44 BIRDS OF THE NEW YORK CITY REGION 



a. Central Park. Probably no locality in America has 

 been visited so often, so regularly, and by so many people, 

 as Central Park. It is an ideal station for studying the migra- 

 tion of birds, and is unquestionably the best place for the 

 insectivorous transients in the Region. Astonishing as this 

 statement may seem, it is amply justified by the facts, and 

 Warblers, for instance, are more abundant here individually 

 and specifically than anywhere else. It is an oasis in a vast 

 desert of city roofs, in which the tired hosts must alight to 

 rest as the day breaks, and where the great variety of shrub- 

 bery and trees affords an ample food supply and shelter. 

 The Ramble, an area of about 2 acres between 72nd and 77th 

 Streets, and particularly remote from the main carriage 

 drives, is the best place. The great majority of the 186 species 

 recorded from the Park have been seen here. The relatively 

 small size of this list is explained by the almost total absence 

 of water-birds. Many species are, of course, rare or casual, 

 such as nearly all the permanent residents, and all species 

 preferring aquatic or open country habitats. These birds 

 have particularly decreased as transients in the last eight 

 years, during which many trees and shrubs have died, reduc- 

 ing the available cover. The chief factor is, however, the 

 great increase in the number of people using the Park. Ten 

 years ago one could spend a whole morning in the Ramble, 

 and scarcely see a soul. Now it is certain to be full of people 

 after 10 o'clock, except in bad weather. As a result, the 

 eighteen native species nesting in 1908 are now reduced to 8. 

 In 1908, 22 species wintered, several in numbers. Last winter 

 no native species were found. While this is regretted by 

 those who have been Park enthusiasts for many years, it has 

 if anything improved the Park as a station for migrating 

 birds. Every individual seen can be determined with certainty 

 as a transient, or is definitely known not to be one. As an 

 example, I may take the Scarlet Tanager. In the country 

 where it is a common summer resident, its arrival in spring 



