ig6 Rhoads and Pennock, Birds of Delaware. ["a"^ 



nesting as far up the State as Delaware City, fifty miles north of 

 Cape May. 



Just why Delaware has been so persistently ignored by orni- 

 thologists seems difficult to determine, but the fact remains, that 

 since Wilson's scant and for the most part casual notes, but few 

 trustworthy records have been found relating to this section. 

 Turnbull in his ' Birds of East Pennsylvania and New Jersey ' 

 gives a few records; in 'The Auk' for 1885, Dr. Dwight records 

 one species new to the State ; Mr. W. G. Smith of the Delaware 

 Valley Ornithological Club, in the Club's 'Proceedings' for 1898, 

 reports a trip to Marydel ; and in ' The Wilson Bulletin ' No. 34, 

 Mr. F. L. Burns gives some interesting vernacular names from 

 Kent County. 1 



We have found but one collection of Delaware birds of any con- 

 siderable number. This was made several years ago by the late 

 Mr. W. D. Bush of Wilmington, Del., and it is now deposited with 

 the Friends' School in Wilmington. The collection is of particular 

 value in having for the most part accurate data accompanying the 

 specimens. Mr. Bush kindly gave us access to the collection and 

 placed his annotated list at our disposal. For the most part, how- 

 ever, the present list merits publication on the basis of local sys- 

 tematic field work taken up within the last few years by Mr. 

 Pennock during frequent visits in eastern and central New Castle 

 County, and more particularly to that carried on more thoroughly 

 in the southern part of the State by both authors during the years 

 1903 and 1904. 



Geographically and topographically the State might be divided 

 into four rather distinct areas of Faunal distribution : — 



(1) The Hill Country, of very limited extent in the north end 

 of the State and in a slight degree approaching the Alleghanian 

 Fauna. The hills bordering the Christiana, Brandywine, White 

 Clay, and Red Clay Creeks are embraced in this area. 



(2) Intermediate area, comprising the central plateau and the 

 more elevated tracts between the streams emptying into the Dela- 

 ware and Chesapeake Basins. 



1 Other references will be found in a Bibliography of Delaware Ornithology 

 in course of preparation. 



