184 Bird -Lore 



when the coming of the first Robin or Grackle announces the birth 

 of a new bird year, no evidences of a regular migratory movement 

 are to be observed ; and this can be said of no other season. 



Bird-life, however, is by no means at a standstill, the irregular 

 wanderings of many winter birds, such as the Crossbills, Redpolls, 

 and Pine Grosbeak, which may be abundant some years and absent 

 others, always giving the bird-lover something to look and to hope 

 for. Again, we may find in some sheltered spot a waif or stray of 

 the migration, perhaps a Hermit Thrush, Dove, or Robin, or even a 

 Thrasher ; while on one surprising occasion a Blue-winged Warbler 

 was actually seen in January (January 6, 1900, Bronx Park, See Bird- 

 Lore, igoo, pp. 26, 59). 



Food is now the controlling factor in a bird's life, and from the 

 Herring Gulls in our harbor to the Juncos at our doorstep the move- 

 ments of birds are governed by the supply of food. 



This, then, is the season when, by catering to their wants, we 

 may establish relations with birds who are strangers to us in the 

 summer. Nor should we confine our labors to our dooryards, but 

 remember the Bob-Whites, and the White-throated and Song Sparrows, 

 who are picking up a scanty living in the fields and woods. 



PERMANENT RESIDENTS 



Bob-White, Ruffed Grouse, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Broad- 

 winged Hawk,* Marsh Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Duck Hawk,* Sharp-shinned Hawk, 

 Cooper's Hawk,* Bald Eagle,* Screech Owl, Long-eared Owl,* Short-eared Owl, Barred 

 Owl, Great Horned Owl,* Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Flicker, Ameri- 

 can Crow, Fish Crow, Blue Jay, Starling (local), Meadowlark, Song Sparrow, House 

 Sparrow, American Goldfinch, European Goldfinch (local), Purple Finch, Cardinal* 

 (local), Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren* (local). Tufted Titmouse* (local). White- 

 breasted Nuthatch, Bluebird. 



WINTER VISITANTS 



Regular. — Herring Gull (other Gulls, and water birds are found in the Lower 

 Bay and similar favorable places), Rough-legged Hawk, Acadian Owl,* Horned Lark, 

 Prairie Horned Lark, Ipswich Sparrow (coast only). White-throated Sparrow, Junco, 

 Tree Sparrow, Northern Shrike,* Myrtle Warbler, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet. 



Irregular. — Goshawk, Snowy Owl, Pine Finch, Redpoll, Snowflake (more regular 

 near the coast), Lapland Longspur,* American Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Pine 

 Grosbeak, Red-breasted Nuthatch. 



DECEMBER AND JANUARY BIRD-LIFE NEAR PHILADELPHIA 



By Witmer Stone 



December and January in this vicinity constitute a period of 

 'winter rest' in bird-life, between the disappearance of the last band 

 of late fall migrants and the pioneer spring arrivals from the south. 



*Uiicommon. 



