THE MORNING AWAKENING 95 



THE MORNING AWAKENING. 



During the month of June, 1919, I kept a number of 

 records of the time of awakening of the birds in the morning 

 about my home. The records were made by listening to the 

 first call notes and songs of the respective birds. 



The time of beginning varied slightly according to the 

 temperature, and the cloudiness of the sky. They were about 

 ten minutes later in awakening on a cold cloudy morning than 

 on a clear, warm morning. There was also a slight variation 

 in the order of their singing, but this also was quite uniform 

 if an average of several mornings were taken. 



The following record for June 13, a clear, warm morn- 

 ing, is a good indication of the time and the order in which 

 they first indicated their morning activities. 



The Mockingbird and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo were 

 heard at various hours of the night. The Mockingbird was 

 singing at 3 :00 A. M., Standard time, which at Kansas City 

 is 18 minutes faster than sun time. 



At 3 :35 the first Robin was heard. It was two blocks 

 away. Another, nearer bird, soon took up the refrain and in 

 three minutes a half dozen could be heard in various direc- 

 tions. 



The Kingbird began twittering as he flew high in the air 

 after insects at 3 :42. 



