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Recent Literature. \^^ 



general statements about the destruction of birds by the elements Mr. 

 Forbush gives the results of his investigations in relation to the effect of 

 the remarkable weather of May and June, 1903, upon bird life in Massa- 

 chusetts and adjoining States. An almost unprecedented drought pre- 

 vailed from the middle of April till the 6th of June, followed by three 

 weeks of almost unparalleled rainfall, with periods of excessively low 

 temperature. The scarcity of insects due to the drought appears to have 

 been responsible for the starvation of the 3'oung of many insectivorous 

 birds, and apparently also of some of the old birds. But the abnormal 

 and severe weather of June proved far more disastrous. The heavy 

 storms blew down many of the nests, with their eggs or young, of the 

 tree-nesting species, while ground- and bush-nesting species had their 

 nests submerged or so drenched with rain as to cause the complete 

 destruction of their contents or their desertion by the parent birds. 

 The inundation of low-lying lands, and the rise of streams and ponds, 

 drowned out or destroyed not only the nests of marsh-breeding birds, but 

 those of blackbirds and sparrows, of various species, at many localities 

 where their nests became submerged, while the cold rains often destroyed 

 the young birds where the nesting-sites were above the reach of the 

 floods, and in many instances the parent birds seem to have succupibed 

 to the inclemency of the weather. While these conditions were fortu- 

 nately not general throughout the State, they occurred at so many locali- 

 ties that the effect was disastrous to bird life. The swallows and swifts 

 appear to have been the worst sufferers, the old birds, as well as the 

 young, dying at some localities in vast numbers from cold and starvation, 

 owing to the absence of insect food directly caused by the severe weather 

 conditions. The almost complete extinction of whole colonies of Mar- 

 tins, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, and Chimney Swifts is recorded 

 from several localities within the storm areas of heaviest precipitation. 



The winter following this unfavorable summer- — that of 1903-04 — 

 proved of almost unequalled severity in New England. January was one of 

 the severest months on record in eastern Massachusetts, both for lowness 

 of temperature and amount of snowfall, and February was almost equally 

 severe. According to Mr. Forbush's observations at Wareham and else- 

 where in the State, the birds suffered greatly from the intense cold, and 

 many evidently perished. While, for obvious reasons, not many dead 

 birds were found, there was gradually a great reduction in their numbers 

 at many localities, and it is believed by Mr. Forbush, and by other observ- 

 ers quoted by him, that the birds died, in some cases from the excessive 

 cold, in others from lack of food. Crows, and perhaps certain individuals 

 of other species, appear to have left the colder portions of New England 

 for more southern points. 



Mr. Forbush closes his sadly interesting report with some suggestions 

 as to the measures that may be taken for protecting birds and increasing 

 their numbers, especially through providing them with food and shelter 

 during winter, and in checking their illegal slaughter. The author has 



