52 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 5 



[Continued from Page 49.] 



Grand Forks, Dakota, will undoubtedly 

 reveal many points of interest in regard to 

 the routes preferred by the several species. 



West of the two routes already men- 

 tioned lies the route of the plains. Our 

 territory hardly reaches to the high, arid 

 plains, such as are found in Eastern Colo- 

 rado. The western parts of Kansas, Ne- 

 braska and Southwestern Dakota have a 

 small sprinkling of mountain birds, and 

 Northwestern Texas a larger proportion, 

 but for the most part the third route con- 

 sists of fertile plains, timbered only along 

 the streams, and traversed by much the 

 same birds as the other two routes, but in 

 greatly diminished numbers. 



Migration starts first in the middle of 

 the three routes. In early sjjring, the 

 movements of the birds in the eastern 

 route are perceptible later than those of 

 the birds in the bottom land, but as the 

 foliage grows denser this difference disap- 

 pears, and the waves of migration move 

 up both routes at practically the same 

 time. 



On the western route migi-ation is al- 

 ways later than on either of the others. 

 The first movements are from one to three 

 weeks ; later, and toward the latter end of 

 the season, the plains are about ten days 

 behind the middle route. 



When our record closed last month on 

 March 1st, the first wave of migration had 

 advanced to a little north of lat. 39°. 

 During the next month the progress of 

 migration was very marked ; where March 

 1st, we sought in vain for spring arrivals, 

 a few days later, birds were numerous. 



By April 1st, the water birds had moved 

 northward to about the parallel of 46 30 . 

 Here they were met, even at that late date, 

 by ice and snow. Some of the swiftly 

 flowing streams welcomed them with open 

 water, but all lakes still were covered with 

 ice. 



Last year the average speed of the mi- 

 gration of Ducks for a distance of 500 



miles was eleven miles a day. Let us see 

 how that sjjeed compares with their rate 

 this sjiring. After being driven back 

 twice by cold in their attempts to reach 

 their summer home, spring at last began 

 in earnest and brought the Ducks to New- 

 ton, la., 41- tT , on March 12th. Four days 

 later they appeared at La Porte City, la., 

 42 18 , or nine miles a day. March 23d, 

 found the first flocks settling on Heron 

 Lake, Minn., 43 4S , or fifteen miles a day. 

 The morning of March 26th showed them 

 to be at both Eed Wing, Minn., 44 32 , and 

 Fridley, Minn., 45 05 , and the last day of 

 the month brought them to Frazee City, 

 Minn., 46 33 ; this last 200 miles being made 

 at an average rate of twenty-four miles a 

 day. From Newton to Frazee City, the 

 average is seventeen miles a day. 



The observers in Southern Iowa say that 

 their spring was late, while those in 

 Northern Minnesota say the birds came 

 earlier than usual. In the light of these 

 statements it will be seen that the higher 

 average speed was to be expected. 



Before the next month rolls round our 

 advance guard will have penetrated the far 

 north, and while their southern cousins re- 

 treat from the scorching heat and partake 

 of strawberries and ice cream under the 

 shade of thickly foliaged trees, our most 

 northern observers, among the snow drifts 

 and masses of ice, will be hailing the first 

 harbingers of spring. — W. W- Cooke, 

 Red Hock, Indian Territory. 



The Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 



(Trochilus colubris.) 



What was to me one of the luckiest 

 finds I made last year was the nest and 

 eggs of the Hummingbird. 



I had been collecting in an orchard and 

 thought I had ransacked it pretty thor- 

 oughly. While working my way out, a 

 Hummingbird darted past, inducing me to 

 follow in the direction it had gone. I had 

 not proceeded far when I saw the bird 



