4 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



I am under especial obligations to Mr. C. F, Batchelder, who has given veiy 

 much time and thought to the revision of the manuscript and proof, and to 

 Mr. Walter Faxon and Mr. Samuel Henshaw, who have aided me most gener- 

 ously with suggestions and advice. 



To Mr. Walter Deane my indebtedness is greater than I can well express. 

 From the first his interest in every detail of the work has been sincere and 

 unflagging, and his assistance and advice have been simply invaluable. The 

 dates of arrival, departure, etc., which appear in the preliminary paragraphs, 

 immediately under the headings of most of the species, have been compiled and 

 arranged almost wholly by him. Their use is as follows : — 



Smmncr residents. The average dates of arrival and departure are 

 inserted between the earliest spring and the latest autumn records. In the case 

 of birds which occasionally spend the winter (as the Catbird) the word ' winter ' 

 is added after the average dates, and early and late dates are given only when 

 there is no doubt that they relate to individual birds which had just arrived 

 from the South or were about to return to it. 



Transient visitors. The average spring dates of arrival and departure are 

 inserted between the earliest and the latest spring records. The same plan is 

 used with the autumn dates. In the case of birds which occasionally pass the 

 summer (as the Solitary Vireo) the word ' summer ' is added after the average 

 spring dates. In the same way, if a bird occasionally pas.ses the winter (as the 

 Rusty Blackbird), the word ' winter ' is added after the average autumn dates. 

 In all these cases early and late spring and autumn dates are used only when 

 they certainly relate to migrating birds. 



Winter residents. The average dates of arrival and departure are inserted 

 between the earliest autumn and the latest spring records. In the case of birds 

 which occasionally pass the svmimer (as the Brown Creeper) the word ' sum- 

 mer ' is added after the average spring dates. In such cases late spring and 

 early autumn dates are used only when they certainly relate to migrating birds. 



In some cases no records of dates much earlier or later than the average 

 dates are available. Average dates are occasionally omitted when there are 

 not enough records to warrant stating them. Additional dates are sometimes 

 inserted when they are of especial interest. In a few instances the lack of a 

 really early or a late date is supplied by one from a locality outside, but at no 

 great distance from, the limits prescribed in this Memoir ; in such cases, how- 

 ever, the localities to which the dates relate are invariably mentioned. All 

 dates are omitted in the brief preliminary paragraphs relating to species perma- 

 nently resident or of but infrequent or irregular occurrence. 



The ' nesting dates ' immediately under the dates of 'arrival, departure,' etc., 

 are intended to cover the period during \v\-iKh full sets of fresh eggs of ihe. first 



