242 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



In Missouri a regular and fairly common transient visitant 

 during spring and fall along the eastern border of the state, 

 the southeast and the counties along the Mississippi River 

 being apparently one of its main thoroughfares. With its spright- 

 ly ways and frequent singing it is one of the transient war- 

 blers which cannot easily escape observers, and its absence 

 from their lists is proof that it must be of rare occurrence in the 

 rest of the state. In the southeast (New Madrid Co.) it was once 

 seen as early as April 10, 1893, but the first record for St. Louis 

 is April 28, 1888, unusually early. May 5 to 25 is the regular 

 time of its presence, most numerous in the middle of the month, 

 and latest dates, May 29, 1897, West Quincy; May 28, 1893, 

 Keokuk. In fall the species is with us for fully six weeks from 

 August 15 to September 26, oftenest in the first half of September; 

 latest at St. Louis, October 5, 1905. In the abnormal spring 

 of 1907 both sexes were unusually common at St. Louis from 

 May 13 to June 3. 



/ 



*687. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.). American Redstart. 



Muscicapa ruticilla. 



Geog. Dist. — North America except Pacific coast district 

 and western portions of Rocky Mountains district; north to 

 Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay, and in the interior 

 to Mackenzie; on the Pacific coast to southern Alaska; west to 

 Utah, Idaho, eastern Washington and British Columbia. Breeds 

 from North Carolina, west-central Alabama, Arkansas and 

 Indian Territory northward. Winters from the West Indies 

 and Mexico to Ecuador. 



In Missouri a common and generaly distributed summer resi- 

 dent in all parts of the state, chiefly in the timber of river and 

 creek bottoms. Also a very common transient in spring and 

 fall in all kinds of locations, even in city parks, orchards, ceme- 

 teries etc. In the southeast, where it is only fairly common 

 as a breeder, but abundant in migration from the middle of April 

 to the middle of May, it was first noticed April 11, 1893. In 

 the vicinity of St. Louis and most parts of southern Missouri 

 its arrival varies from April 16 to 25, the males always preceding 

 the females and young a few days, the bulk of the species, 

 including transients being present from the end of April to the 

 middle of May. At our northern border (Keokuk) the first 

 are usually seen April 30, some years as late as May 6, 1892, 



