ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



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Joseph M. Wade, Editor and Publisher. 

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VOL. VIII. 



BOSTON, SEPTEMBER, 1883. 



No. 9. 



Mississippi Valley Migration. 



Note. — The stations and observers, to which the num- 

 bers refer, are given in the O. and O. for April. 



Of all our birds few are better known 

 than the Purple Martin {P. subis), few are 

 more regular in their northward migra- 

 tions, and yet where most of them winter 

 is still an open question. They certainly 

 leave the United States entirely at the ap- 

 proach of cold weather ; but beyond our 

 southern border are several resident spe- 

 cies so nearly like our Martins that ob- 

 servers have not yet certainly distinguished 

 them, and whether our birds mingle with 

 them during the winter around the West 

 Indies, or pass on to the northern part of 

 South America, remains to be decided. 

 Wherever they winter their stay is short, 

 and February sees them again among us. 

 I have no record just when the first ones 

 entered the United States this sprmg, but 

 by 3-4 they were' building at (6), and the 

 first ones reached (13) 3-3. About 3-20 

 they reached southern Mo. (26) reports 

 them on 3-20, (16) 3.22, and (30) on 3-18 

 saw four scouts. But cold weather drove 

 them back again immediately, and they 

 did not appear at any new stations for the 

 next ten days, when a second onward 

 movement brought them to (33) 4-1, (32) 

 4.2, (21) 4-3^ They returned to (30) 4-3. 

 (38) saw them 4-3, (41) 4-3. During the 

 night of 4-2 to 4-3 some of these Martins 

 must have travelled 200 to 300 miles — a 

 long journey for us, but to them only a 

 matter of three or four hours' work. 

 Again there is a j^ause of a few days and 

 then the 8th and 9th of April finds them 

 at (43), (47), (52), (.57) and (60). Thus 



they were only twenty days in making the 

 trii? which took the Robin six weeks. 



These birds were the advance guard, but 

 the bulk did not remain far behind, and in 

 general from twelve to fourteen days after 

 the first is seen they are in full numbers. 

 No. (16) found them 4-1 too numerous to 

 count. At (21), (30) and (52) they steadi- 

 ly increased, and about 4-27 were in full 

 numbers ; also at the same time the birds 

 of last year began to arrive. Besides the 

 dates already given I have several others 

 which show either a less favorable locality 

 for this species, or else less favorable op- 

 portunities of observation. The records 

 are (14) 4-10, (37) a dozen arrived during 

 the week from 4-9 to 4-16. (40) first seen 

 4-11, and no more until 4-19 ; (44) 4-18 

 and (45) 4-10. 



As the organization of the Martin is 

 quite delicate, their early migration ex- 

 poses them to great hardships, and many 

 perish annually — victims of misplaced con- 

 fidence in the weather. No. 45 tells us 

 "from noon of 4-13 to night of 4.14 a 

 steady cold northeast rain fell, and some 

 of the more tender birds sufl:ered severely. 

 I saw numbers of Martins too benumbed 

 to fly, and found one dead next mornmg. 

 They had no shelter but a ledge on gal- 

 vanized iron cornice of a brick building." 

 The next bu-d we take up is the Brown 

 Thrush, {II. rnfus). The winter home of 

 these birds is the Southern States, but 

 sometimes a few remain as far north as 

 southern Illinois. No. (35) says they are 

 partially resident in the heavy underbrush, 

 but very uncertain, and never numerous 

 during cold weather. From this winter 



