ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 1 



advance of the seasons is a little more rap- 

 id the farther north it extends. It is also 

 true that the later in the season a bird 

 migrates, the more regular, and usually 

 the more rapid, will be its movements. 

 Among some hundred or more species on 

 whom special study was expended, the 

 Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) was 

 found to have the most regular and uni- 

 form record. It is also one of the later 

 birds to migrate. To jsass from lat. 34^- 

 deg. to 40 deg. required 14 days or 28 

 miles per day ; from 40 deg. to 43 deg. oc- 

 cupied 7 days or 30 miles; and the dis- 

 tance from 43 deg. to 45J deg. was passed 

 in 5 days, that is 35 miles per day, while 

 the average per day for the whole dis- 

 tance of nearly eight hundred miles, was 30 

 miles. This is a remarkably uniform rec- 

 ord and would be an impossibility to a 

 bird like the Pdrple Martin (Progne 

 sicMs), which migrates while the weather 

 is still cold and changeable. Look at its 

 record. It passed the first 4 deg. at 16 

 miles per day; the next 2£ deg. at 12 

 miles ; the next 4£ deg. at 63 miles ; and 

 the last 2J deg. at 10 miles, making an av- 

 erage of only 18 miles per day. Or still 

 earlier, take the Robin, (Merula migrato- 

 ria,) which was 39 days in passing from 

 lat. 38^ to lat. 45£ deg., or 13 miles per 

 day. According to the notes of last 

 Spring, the bird of most rapid migration 

 is the Solitary Vireo, which passed from 

 lat. 38£ deg. to lat 45 J- deg. at the rate of 

 81 miles per day. The slowest migrant 

 was the Red-eyed Vireo, ( Vireo olivacea,) 

 which performed a journey of nearly 800 

 miles at about 7 miles a day. It must not 

 be supposed that the problems of bird mi- 

 gration present themselves at first in this 

 simple and plain form. Many things have 

 to be taken into account. Out of the 

 mass of notes sent in, some are evidently 

 mistakes, and for others allowances have 

 to be made according to the kind of coun- 

 try and the opportunities of the observer. 

 We have given these notes here that all 



may see the interesting problems which 

 present themselves to the notice of the 

 student of migration. But these same 

 problems cannot be solved by the labors 

 of any one person. It is only by the 

 united and persistent efforts of a large 

 body of observers that a satisfactory solu- 

 tion can be reached. What we want is 

 observers. The work the past two years 

 was confined to the Mississippi Valley, but 

 the coming Spring the work will be ex- 

 tended. The new society, the National 

 Ornithologists Union, has taken up the 

 work and the observations will be carried 

 on throughout the whole of the United 

 States and Canada. To do this, we want 

 several hundred observers; the more the 

 better, and it is earnestly desired that all 

 who can will aid us. Any who are willing 

 to help in the work, even if they can con 

 tribute only their mite, will please send in 

 their address, and the circular containing 

 full instructions will be sent them. Those 

 outside the Mississippi Valley may address 

 Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Locust Grove, N. 

 Y. Those in the Mississippi Valley and 

 Manitoba, will please send their names to 

 W. W. Cooke, Caddo, Indian Territory. 



Notes from Chester Co., Pa. 



The nests of the Turkey Buzzard ( Ca 

 thartes aura) have been taken more fre- 

 quently this year than ever before in the 

 oological history of the county. Al- 

 though a common bird, it rarely nests out- 

 side of the wilds of the "Welsh Moun- 

 tain." Two nests and eggs were taken 

 this Spring, by boys, on the Brandywine 

 Creek, besides one or two found in the 

 northern part of the county. 



A nest of the Messina Quail ( Coturnix 

 communis) has been seen about a mile north 

 of West Chester. This bird has been in- 

 troduced into Chester County from Europe 

 for game iDurposes, but the success of the 

 experiment has hitherto been doubted. 



One or two pairs of Mocking Birds have . 



