THE BIRD-LIFE OF A YEAR, 27 
SErTremMBER. 
The student whose patience has been sorely tried 
by the comparative scarcity of birds in August, will 
find that in September his observations in the field 
will be attended by far more interesting results. 
The first marked fall in the temperature is sure to 
be followed by a flight of migrants which, like the 
** waves’? of May, will flood the woods with birds. 
The larger number will be Warblers; indeed, Sep- 
tember, with May, is characterized by the abundance 
of these small birds. 
Birds of the year will outnumber the adults, and, 
in most cases, their plumage will be quite unlike that 
worn by their parents in May, while, in many in- 
stances, even the adults themselves will appear in a 
changed costume. Often this new dress will re- 
semble that of the immature bird, a fact which 
accounts for the apparent absence of old birds in 
the fall migration. 
Asa rule, fall plumages are less striking than those 
of spring, and when, in addition, it is remembered 
that birds are not in song, and that the foliage is 
much denser, the greater difficulty of field identifi- 
cation at this season will be appreciated. 
In September more migrating birds are killed by 
striking lighthouses than in any other month of the 
year. This is doubtless owing to the fact that 
stormy or foggy weather is more apt to prevail in 
September than during any other period of active 
migration; that the majority of the migrants are 
young and inexperienced, and that in September mi- 
grants are more numerous than in any other month. 
