312 Wright, Morning Awakening and Even-Song. [july 



earlier heard, but they have been listened for most carefully and 

 have not been detected earlier than as recorded. The warblers, 

 therefore, as a family appear to be comparatively late-awakening 

 birds to sing. Most of the common sparrows and the flycatchers 

 and all the thrushes precede them. The warblers also at the close 

 of the day cease singing early, again the common sparrows and the 

 flycatchers and the thrushes outdistancing them in extension 

 of song, as in the morning by beginning earlier to sing. The 

 Bobolink apparently waits for the sun to appear and then rises 

 joyously on wing and pours forth his abundant song. The calls 

 of the woodpeckers come after sunrise, and the voice of the Swift 

 is then first heard. 



The principle of averages which has been adopted for the record 

 was suggested by the diversity of time of first song on the part of 

 birds of many of the species, of which several records had been 

 obtained. But if the relative order of species be based on the 

 earliest singing of an individual upon any one occasion, still ten 

 of the first eleven species in the list remain the ten earliest songsters, 

 although the relative position in the case of several is somewhat 

 changed. On this basis Song Sparrow remains first, having sung 

 at 2.40; Chipping Sparrow remains second, at 2.45; Robin remains 

 third, at 2.46; Barn Swallow becomes fourth, also at 2.46; Vesper 

 Sparrow is fifth, at 2.47; x\lder Flycatcher is sixth, at 2.53; Savan- 

 nah Sparrow is seventh, at 2.54; Hermit Thrush is eighth, at 2.56; 

 Phoebe is ninth, at 2.57; and Wood Pewee is tenth, at 2.58 o'clock. 

 The White-throated Sparrow, sixth on the basis of averages, takes 

 a lower place in the order, not having been heard earlier than 3.05 

 o'clock. Fractions of a minute resulting in deducing averages 

 have been discarded. Where two or three species are recorded 

 alike in time of awakening to sing, the fractions, smaller and greater, 

 have determined the order of precedence. In instances, in which 

 a time record or two of a species are considerably later than most 

 records of the species and would tend erroneously to make the 

 average time of first song somewhat later, these records have been 

 eliminated in the reckonings, with the sole purpose of obtaining 

 results most closely in accordance with the facts. 



The author would desire it to be understood that, while he has 

 endeavored to be accurate, he regards the figures of time given as 



