INTRODUCTION 15 



*Clapper Rail Worm-eating Warbler 



*King Rail Blue-winged Warbler 



*Turkey Vulture Louisiana Water-thrush 



Barn Owl *Kentucky Warbler 



Acadian Ftycatcher Hooded Warbler 



Fish Crow Mockingbird (formerly) 



*Cardinal Carolina Wren 



Rough-winged Swallow Tufted Titmouse 



This life Zone is the most difficult to interpret in our area. 

 If the presence of one of these species be taken as an index of 

 the zone, no part of it is entirely outside or north of it. On 

 the other hand, in no one section of the Region do a majority 

 of these species occur or constitute a dominant part of the 

 avifauna. Finally the distribution of no two species is exactly 

 alike. It is therefore evident that there is no more than a 

 faint tinge of the Carolinian Zone in this territory, and that 

 the causes limiting the distribution of any one species are 

 peculiar to it, rather than of general or wide scope. The 

 dominant cause with the Carolina Wren is the severity of the 

 winter. The causes or factors limiting the other species are 

 still a matter for research. 



Much has been said in recent years about the northward 

 extension of this Life Zone. I find no satisfactory evidence of 

 it in this territory, with the single exception of the Tufted 

 Titmouse, which has gained a few miles in New Jersey. While 

 it is quite true that most of these birds are now known to 

 range further northward, notably in the Hudson River 

 valley, this may well be due to the fact that competent ob- 

 servers now exist at points where formerly there were few 

 or none. When this all-important factor is considered, many 

 alleged increases or extensions require confirmation or have 

 been shown to be fictitious. Consequently I do not deny any 

 such extension locally, but it cannot be stated as a fact. On 

 the other hand there is definite evidence that most of these 

 Carolinian birds have decreased in the last twenty-five 

 years. The details will be found in the annotated list. With 



