^*^'i9of^] EiFRiG, The Spring Migration, 1907, at Ottawa, Out. 5 



abundant and jolly as ever, even more so ; the Olive-backed Thrush 

 was much commoner than iisual; the Spotted Sandpiper I never 

 saw in such abundance anywhere as here in June; and on May 19 

 the Dendroica caerulescens, usually not very numerous even in 

 migration, was so abundant at Dow's Swamp, that its numbers 

 equalled those of all other birds combined. 



That the untowardliness of the weather and food conditions not 

 only delayed many species in coming, but made them postpone their 

 departure also, in the case of transient migrants, need not be sur- 

 prising. Thus, as late as June 7, Tennessee Warblers, Pine Sis- 

 kins and Olive-backed Thrushes could be heard singing lustily in 

 Major's Hill Park in the center of Ottawa. Of these the Sis- 

 kins, and Olive-backed Thrushes probably breed here in a few 

 scattered instances, but the bulk of them usually retire northward 

 before that time. On the other hand, the Rusty Grackles, Tree 

 Sparrows, and to some extent the White-crowned Sparrows, hav- 

 ing arrived later than commonly, did not stay so long as they would 

 normally, but hurried on northward. 



But the worst feature in this migration was the deplorable mor- 

 tality brought about by the un-May-like weather of May. This 

 was probably not so much due to the cold directly, as to the lack 

 of food caused thereby. Vegetation remained at a standstill from 

 end of April to nearly the end of May. The flower and leaf buds 

 did not unfold. As a consequence the small insects, plant lice, etc., 

 that otherwise are found there, were absent. Therefore the insect 

 eaters, especially those living on small insects and lepidoptera, 

 chief among which are the swallows and warblers, had to suffer 

 most. It was a pitiable sight, and a very common one, to see 

 the little warblers with ruffled feathers and half-extended wings, 

 weakened by hunger, searching in the most unlikely places for a 

 little food. On May 28, with snowfiakes flying, I saw a Canadian 

 Warbler (IVilsoiiia canadensis) and a Blackburnian Warbler search- 

 ing for food among rubbish and tin-cans, not able to fly away. 

 Many people, farmers, a lumberman having just returned from 

 Lake Kippewa in the Algoma District, and others, in this and the 

 neighboring counties, told the writer about the "tameness" of the 

 pretty little "black and yellow" birds, that they had "never seen 

 before," allowing one to almost or quite catch them in the hands. 



