Hart Merhiam, M. D. 



Tnic snbject of tlic migration of birds is 

 one of sucli magniLiide and importance, 

 that tlie American Ornithologists' Union at 

 its first congress (licld in September, 1883), 

 appointed a special committee for its in- 

 vestigation. Tliis committee prepared a 

 circular, setting forth the objects in view 

 and the metliods by whicli they were to be 

 attained, specifying the division of the ter- 

 ritor}' of tlie United States and Britisli 

 North America into thirteen districts, and 

 supplying instructions to observers, con- 

 cerning tlie character and extent of the data 

 desired, which were classed under the lieads 

 of Ornithological, Meteorological, and Con- 

 tempoiary and Correlative phenomena. Si.^ 

 thousand of these circulars were distributed. 



Tlirougli the co operation of the Depart- 

 ment of Maiine, of Canada, and of the 

 Light-house Boards of the United States 

 and Newfoundland, blank schedules were 

 also sup[)licd to the keepers of light houses, 

 lightshi|)s, and beacons, throughout the 

 whole of Nortli America. 



It is gratifying to know that, as a result 

 of the enormous amount of labor attending 

 the distribution of these circulars and 

 schedules, the committee has already rc- 



• Published by permission of the council of the A. 



ccived returns from nearly one Ihonsanrl 

 observers, which may be considered an ex- 

 cellent showing for the first season's work. 

 The stations from which returns have come 

 are scattered over the whole countrj-, ex- 

 tending in the East from Sombrero Key, 

 Floiida, to Newfoundland; and in the 

 West from Arizona and Southern California 

 to British Columbia. They are most nu- 

 merous in New England, the Atlantic dis- 

 trict, and the Mississippi Valley. 



Comparatively few of the observers are 

 ornithologists, or even bird-collectors, the 

 great bulk being intelligent farmers and 

 tradesmen. Those who know only the com- 

 monest birds, such as the robin, bluebird, 

 bobolink, martin, and chimney swift, can 

 furnish important data to the committee, 

 and their services are eagerly sought. 



The material now in hand is of great 

 value, and is so voluminous that the com- 

 mittee cannot properly' arrange, systematize, 

 and publish it, without government aid. 

 Its value does not consist wholly in its 

 scientific interest, for it has direct bearings 

 npoii many of the problems with which the 

 agriculturist is directly' concerned. 



The committee has undertaken to ascer- 

 tain the whereabouts of all our birds during 

 the winter season, and the times of leaving 

 their winter-homes ; to determine, if pos- 

 sible, the number and extent of the chief 

 avenues of migration in North America, 

 and the average rate of speed at whicli the 

 different species travel ; to find out the 

 dates of their appearance at and disa|)pear- 

 ance from at least a thousand localities, 

 both in spring and fall, for a period of 

 years ; and to map out the breecluuj areas 

 of every species which rears its young in 

 North America, north of Mexico. 



Birds are known to migrate with great 

 regularit}-. Still, the exact date of the ar- 

 rival of a given species at a given locality 

 varies somewhat from year to year, accord- 

 ing to the advancement of the season, and 

 the state of the weather. For example, 

 severe storms, gales of wind, and protractecl 

 periods of unusually high or low tempera- 

 ture (for the locality and time of year) aro 



