250 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



Department has employed a special field agent, Col. Alexander Mac- 

 beth, whose headquarters are at Georgetown, S. C, in the very heart 

 of one of the largest rice-growing districts. The results of all these 

 investigations will bo given in full in a forthcoming bulletin of the 

 division. 



THE DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION O^ BIRDS. 



The work of the Department on the Geographical Distribution and 

 Migration of Birds is sufficiently outlined in tlie following circular, 

 several thousand copies of which have been distributed by the division : 



[Circular No. 8.] 



CIRCULAR ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION OF NORTH AMERI- 

 CAN BIRDS FOR 1887. 



Through the courtesy of the American Ornithologists' Union, the Department of 

 Agriculture has secured the co-operation of this organization, and has undertaken 

 to carry on the work begun by the Union on the migration and geographical distri- 

 bution of North American birds. 



The Department wishes to ascertain the whereabouts of all our birds during the 

 winter season and the times of leaving then- winter homes; to determine, if possi- 

 ble, the number and extent of the chief avenues of migration in North America, and 

 the average rate of speed at which the different species travel; to find out the dates 

 of their appearance at and disappearance from at least a thousand localities, both in 

 spring and fall, for a period of years; and to map out the breeding areas of every 

 species which rears its young in North America north of Mexico. 



In order to obtain tliis information it is necessary to secure the voluntary services 

 of a large corps of observers, each of whom is requested to contribute as full data 

 as possible concerning the questions mentioned in this circular. 



The first item in an observer's report should be a brief but careful description of 

 the ]irmcipal physical features, including latitude, longitude, and altitude, of the 

 locality which is the seat of Ms observations. 



The data collected may be arranged conveniently in thi'ee general classes: (a) 

 ornithological phenomena; (b) meteorological phenomena; (c) contemporary and cor- 

 relative phenomena. 



(a) Ornithological phenomena. 



Each observer is requested to prepare, at his earliest convenience, a comi)lete list 

 of the birds known to occur in the vicinity of his station, and to indicate (by the 

 abbreviations inclosed in parentheses) to which of the following five categories each 

 species pertains: 



(1) Permanent residents, or those that are found regularly throughout the year (R). 



(2) Winter visitors, or those that occur only during the winter season, passing 

 north in the spring (WV). 



(3) Transient visitants, or those that occur only during the migrations, in spring 

 and fall (TV). 



(4) Summer residents, or those that are known to breed, but which depart south- 

 ward before winter (SR). 



(5) Accidental visitants, or stragglers from remote districts (AV). 



It is desirable also to indicate the relative abundance of the different species, the 

 terms to be employed for this purpose being : Abundant, Common, Tolerably Com- 

 mon, Rare. 



If you are in a position to observe the lines of flight of birds, have you noticed 

 whether or not such lines are influenced by the topogi'aphy of the country, and if 

 so. to what extent? 



If a mountain intercepts the line of flight, what kinds of birds pass around it, and 

 what kinds pass over it ? 



"VVliat locaUties in your neighborhood are sought as resting-places by the various 

 kinds of migrating birds ? Can you give any reason for this selection ? 



What kinds of birds generally move in flocks, and what kinds in pairs or singly? 



Are you familiar with any kinds of birds in which the males and females, and old 

 and young, fly in separate ilocks? In many species the males arrive in advance of 

 the females, hence it is important to note the sex of the first comers, and the data 

 at which the opposite sex is first seen. 



