INTRODUCTION 45 



and its departure in fall can, of course, be determined. But 

 it is quite impossible to determine with certainty that migra- 

 ting individuals are passing through this Region in maximum 

 numbers about May 16th and until May 25th, or that the 

 species starts moving south in late August or early September. 

 These questions can be answered in Central Park. Accord- 

 ingly migration records are given in the greatest detail. 



The decrease of birds mentioned above has not, however, 

 affected the regular transients, which are as abundant as ever. 

 Those who can possibly do so are advised to visit the Ramble 

 as frequently as possible from April 1st to May 30th and from 

 the first week in August to the end of October. If they are 

 energetic enough they should go in the early morning, 

 especially in May. Later in the day they are certain to miss 

 many species, as the birds are scared and scattered by the 

 crowds. Many days will of course be very barren, as now- 

 adays there are practically no birds in between flights. On 

 May 10, 1922, 66 species were observed in the Ramble, of 

 which 60 were transients. It would be utterly impossible 

 definitely to duplicate such a list of transients in one day 

 anywhere else in the Region. Between the dates given 

 above over one hundred species can be seen annually. 



In the brief space available I cannot adequately describe 

 the wealth of material, founded on daily observation, avail- 

 able for the present report. For instance, Miss Anne A. 

 Crolius, a most reliable and conservative student, visited the 

 Park more than 250 times annually between 1895 and 1915, 

 a record of consistent observation probably unequalled in 

 this country. Ever since 1907, when my observations com- 

 menced, dozens of observers have hunted in the Ramble every 

 spring. The dozens last spring were totally different from the 

 dozens eight years ago, and all were totally different people 

 from the dozens in 1907, but while their interest lasted I 

 saw most of them every day and collected the migration 

 records of interest that I knew to be reliable. Every year 



