120 



JoKKs. Bird Migratio)! In TorVrt. \ ArvA] 



L April 



timbered tracts of large extent is rather a boon liian a detriment, 

 because the woodland fauna is much more restricted and 

 condensed than would otherwise be the case. Every copse of 

 trees is swarming with the Warblers and Kinglets in their season. 

 The broad fields are teeming with Sparrows, Larks and Bobolinks. 

 Here is the paradise of the White-rumped Shrike among the 

 osage orange hedges. Every farm has its colony of Bronzed 

 Grackles. Cowbirds are so familiar that they cease to be 

 interesting ! Woodpeckers, Flycatchers and Wrens abound ; and 

 Swallows and Swifts and Nighthawks are constantly skimming 

 the fields. The Whip-poor-will and the Thrushes find congenial 

 retreats in the deeper woods ; while the Robin and Bluebird are 

 everywhere. At favorable times during the migrations, the air 

 is alive with Ducks. Geese and Cranes passing northward in 

 immense flocks ; the Sandpipers being not less numerous for a 

 brief period. Grebes, Rails and Herons are often seen ; while 

 flocks of Gulls, Comorants, and Pelicans, and even Swallow-tailed 

 Kites, are sometimes noted ; but they are not to be depended 

 upon as regular migrants. Horned Larks, Grouse, Hawks, and 

 Owls are permanent residents ; as well as the Crow, Blue Jay, 

 Chickadee, White-bellied Nuthatch, and some of the Wood- 

 peckers. 



In the accompanying charts, many species belonging to the 

 bird fauna have been omitted because they would be of no value 

 in the scheme. Of one hundred and seventy species recorded as 

 strictly migratory at Grinnell, only one hundred and ten appear 

 on the charts. The first year's work — 1885 — is also omitted 

 because it has already been published in Prof. W. W. Cooke's 

 ' Report on Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley.' 



In these charts an attempt has been made to indicate not only 

 the dates of arrival and departure, so far as they come within the 

 limits of the chart, but the time of arrival or departure, or both, 

 of the bulk of each species. This is indicated by the heavier 

 portion of the lines opposite the name of each species, the lighter 

 portion indicating simply its presence. Some species are 

 common on the first day of arrival ; others are not so for days or 

 weeks, while some never become common. 



