No. 4.] DESTRUCTION OF RIIIDS. 487 



in New llauipsliiiv and eastern ^Nlainc^ at t\w time, wrote 

 me that l)iids were scarce there. On Monday, Septem- 

 ber 4, I saw for the first time a few ^varblers in the woods. 

 Every day a watch was kept on an old field grown up to 

 birches that were swarming- with plaiit-lice, with the expec- 

 tation that warblers would be seen there if any flight came. 

 On September 17 an ovenbird and about thirty l)lack-})oll 

 warblers were seen there. From that day until October 21) 

 the warblers were found in the birches in moderate numbers, 

 but they Avere mostly black-i)olls, and very few were seen 

 that breed in central or southern New England. Only three 

 redstarts and only one black-and-white warbhn* weris ob- 

 served. Either these warblers Avere very scarce last fall, or 

 they passed me unnoticed. Probably the fires, the drought, 

 the heavy rains and the scarcity of insects all combined to 

 prevent their breeding. A great flight of pine grosbeaks 

 began to arrive in Massachusetts about October 25. It was 

 the first " sign " of a severe Avinter. 



MoRTALrrY AMOxd Birds during the Winter. 



In New England the winter of 1903-04 Avas of almost 

 unequalled severit}, and Massachusetts received more than 

 her full share of storm and cold. Mr. T. R. Rodman of 

 NeAV Bedford, who has a record of the tem})erature there, 

 which has been kept for ninetA -nine years, Avrites, "I believe 

 the past winter is the coldest in my record." There Avas 

 cold weather enough in November to lock up man}'^ of the 

 ponds and rivers. December Avas luuisually cold, Avith the 

 exception of the second Aveek. Ice cutting Avas begun earlier 

 than for many years. The Wareham River Avas frozen solid 

 in December, — a rare occurrence. There Avas a thaAV on 

 Christmas Day, but the thermometer fell inniiediatel}^ after- 

 Avard, reaching 10^ to 40° beloAV zero at })oints back from 

 the coast. A north-east snoAVstorm began on the 2(jtli, and 

 the last Aveek of the month was A'ery cold. 



Birds Av^ere unusually plentiful in south-eastern Massachu- 

 setts until Christmas, and on that day and the next the fol- 

 loAving birds were seen Avithin five miles of my house at 

 AVareham : twenty-eight herring gulls, tAvo red-breasted 



