BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN 25 



done in the furtherance of good growth and 

 longevity, constitute these grounds, how- 

 ever, not a favorable place for nesting by 

 our resident woodpeckers. Nests of breed- 

 ing species other than the robin, thegrackle, 

 and the oriole have rarely been seen in the 

 Garden when the leaves fall in autumn. So 

 the nesting of other than the three species 

 named would seem to be incidental and 

 very infrequent. 



There are usually one or two exception- 

 ally large flights of migrant birds, compre- 

 hensive in the number of species joined to- 

 gether, to the Garden each season. These 

 are coincident with a pronounced warm 

 wave coming in the middle of the month of 

 May. In this part of the month, on a warm 

 morning following a night of high tempera- 

 ture, a number of newly arrived birds will 

 be noted at once upon entering the grounds. 

 As advance is made, the promise of many 

 migrants is found to be fulfilled, and inter- 

 est in identification reaches an eager pitch. 

 If, as sometimes happens, a sudden change 

 of weather comes, and easterly conditions, 



