-21) 



3IIGRATI0N OF BIKDS. 



By J. McCTRFJiOH Baxter, M. 1). 



Very much information which woukl be of great interest to 

 ornitnologists might be obtained by systematic observation of 

 the arrival and departure of our migratory birds, the influence 

 of temperature and the direction and force of winds upon such 

 flights, the course the birds pursue, etc., etc. For instance if 

 stations were appointed at Bhickville, Boiestovvn and Frederic- 

 ton in one direction and Richibucto, Moncton and St. John in 

 the other (as it is very unlikely that birds would cross the un- 

 broken forest between these two directions), one could easily 

 find out the course they took, principally by their number's, and 

 the rapidity of their flights by the days of their first arrival at 

 the ditlerent points. So little has been done in this line that I 

 feel justified in contributing the following table of the spring ar- 

 rivals here for the last 16 years, as I happened to notice them. 

 It is very imperfect, as I am only an amateur, and could not de- 

 vote as much time to it as it required; and the year 1900 is want- 

 ing altogether, as I was unable to attend to it at all. The as- 

 terisk^ in relation to the crows show where I knew myself 

 positively that some stayed all winter, and also where, in the 

 case of the English snipe, two stayed around an open spring 

 during the winter of "98 and '99- '00. 



The table of tem])era.tures are the mean temperatures of the 

 four months of five years obtained from the Meteorological 

 Station here at Chathain, which was all I could obtain. 



Mil^'AN TEMPERATURE FOR FOUR MONTHS MADE VV AT THE METEORO- 

 IX)GICAL STATION HERE. 



1895. 



February 13.2 



March..." 21.3 



April 38.7 



Mav 54.8 



