2o8 



Bird - Lore 



the nest and well able to fend for themselves 

 by May i6. If one allows fourteen days for 

 nest period, fourteen days for incubation, 

 four for the laying of a set of eggs, and four 

 for nest-building, we get back to April lo for 

 the beginning of nesting, which is, indeed, a 

 case of 'the early bird.' 



On May 7 there was an extraordinarily 

 large number of Clay-colored, Brewer's and 

 Chipping Sparrows in a partly abandoned 

 cemetery near my home. They must have 

 been largely migrants, for a few days after- 

 ward our usual local Chipping Sparrow popu- 

 lation only was in evidence. 



The writer spent as many hours as possible 

 in the field watching this concourse of 

 'Spizella' Sparrows; its chorus from sunrise 

 to dusk was continuous and delightful be- 

 yond words. 



The following brief review of some arrival 

 dates may be of interest: The first Chipping 

 Sparrow was seen on April 22, which is three 

 weeks later than its earliest previous appear- 

 ance, according to the writer's records; Gam- 

 bel's Sparrow arrived on April 17, eighteen 

 days later than its previous earliest, while 

 both the Audubon's and Yellow Warblers 

 returned within one day of the previous 

 earliest, viz., on May i and May 5. Some 

 interesting facts have developed this spring 

 concerning the spread of these two Warblers 

 in the vicinity of Denver. 



The first Audubon's Warbler wa,s seen at a 

 point about twenty miles south of Denver. 

 The species was not detected in the city 

 proper until May 22, taking apparently 

 twenty-one days to work its way northward 

 twenty miles. It is interesting to note that 

 on both occasions it was accompanied by 

 Lutescent Warblers. The Yellow Warbler 

 was seen first in a park about three miles 

 south of the writer's home, on May 5, and 

 not at the latter place imtil May 8. The 

 writer has no explanation for this slow travel 

 rate, unless it be that he missed the species 

 on an earlier date than given. 



A lone Mockingbird appeared in the 

 writer's neighborhood on May 8 and 9, and 

 then disappeared. 



It was suggested in the last report of this 

 region that the spring migrants would arrive 



earlier than usual. This has proven to have 

 been poor prophesy. Many arrived late, 

 some very late, and a few on time. 



Taking the earliest previous arrival dates 

 as data, it appears that the Rock Wren, 

 Black-headed Grosbeak, House Wren, and 

 Green-tail Towhee were all five days late, the 

 Wood Peewee sixteen, and the Bullock's 

 Oriole seventeen days behind time, while, for 

 example the Catbird was on time, viz., arriv- 

 ing on May 29. In fact the number of species 

 arriving late was in the majority, a tardiness 

 ranging from one to three weeks. 



Two Rock Wrens lingered in the aforesaid 

 cemetery until June 5. It was hoped that 

 they would remain to nest, but their disap- 

 pearance after June 5 has blasted this hope. 

 Aside from one rainy spell, which came about 

 a week ago (June 6), the weather conditions 

 have been all that one could desire and what 

 a mere human would imagine ideal to bring 

 the birds back to their summer homes early. 

 Yet they did not come. A simultaneous 

 state- wide survey would doubtless throw a 

 good deal of light on this interesting and un- 

 usual migration situation as it has developed 

 in the Denver Region. — W. H. Bergtold, 

 Denver, Colo. 



San Francisco Region. — Though April 

 and May were imusually chilly and light 

 frosts were recorded as late as May 2 and 3, 

 the warm weather of February had started 

 the blossoms, so that the season was two 

 weeks in advance of that of last year. This 

 difference showed no corresponding difference 

 in the dates of migration among the birds. 

 The winter birds recorded as still present on 

 April 1 1 were seen last on the following dates : 

 Intermediate Sparrow and Varied Thrush, 

 April 1 1 ; Audubon Warbler, April 1 5 ; Ruby- 

 crowned Kinglet and Fox Sparrow, April 1 7 ; 

 Hermit Thrush, April 27; and Golden- 

 crowned Sparrow, April 29. The Cooper 

 Hawk was seen on May 11 and the Sharp- 

 shinned Hawk on May 22 — a fact which im- 

 plies a decided loss of life among the newly 

 hatched generation of small birds. Cedar 

 Waxwings were still present on Jime 5. 



The summer birds arriving after the middle 

 of April were the Black-headed Grosbeak, 



