Vol. XXX 



,.,i i Wright, Morning Awakening and Evensong, 523 



weather for the day than t<» a cloud-spread sky. For when 

 the air is soft and the day is to be comfortable and agreeable 

 although clouded, the birds have often been as early to awake as 

 on a starlit morning. Such a morning as has been described is 

 usually avoided for obtaining a record, as it is sure to prove not 

 representative. And even throughout the day song is much 

 diminished. While upon warm, agreeably clouded days the birds 

 are wont to sing especially l'reely. 



The order of the tabulated list is the result of combining the 

 records obtained in the four respective locations, as described, 

 and in other near locations in the season of 1913. I should not 

 expect another series of similar records to give entirely the same 

 results, for local conditions and something of individuality in the 

 near resident birds would be likely to modify the record season by 

 season. Hut a series of records such as has been procured may 

 fairly be regarded as representative and correctly indicating the 

 general order of awakening. Without exact time-records through- 

 out the prosecution of the work there would be no reliable data for 

 general facts and deductions. These are manifestly the results 

 which are of interest and value, since thereby we attain some 

 definiteness to the whole order of the awakening, which is not 

 invalidated by such variations as may occur once in a while and 

 effect to change somewhat the relative position of a species. For 

 notwithstanding some variance in relative position which a number 

 of records may show, there is a general trend in the order of every 

 ,i\\ akening which is definite and fixed. The first nine species in the 

 list are always the first nine with infrequent exceptions, and they 

 awake to sing more than an hour before sunrise. The resident 

 flycatchers are always very early; some of them are likely to be 

 the earliest. Song Sparrow and Chipping Sparrow are with few 

 exceptions tin- earliest sparrows. White-throated Sparrow is 

 next earliest. Robin usually follows after these earliest flycatchers 

 and sparrows. Oven-bird sometimes precedes them all with one 

 or several flight songs. Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow also are 

 very early. All other members of the flycatcher, sparrow, and 

 thrush families which arc present, twelve species in all, follow in the 

 next fifteen minutes, or from an hour to three-quarters of an hour 

 before sunrise, the Wood Thrush, however, proving by a single 



