THE BIRDS' TIME,TABLE 



by favorable weather. If, therefore, he finds 

 the weather of one year much the same as that 

 of another year, he is apt to reach the same 

 place at about the same time year after year. 

 Sometimes, encouraged by an unusually mild 

 period, birds come so far ahead of their usual 

 time that they are trapped by the sudden re- 

 turn of cold weather. Then, if they do not re- 

 treat, they may suffer for lack of food. I have 

 seen Geese on the coast of Texas migrating 

 northward in large numbers, urged onward by 

 a warm wave. 



The next day, to my surprise, they all came 

 flying back. But the day following a severe 

 "norther" suddenly arrived. The Geese had evi- 

 dently encountered this storm and been driven 

 back by it. Observations of this kind lead us 

 to believe that birds are not such good weather 

 prophets as they are commonly supposed to be. 



The first birds to come in the spring are, 



generally speaking, the last ones to leave in the 



fall. In early March we look for Robins, 



Crackles, and Red-winged Blackbirds, and there 



49 



