^°190^S^^1 Woodruff, Birds of Shannon and Carter Counties, Mo. 195 



five miles northeast of camp, and ten miles to the southeast was a 

 smaller one, Alley, situated on the banks of Jack's Fork and on the 

 road to Winona, some twenty-five miles to the southeast. 



The settlers raise cattle and hogs, and enough corn to feed their 

 stock during the winter. The latter roam the woods at will, for 

 the only fences in this region are those enclosing the cornfields. 



My stay in Shannon County lasted from March 10 to May 15, 

 1907, inclusive. The spring migration, so far as purely transient 

 species were concerned, had scarcely gotten under way before ray 

 arrival, and most if not all the species observed the first few days 

 had probably wintered in the region. The weather was very warm 

 during the last three weeks of ^Nlarch, reaching an average maxi- 

 mum temperature of over <S2° F. daily from ]\Iarch 17 to 29 inclusive, 

 and causing the leaves and flowers of many trees and plants to burst 

 their buds. The night of the 18th brought a large flight of birds, 

 mostly of the sparrow family. It grew steadily colder from ^March 

 29th till April 19, often freezing at night after April 8, with the result 

 that much of the newly grown foliage was killed. The days were 

 raw, windy and rainy, and, except for two small flights on the nights 

 of April 3 and 13, there was no noticeable movement of birds. On 

 the 19th there came a welcome change in the weather and from then 

 till April 29 it was warm and clear. With the change came the 

 birds, of which there were large flights on April 20 and 21, 24 and 

 25, culminating on April 28 and 29 in the largest flight of the season. 

 From then till INIay 8 it was rainy and colder and the migration 

 halted. On iVIay 8 and 9 and again on the 13th large flights oc- 

 curred, and the transients were still present in large numbers when 

 I left on May 15 for Grandin, Carter County. 



April 19, 20 and 21 were spent at Current River near Round 

 Spring (Twp. 30. R. 4 W), about twelve miles northeast of our camp. 

 I found the valley fairly alive with birds and noted several species 

 which did not appear in the region about camp till three or four 

 days later. This valley is probably the main migration route for 

 the county and is occupied by new migrants several days before the 

 same species will be found in the surrounding region. 



At Grandin, Carter County, the country differed somewhat in 

 character from that about our camp in Shannon County. The 

 valleys are broader and the hills much less rugged. Practically 



