i->S.|.| Hi 1(1 .^fii;r<i/i(i)/. J 1 



clearh' definable' iVom llic preceding. \'er\ rxtii'inc lascs ot" 

 individual variation will piohnhU fall under this head. With the 

 Song Span()\\- I have olxscrved several instances of abnormal 

 N'ariation in song, in one case the song being str-ikingl\ like that 

 of the little Field .Sparrow. 



A case of abnornial \ariation in song of another species, the 

 Red-shouldered Blackbird, may be here instanced. The song 

 of this species is a characteristic and usuallv verv constant one. 

 especiallv when we take into consideration the number of birds 

 that are commonly found singing together. Their song is thus 

 written by Nuttall : '^ Ko)ig-qucr-ree.'' T have, however, heard the 

 first note doubled, and in one case it was the onlv note heard, the 

 remainder of the song being either so faintlv uttered as to be inau- 

 dible or entirelv omitted. The low guttural qualitv of the single 

 note, and its measured repetition, gave it a noticeablv corvine 

 character. 



In treating of the songs of birds we must not confine ourselves 

 too narrowdy to the class Oscines or true Singing Birds. Birds of 

 lower grade, which are denied the power of true song, are usualh- 

 endowed with a capability of producing either orally, through 

 phs'sical action or mechanically, sounds as characteristic as the 

 songs of their more gifted relations. Thus the hooting of the 

 Owl, the drumming of the Grouse, the hammering of the Wood- 

 pecker, must be regarded as the equivalents of song. 



( To be continued.) 



BIRD MIGRATION. 



At the first congress of the American Ornithologists' Union, 

 held in New York Citv. September 26-28, 1S83, a Committee 

 on the Migration of Birds was appointed. It is the purpose of 

 this Committee to investigate in all its bearings, and to the fullest 

 extent possible, the subject of the migration of birds in the 

 United States and British North America. The work will not 

 be limited to the accumulation of records of the times of arrival 

 and departure of the different species, but will embrace the col- 

 lection of all data that may aid in determining the causes which 

 influence the progress of migration from season to season. For 

 example, severe storms, gales of wind, protracted periods of 



