iSS-;.] Merriam, Preliminary Report on Bird Migration. ^^ 



PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 

 ON BIRD MIGRATION. 



BY C. HART MERRIAM, M. D. 



Owing to the large quantity of material in possession of the 

 Committee on Bird Migration, the several superintendents, with 

 two exceptions, have been unable to complete the reports for 

 their respective Districts. Hence it is impossible, at this time, 

 to do more than call attention to the extent of the work of the 

 Committee, and to present a few brief examples of the results thus 

 far attained. Any attempt, on the part of the Chairman, to 

 generalize upon the as vet meagre amount of classified data at 

 his command, would obviously be premature. 



It is unnecessary to dwell upon the labor involved in the distri- 

 bution of six thousand circulars, by which means the Committee 

 lias secured the co-operation, in addition to the keepers of lights, 

 of nearly seven hundred observers, of which number twenty-five 

 are women — and very excellent observers they make. These 

 observers are distributed as follows: Mississippi Valley District, 

 Prof. W. W. Cooke, Superintendent, 150; New England Dis- 

 trict, John II. .Sage, Superintendent, 144; Atlantic District, Dr. 

 A. K. Fisher, Superintendent, 12S; Middle-Eastern District, 

 Dr. J. M. Wheaton, Superintendent, <.j2, : Quebec and Maritime 

 Provinces, Montague Chamberlain, Superintendent, $6 ; District 

 of Ontario, Thomas Mcllwraith, Superintendent, 38 ; Pacific Dis- 

 trict, L. Belding, Superintendent, 40; Rocky Mountain District, 

 Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, .Superintendent, 15 ; Manitoba, Prof. W. 

 \V. Cooke, Superintendent, 10; British Columbia, John Fannin, 

 Superintendent, 5 ; North- West Territories, Ernest E. T. Seton. 

 Superintendent, 5 ; Newfoundland, James P. Howley, Superin- 

 tendent (returns not yet received). 



Through the courtesy of the Hon. Wm. Smith. Deputy Minis- 

 ter of Marine and Fisheries of Canada, and of Commander Henry 

 F. Picking, U. S. N., Secretary of the Lighthouse Board of the 

 United States, the Committee has secured the co-operation of 

 these departments, which, it is hardly necessary to add. is indis- 

 pensible to the success of the undertaking. The Department of 

 Marine and the Lighthouse Board have distributed over one 



