534 Wright, Morning Awakening and Even-song. [bet. 



seven to twenty-two minutes after sunset. Indigo Bunting and 

 Junco records and those of the Kingbird do not extend as late. 

 All the warblers end their songs before the sparrows and these 

 flycatchers during the preceding twenty-seven minutes or from 

 twenty-two minutes after sunset to five minutes before, Myrtle 

 Warbler, however, ceasing earlier. Blue-headed Vireo ranks among 

 the later singing warblers, while Golden-crowned Kinglet and Red- 

 breasted Nuthatch rank with the earlier-ceasing warblers. Chim- 

 ney Swift, Tree Swallow, and Bobolink become silent immediately 

 after the going down, of the sun. Cliff Swallows keep in the air 

 some minutes later. The Crow gives its last calls a few minutes 

 before and seldom are any heard after sunset. At the same time, 

 just before sunset, Purple Finch and Goldfinch end their songs, and 

 Cedar VYaxwings cease to call. Red-eyed Vireo ceases to sing 

 fourteen minutes before sunset; Winter Wren and Chickadee still 

 earlier. The voices of the woodpeckers are lost first of all soon after 

 the recording has begun, or from half an hour to an hour before 

 sunsetting, as in the morning their first calls are seldom heard until 

 after sunrise; the Sapsucker, however, detaches itself somewhat 

 from the group by being less late in the morning and later in the 

 evening than the others. 



Averages have been drawn in the same manner as for morning 

 awakening, and the number of minutes before or after sunset of 

 the last song of each has been adopted as the basis of ranking the 

 species, as was done in matins. The average clock-time of the 

 records, as appealing more naturally to the mind, is also named. 

 But this is not exact, if it be unrelated to the time of sunsetting. 

 The probable time of last song of any species for any date, however, 

 may be easily reckoned, when the time of sunset on that day is 

 known. For while there is not an exact gradation in a series of 

 records of any species following the gradation of earlier sunsetting, 

 there is a close approximation to this. So, as the sun comes to set 

 earlier evening by evening, the record closes proportionately earlier. 

 But, as has been already stated, it has been found when a species 

 is nearing the end of the season of its singing that the weakening 

 spirit of song tends to bring the birds less promptly into song in the 

 morning and to lead them to cease singing somewhat earlier in the 

 evening. Thus late July records usually indicate this waning 



