HA Bird Migration. [January 



of the work, etc. ; to collect at frequent intervals the product 

 of their labors ; to ascertain from these data the whereabouts of 

 certain species in winter, and the times of leaving their winter 

 homes ; to deternine if possible the number and extent of the 

 chief avenues of migration within the limits of his District, and 

 the average rate of speed at which the different species travel ; to 

 locate the breeding areas of the summer residents ; and, finally, 

 to submit the result of the season's work to the Chairman of the 

 Committee. The Chairman shall, in turn, arrange, condense, 

 and systematize the material received from the Superintendents 

 of the several Districts, and shall pi'esent to the Union the fruits 

 of the joint labors of all the collaborators, together with any com- 

 ments, deductions or generalizations he may have made upon the 

 same. 



Instructions to Collaborators. 



The data collected may conveniently be arranged in three 

 general classes : a. Ornithological Phenomena. b. Meteoro- 

 logical Phenomena. c. Contemporary and Correlative Phe- 

 nomena. 



(a) Orfiithologicat Phenomena. 



Each observer is requested to prepare, at his earliest conven- 

 ience, a complete list of the birds known to occur in the vicinity 

 of his Station, and to indicate (by the abbreviations enclosed in 

 parentheses) to which of the following five categories each species 

 pertains : — 



1. Permanent Residents^ or those that are found regularly 

 throughout the entire year (R). 



2. Winter Visitants., or those that occur only during the 

 winter season, passing north in the spring (WV). 



3. Transient Visitattts, or those that occur only during the 

 migrations, in spring and fall (TV). 



4. Slimmer Residents., or those that are known to breed, 

 but which depart southward before winter (SR). 



5. Accidental Visitants^ or stragglers from remote districts 

 (AV). 



It is desirable also to indicate the relative abundance ot the 

 different species, the terms to be employed for this purpose being : 

 Abundant^ Common. Tolerably Cornmon., Rare. 



