DISTRIBUTION OF OUR BIRDS 1 79 



A few Song Sparrows stay with us in winter, and if the last 

 days of February are fine, we always hear the first faint note 

 this favorite song-bird. In 191 7 there were 21 records in March, and 

 29 in April, and in May. I was absent from Xotre Dame on the 

 10th and nth of May, which accounts for the missing records of 

 that month. This species is our most abundant sparrow, and where- 

 ever the observer may wander on our beautiful grounds, he can 

 hardly ever get out of ear-shot of this sweet songster. 



Although the Tree Sparrow is a winter species, yet it is never 

 abundant, and is often absent for long periods. And as early March 

 is sometimes very cold and snowy, this sparrow may not appear 

 until the weather moderates. In the present year the first record 

 in March was made on the 11th; the second, on the 18th, after 

 which the species appeared frequently until the end of the month. 

 Early in April the temperature fell lower than it had been during 

 the last ten days of March, and the Tree Sparrow was not recorded 

 again until the 18th, which was also the last spring record for the 

 year. Strange to say, I did not hear the song of the Tree Sparrow 

 once during the Spring of 19 17. 



The Field Sparrow often arrives in the latter part of March 

 when the weather is moderating; and it must come in force, for 

 almost daily records are made if the temperature remains high. 

 This sparrow is in song from the date of migration, which makes 

 it easy for the observer to tell how abundant the species is at any- 

 time in Spring. There was the same number of records for the 

 Field Sparrow in April and May, 191 7 — 22. 



The Spring records of the White-breasted Nuthatch are always 

 interesting to the student of bird life. Migrations of this species 

 may occur for long or short periods, beginning even in winter. In 

 191 7 this Nuthatch remained throughout March, which had 25 

 records. In April there were n records, the species being last seen 

 on the 19th. There were 7 scattered records in May until the 14th, 

 when the birds were seen no more. It is certainly difficult to account 

 for all these periods of migration. Was the species breeding during 

 its absence in April? I do not know, for I have not found a nest of 

 the White-breasted Nuthatch in many years. 



In March tip to the 20th there were 6 records of the Chickadee. 

 The next record was made on April 16, and another on the 18th. 

 No others were made until May 7 and n, the only two in that 

 month. No doubt the rare appearance of the Chickadee in Spring 



