46 BIRDS OF THE NEW YORK CITY REGION 



there have been those who kindly cooperated in my effort 

 to obtain complete records, and who interrogated mutual 

 acquaintances whom I missed, and handed on the information 

 of interest. 



b. Bronx Region. Includes the whole Borough of the 

 Bronx and north to a line connecting Yonkers and New 

 Rochelle. There has been less consistent observation here 

 than in any other " Local Region/' but it is becoming an 

 increasingly popular stamping ground for bird-lovers, who 

 are unable to go further afield. In spite of the fact that one- 

 half of its area is now utterly unsuited for birds, and that no 

 unspoiled country remains within its borders, the list of 227 

 species recorded shows how adaptable or how long-suffering 

 are many species. The great majority of water-birds are now 

 of rare occurrence, and the migration dates for many species 

 are not at all representative. Mr. L. N. Nichols was of 

 particular assistance in the preparation of this list. He is now 

 the leader in this region, and abstracted not only his own 

 notes, but all those of the present generation of local observers. 



New Jersey. It is in northern New Jersey that the great- 

 est variation in climate occurs in our Region. In the hill 

 country of the northwestern sections, the winter is unques- 

 tionably colder than near the coast; it comes earlier, and 

 spring is later. As a result the fall migration is concluded 

 much earlier, and many species which winter regularly near 

 Plainfield and the lowlands adjacent to the Hudson River 

 Valley are unknown or casual further inland. On the other 

 hand the summer climate is warmer, far removed from the 

 tempering influence of cool ocean breezes. During a heat 

 wave, for instance, the temperature is 5 to 10 degrees hotter 

 in northern Sussex County than in New York City, where it 

 is ten degrees warmer than at the eastern end of Long 

 Island. During a cold wave in winter these figures are ex- 

 actly reversed. Perhaps this is a partial explanation of the 

 abundance of several Carolinian species in northwestern 



